|
|
|
> MSU News
Home food preservation factsheets by MSU Extension provide food safety and money saving tips
July 24, 2009 -- By Sara Adlington, MSU Extension Communications
Bozeman - Saving money and eating healthy, locally-grown food are topics of interest these days. Growing your own garden or buying food at a local farmer's market is one way to achieve both. Nine new Montana State University (MSU) Extension MontGuides provide detailed information on home food preservation for many kinds of food.
The factsheets provide detailed instructions and step-by-step processes for making jam and jelly; drying and freezing fruits and vegetables; canning pickles, sauerkraut, meat, poultry and fish; processing in a pressure canner; and home-canning pressures and processing times.
"There seem to be three things that have driven more consumer interest in food preservation this year," said Kathy Revello, family and consumer sciences MSU Extension agent in Missoula County. "People want to know where their food comes from (if it has additives or preservatives); how to save money on healthier food; and how to live sustainably, or get back to basics."
If people are willing to grow, catch and harvest food, the MontGuides provide a good starting point for preserving it. The guides include thorough directions from harvest to consumption and a sampling of easy-to-follow recipes. Each also provides a listing of online and printed resources.
"The updated guides offer easy directions for first time food preservers along with updating people who need to brush up on the latest recommendations," said Barb Andreozzi, MSU Extension agent in Deer Lodge County.
Beginners might need additional help and should check with their local county Extension agents, who have more information and can answer important safety questions, said Revello.
Some Extension agents give local demonstrations on home canning, freezing and drying foods. Agents also host pressure gauge testing at hardware stores or other canning supply stores for those with pressure canners.
"I've used the MontGuides in a food preservation demonstration at Ace Hardware, and they'll be used in classes this summer. I've also been giving them to people who get their pressure gauges tested," said Bernie Mason, family and consumer sciences MSU Extension agent in Yellowstone County.
Food safety is a primary interest addressed in each of the factsheets, said Lynn Paul, MSU Extension food and nutrition specialist and primary author of the series.
The MontGuides follow the research-based United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food preservation guidelines to help prevent potential food-borne illnesses and food spoilage caused by bacteria and molds, which can grow in improperly home-preserved foods.
"When choosing to can foods rather than freezing or drying foods, determining the correct processing time and pressures for your altitude is an important safety step," says Paul. "Altitude is included for each county seat so that processing affected by altitude can be modified correctly."
Food preserving doesn't necessarily have a season. Revello said a mid-winter call ended with 24 pints of fish destined for the garbage because altitude wasn't calculated in the processing time. Revello found a silver lining, "I told the man he could look forward to more fishing."
Another important food safety consideration when home canning is if foods are low- or high-acid, which determines the need for a boiling water canner or pressure canner.
"Home canning requires current, tested recommendations and the right equipment. Some people may think that any recipe can be canned at home, but that is not the case," said Paul. "There are many chances for creativity in cooking, but canning is not one of them. Safe recipes require testing to prevent botulism. So, even though it's tempting to try your special sauce, play it safe and stick with tested recipes from reliable sources. It is not safe to guess on what processing time and pressure to use."
All the MontGuides were co-authored by Paul and some MSU Extension agents from around the state. The MontGuides list additional credible home food preserving resources from industry, government and other education sources. To order the series of MontGuides, call MSU Extension Publications at (406) 994-3273, or visit www.msuextension.org/publications.asp.
Contact: Lynn Paul, (406) 994-5702 or lpaul@montana.edu
|
|
|
Email this article
