Classes & Events

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Upcoming classes

Please check back often for local classes and events.
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Library Talks - Sonoma County Libraries - Free!

Oct 26 • 10:30-Noon : Bountiful Berries - Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library
Registration Required
Nov 2 • 10:30-Noon : Herbs: Fresh & Dried - Sonoma Valley Library
Registration Required
Nov 30 • 10:30-Noon : Library Talk – All Things Apple - Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library
Registration Required

Bountiful Berries: Berries are so delicious and versatile. Make freezer jam without the need for canning. Learn basic canning techniques to go beyond jam to make conserves, preserves and chutney. Learn how to freeze cranberries and other berries to enjoy them year-round.

Herbs – Fresh and Dried: Herbs add so much flavor to our meals! Expand your use of fresh and dried herbs and learn how to safely preserve your fresh herbs to enjoy all year. Making herb salts, rubs and pestos will be demonstrated.

All Things Apple - Creative Ways to Use Your Crop!: It’s apple harvest time in Sonoma County! Learn how to preserve the harvest from your own trees or the farmers’ market in this workshop. UC Master Food Preservers of Sonoma County will demonstrate different processes for preserving apples that safely preserve their quality and use all edible parts of the apple. You’ll take home recipes for delicious, safe apple preservation.

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Oct 19 • 11am-1pm
Food Scraps Into Food! - Free!

Demonstration with several presenters on how to get the most out of the food you grow and/or buy. (Scraps for veggie stock and chicken stock, dehydrated veggies for soup, flavored salts, etc.)

Sonoma Clean Power Customer Center
741 4th Street, Santa Rosa

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Oct 20 • 10am-2pm
Los Guilicos Children’s Jamboree - Free!

UC Master Food Preserver information table with apple display and apple peeling activity. This is a FREE event but registration is required.
Click here to register!

Los Guilicos Demonstration and Teaching Garden
1 Los Guilicos Road, Santa Rosa

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Nov 8 • 5-8pm or
Nov 9 • 11am-2pm

Gifts from the Kitchen 2024
Craft the Perfect Cheeseboard
A Holiday-Ready Workshop!

Join us for an unforgettable evening of creativity and culinary fun! Learn water bath canning while making a mouth watering sweet-savory jam, master dehydrating fruits and herbs, whip up a crowd-pleasing hummus, and craft an herb blend to embellish a goat cheese log. You'll also learn to style a beautiful cheeseboard—just in time for your holiday gatherings!

Enjoy a break to snack on a variety of cheeseboard goodies while you work. You'll leave with your own jam, hummus, herb-crusted cheese log, a bamboo cutting board, cheeseboard templates, our 2024 Gifts from the Kitchen Cookbook, and the confidence to dazzle your guests.

Choose from two convenient dates. Space is limited—reserve your spot today!

$75 per person | Click Here to Register

Sonom Clean Power Customer Center
741 4th Street, Santa Rosa

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Monthly Pressure Gauge Testing - Free!

Second Friday of every month. Click HERE to sign up.

Pressure canners with only a dial gauge need to be tested annually to ensure the dial gauge is accurate. If your dial gauge is not accurate, it is not correctly reading pressure which may result in under or over processing and unsafe food.

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Curious about becoming a Master Food Preserver volunteer?
Check it out here.

Home Food Preservation Course (with no volunteer component)

Interested in learning more about preserving food at home? Want to expand your culinary skills? Do you live in a county without a UC Master Food Preserver Program?

The UC Master Food Preserver Program is excited to announce that plans are underway to offer an online series of courses covering the following topics. This educational series does not have a volunteer component to it (unlike the program described here).

Food safety in the kitchen
Freezing foods with maximum quality retention
Dehydrating fruits, vegetables and meats and making powders
Canning the pantry staples: tomatoes, applesauce, and fresh fruit
Making jams, jellies and other fruit spreads by canning and freezing
Using the fridge and a canner to pickle fruits, vegetables and eggs to add a burst of flavor to meals
Canning your own condiments and savory sauces
Stocking your pantry with main meal ingredients: meats, broth, soups and vegetables

Archive

Past Events & Classes

"Totally Tomatoes"
(this demo has taken place already)

Contact: mfpsc@ucanr.edu or 707-565-3026

Sponsor: UC Master Food Preservers of Sonoma County

We covered methods for preserving tomatoes such as freezing, drying and canning. There was a demo on making salsa and crushed tomatoes in a boiling-water canner and participants took home a jar of yummy preserved salsa.

