Learning how to properly preserve the bounty from local fields and backyard gardens is essential to preventing spoilage and illness. There’s ample time to learn how to preserve the fresh, local foods available right now and through to fall. 

CCEFM will present “Storing and Preserving Your Fall Harvest” on Thursday, August 11, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Shirley Luck Senior Center in Johnstown.

The class is an opportunity for residents to learn the major methods of home food preservation.  It will include a brief overview of pressure canning and boiling water canning with demonstrations and hands-on activities that illustrate proper freezing and dehydration techniques, take-home materials and refreshments.   

Class size is limited to provide an effective hands-on experience. To reserve a space in the class, payment must be received on or before Tuesday, August 9. The cost is $15 per person. For more information or to register, call 673-5525. 

In case you missed the live streaming of North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s home food preservation demonstration the video is now available.

feature BarfBlog contributor Ben Chapman, a North Carolina assistant professor and food safety extension specialist, and North Carolina’s The Produce Lady (a.k.a. Brenda Sutton).

The North Carolina Cooperative Extension is live streaming a home food preservation demonstration today at 1 p.m. The live streaming will feature BarfBlog contributor Ben Chapman, a North Carolina assistant professor and food safety extension specialist, and North Carolina’s The Produce Lady (a.k.a. Brenda Sutton).

“There will be tomato peeling; acidification using lemon juice; boiling water bathing and pressure canning,” Chapman says in a recent Barfblog post. The Barfblog is food safety blog featuring cooperative extension food scientists and others.

You can tune into the live stream by visiting The Produce Lady’s UStream channel. You can also catch the live feed from The Produce Lady Facebook page.

For more information read Chapman’s Barfblog post.

Canning season is almost here. Now is the perfect time to inspect, and if necessary, replace worn out equipment and obtain new recipes from reliable, tested resources.  

Resources available include the University of Georgia  Cooperative Extension’s So Easy to Preserve  (5th edition) and the The Ball Blue Book -  Guide to Home Canning, Freezing and Dehydration.

There are also local canning classes are available. The next CCEFM Master Food Preserver class is set for July 19 in Johnstown.

Whether you’re new to canning or an old hand, a little planning can make your experience a little easier. You can get the most out of your canning by following these simple guidelines:

>Instead of canning alone, share the rewards by having a friend or your children pitch in.

> Be efficient.  Plan ahead and group fruits, vegetables and meats according to the way they’re canned and types of equipment used. Schedule jams, fruit butters and conserves in one group and pickled vegetables and relishes in another.

> Don’t go overboard trying to do everything at once. Estimate carefully (and honestly) how much time you’ll need to prepare, process and cool the products.

A pressure canning class will be held on this Saturday (July 9) from 9 a.m. to noon at the Shirley Luck Senior Center in Johnstown.

The class, taught by Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Food Preservers in Fulton and Montgomery Counties, will teach people how to safely process low acid foods such as vegetables and meats using recipes and methods that have been USDA tested and approved for home preservers. It will also cover care and use of proper equipment for home canning.

The class costs $15 per person, includes refreshments and an information packet.  Class is limited in size to provide an effective hands-on experience for everyone.  For more information or to register, call Cornell Cooperative Extension at 673-5525 to register.

The new USDA’s MyPlate icon provides a straightforward reminder that half of our plates at mealtime should be fruits and vegetables.

Since the release of the new MyPlate icon, which replaced the long-familiar food pyramid, the USDA has been asking for pictures of people’s plates.

Here’s one of the submissions. What’s on your plate?

CCEFM will present “Cooking with Diabetes,” Thursday, June 23 in Canajoharie. This free class will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Cornell Cooperative Extension office at 50 East Main St.

This workshop-style program, sponsored by Hero-Beech-Nut, will target Type II Diabetes and will provide practical, hands-on learning activities designed to help participants understand how portion size and nutrient content impact overall health.

Topics will include label reading, the importance of physical activity and tips for eating while dining out. An overview of diabetes will cover basic concepts and recommendations. People who have been diagnosed with Diabetes, people who are living with persons with Diabetes and people who are cooking for people with Diabetes are encouraged to register and attend the program.

Call the CCEFM office at 673-5525 x 101 to sign up.

A senior extension associate at Cornell University is giving the USDA’s new MyPlate icon high marks for conveying the proper proportions we should be seeing in our diets.

“Advice to ‘make half of your plate fruits and vegetables’ couldn’t be clearer,” Jennifer Wilkins, the community coordinator for Cornell’s Dietetic Internship Program and director of Cornell’s Farm to School Research and Outreach program said in a recent column.

In a recent post to their blog, Evidenced-Based Living, the associate dean and associate director of Cornell Cooperative Extension discuss the MyPlate icon and Wilkins assessment of it.

The Evidenced-Based Living blog post points out that there’s “clear evidence” that just taking the step of making half of your plate fruits and vegetables alone will lead to a healthier diet.

Wilkins does see one thing missing from the MyPlate icon, the blog says.

“The important reality is that food quality varies dramatically within each group,” Wilkins said. “It really does matter how much of the grains are whole grains. It matters how, and to what extent fruits and vegetables, and grains are processed. And it matters if chicken is a breast or McNuggetized.”

June is National Dairy Month. Dairy is among the foods highlighted last week when the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its new MyPlate icon. The new MyPlate icon replaced the long familiar food pyramid and provides guidance to help consumers make healthy food choices.

The USDA guidance suggests switching to fat-free or low-fat (1 percent) milk. To that end the USDA offers 10 tips to help you eat and drink more fat-free or low-fat dairy foods.

The USDA recommends 3 cups daily of milk or milk products for those 9 years and older and 2 cups daily for ages 2-8. “In general, 1 cup of milk, yogurt, or soymilk (soy beverage), 1 ½ ounces of natural cheese, or 2 ounces of processed cheese can be considered as 1 cup from the dairy group,” the USDA’s ChooseMyPlate.gov website says.

Here are the USDA’s tips to eat and eat more fat-free or low-fat dairy:

1) Drink skim

Drink fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1%) milk. If you currently drink whole milk, gradually switch to lower fat versions.

2. Boost potassium and vitamin D, and cut sodium

Choose fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt more often than cheese. Milk and yogurt have more potassium and less sodium than most cheeses. Also, almost all milk and many yogurts are fortified with vitamin D.

3. Top off your meals

Use fat-free or low-fat milk on cereal and oatmeal. Top fruit salads and baked potatoes with low-fat yogurt instead of higher fat toppings such as sour cream.