Resources for "Totally Tomatoes" demo:

Crushed Tomatoes Recipe - https://ucanr.edu/sites/camasterfoodpreservers/files/334012.pdf
Preparing and Canning Salsa - https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_salsa/chile_salsa.html
USDA Guide to Canning Tomatoes - https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE03_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf
Dried Tomatoes - https://ucanr.edu/sites/camasterfoodpreservers/files/334013.pdf
Frozen Tomatoes - https://ucanr.edu/sites/camasterfoodpreservers/files/334018.pdf
Core Canning Techniques

Resources for the Pickling Demo and Tour of Sonoma Clean Power's Advanced Energy Center
(this demo has taken place already)

1). "Pickled Bread and Butter Zucchini" - https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/bread_butter_zucchini.html

2). "Zucchini Pickles" - https://ucanr.edu/sites/camasterfoodpreservers/files/335054.pdf.

3). "Quick Refrigerator Pickles" - https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/2020/04/how-to-make-quick-refrigerator-pickles/

4). "How Do I...Pickle?" Pickling Resources from the National Center for Home Food Preservation" - https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can6b_pickle.html#gsc.tab=0

Gravenstein Apple Fair 2023 - All Things Apple_Gravenstein Apple Fair 2023

The 2022 Gifts from the Kitchen cookbook and decorating templates for canning jars and lids are available for printing or viewing.

Resources from the Food Scrap Cooking Demo at Sonoma Clean Power's Advanced Energy Center (Santa Rosa, CA) - July 2022.

"Veggie Happenings" is a monthly webinar that features UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County educating the public on seasonally appropriate sustainable food gardening practices. Also included in the webinar are the UC Master Food Preservers of Sonoma County who do a monthly demonstration on how to make the most of your seasonal fruits and vegetables. These monthly webinars are currently on hold. See below for information and resources from past webinars:

All Things Apple - Gravenstein Apple Fair 2023

All Things Apple_Gravenstein Apple Fair 2023

June 2022: Healthy Fruit Leather

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bUYgRqmWts

UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County Food Gardening Specialists talk about how to incorporate peppers into your summer garden, as well as managing drought and pests in your garden. UC Master Food Preservers of Sonoma County show us how to create beautiful, delicious and healthy fruit leather by drying the abundant fruit in season now.

Resources:
https://www.freshoffthegrid.com/mango-strawberry-fruit-leathers/
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/fruit-leather-tie-dye-camp-recipe.html
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/fruit_leathers.html

May 2022: Strawberry Freezer Jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua11hvdqYvQ&t=12s

UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma Counry discussed interplanting your vegetable garden with an emphasis on the traditional “3 Sisters” - corn, squash, and beans. They shared ideas for trellising and talked about some Good Bugs that you want in your garden. UC Master Food Preservers of Sonoma County demonstrated making Strawberry Freezer Jam, just in time to capture that bounty crop. Check out the strawberry freezer jam recipe and other strawberry preserving ideas: Veggie Happening_Strawberry Jam .

April 2022: Making & Preserving Cool Season Pesto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chdxhNqCntE

Cashew Carrot Top Pesto with Roasted Carrots and more!

March 2022: Quick Refrigerator Pickles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXdoPkvaZTw

Crunchy Mixed Refrigerator Pickles
Sweet Pickled Radish

February 2022: Fruit Based Dressings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg-oOo6tYhs&t=3s

Resources:
Recipes and links for Fruit Based Dressings
Cleaning and Sanitizing the Kitchen

January 2022: Preserving Citrus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PTm345IeQw

For more information about preserving citrus, check here and Resources related to January 2022 Veggie Happenings .