Farmers market

I was so excited today as i walked the aisles in  Lowe's picking out seed packets for the children. A few days ago the Harnett County Cooperative extension filled out a nice letter requesting seeds and Lowe's gave us twenty five dollars worth of seeds. While we are attending the Farmers Market day we are encouraging our youth to pick out their favorite seed and plant a plant in a dixie cup. Sometimes as i'm teaching canning classes or speaking to youth groups it always comes up that vegetables are made at the grocery store. Maybe this will give them the opportunity to see things in a different view. So this is a thank you to Lowe's and our local Cooperative extension for helping with our youth groups. Remember..What "Can" you do..

Canning classes and Farmers Market

So many wonderful things are coming together and what a great way to promote our community by sharing and teaching others. I have been fortunate enough to work with Cooperative extension and help with the plans for canning classes. We are also planning a little Farmers Market day in April and asking for folks to sign up for canning classes and be a vendor that day. Megan who is the Cooperative extension agent has been working so hard on putting together info and dates to help others in our community. At our Farmers Market day we are planning on having a few lessons for the children in way of games and fun things for them to do. A few of the vendors are sharing their time by hosting a half hour lesson in either a planting skill or a craft skill. Myself, I'm hosting a cornhole tournament for the kids to get a chance to win a ' Green Buck", exchangeable for a packet of seeds or a chance to win a Farmers hat.
  The Farmers Day event is going to be located in Downtown Erwin at the newly renovated Indigo room as well as along the sidewalks outside to promote a Farmers Market atmosphere.
  As the event progresses i will post more updates and sponsors that are helping with the networking opportunities that are also becoming available.
  I'm a strong believer in Made in the USA and i so want to share the wonderful items that we have right here in our community and that outside as well, please remember our youth, share traditions, teach, help others and always remember...What " Can" you do..

Orange pineapple raspberrie spread

What a wonderful day it was spent in the kitchen, making a simple recipe in preparation for our canning class. One of the easier recipes calls for the use of concentrate and i decided to jazz it up a little by adding a few raspberries. Well, it turned out wonderful and the flavor is marvelous. I usually never like to make a spread or jelly as they are so bland to me. But, never say never...
  Had a wonderful time today with my friend Megan,CoOperative extension agent.  She is so excited about the series of canning classes we are preparing for. The dates will enable the lucky participants to take their wonderful canned items to enter the Agriculture Fair. There will be a series of three classes and loads of information as well as hands on experience.
  Really looking forward to sharing and best of all involving others that have a passion for canning and preserving foods.
  Well gotta run, remember our youth and until next time..Remember..What " Can " you do..
 

Mrs. Picky's Tarts

First of all let me tell ya..i love being in the kitchen..and i love to cook. Well in making my MmmMarmalades and Chutney i do spend a lot of time reviewing recipes and making new recipes using my products.
  While i was in the grocery store looking for a specific type of flour, i passed by the pop tarts. i could not help myself to read the ingredients and it sort of made me stand still for a long while. Kellogg's I'm not saying anything wrong about your company ..but really..where is the proper nutrition and why so many ingredients.
  Well now i was on another tear..making another version. So i set out once again and gathered my supplies then headed home to do some experimenting.
  I will admit i have a passion for making recipes that sort of instill more simplicity and boost natural flavors. When i think back about how my business started and the whole support local, it really makes me upset that the whole country is supporting large corporations that do not have a clue who you are. This whole aspect really sort of shocks me, especially when we are giving out samples at shows. I cannot tell you the number of times folks read my nametag and exclaim..why you are Mrs. Picky..of course..folks cannot believe that i am there representing my company. I do have friends and family that help pass out samples, but..if you love what you do, who better than to pass out samples.
  Well i went to work perfecting the tart recipes and was so thrilled with the results. First of all i know what is in my MmmMarmalades and using these as fillings is sort of added value. The pastry crust not only looks wonderful but is a delight in the flavor and is not bulked out with preservatives or fillers.
  It seems that one thing always leads to another and for this i am very grateful. I'm grateful for folks that read labels, folks that come up to me at shows and share recipe ideas, our youth for giving honest opinions, older folks for sharing their wisdom and most of all, large corporations for keeping the challenge alive of driving me to make their products just a little more simplier.
  Remember until next time What " Can" you do..

Mrs. Picky's tarts..Wheelie good Tarts..  

Zesty Orange Marmalade

What a wonderful day we had at the County Cooperative extension office. A few months back when i had the pleasure of taking the ServSafe course with the Cooperative extension office i also met the instructor Megan Ray. Well, let me tell ya she is a wonderful instructor and a joy to work with. The CoOperative extension office offers lots of wonderful classes and ties in the Farmers, Consumers and Agriculture folks to enrich our community.
  I love to can and so Megan and i set up a date to get together and cook and can. Megan is preparing to offer a series of classes on canning and the proper usage of either a hot water bath or pressure canner for proper application.
  Well, I took all my tools and we worked on a great batch of Orange Marmalade. My good friend Susie Davis came over and helped with the cutting and constant stirring of the pot. We first started with peeling, dicing the peel and cooking to make a wonderful Zest. Megan filled the jars with a little water and put them in the oven to sterilize them, she also put all of the rings and lids in boiling water to sterilize them as well. We all cut oranges while the Zest was cooking and talked about future plans for our county and built one great wish list.
  The Zest was drained and the water saved, we call it the reserve water, to put back into the Marmalade as it was cooking since it is full of natural Pectin. Well we ended up with about 16 cups of beautiful cut up oranges in the large cooking pot. We then added the Zest, reserve liquid plus a little more to make up about 10 cups of total liquid. I personally like to add a little French Vanilla to make the Marmalade taste a little Dreamy, also i like to put in a few maraschino cherries to add more color. The jars remain in the oven while the cooking process is being completed and just prior to filling removed from the oven. The Marmalade takes about thirty minutes of a rolling boil to cook and when this is at the last stages you have to skim off some of the foam.
  While the Marmalade is cooking i like to set a little bit of marmalade on a plate and place in the freezer to check the set of the gel. Alright i'll admit i also like to taste it along the way and eat any of the leftover oranges.
  As everything was cooking and the sweet aroma filled the air we also got the bonus of all of the ladies that work in the building to stop by. I love this part of cooking, the conversation and aroma leads to great ideas and future plans.

  Well it was ready, we started to fill the jars and uh oh...ran out of jars..Well Megan made a mad dash to the store and saved the day. We ended up with 28 jars of beautiful Orange Marmalade and future plans to meet next week to put together a four week course on canning. So i will leave for now on this note..Remember..What " Can" you do..

Cooking entertainment

 Usually when i'm in the kitchen canning i have a little music in the background to sort of drown out my hollerings from either getting burned, or a recipe turning out perfect. O.K. i will admit i do a lot of dancing in the kitchen, don't ask me where that comes from..some days it's the twist..poor attempts at clogging..disco days..line dancing from the sink to the stove..singing holding the spatula as a mic..can can..the list is endless. I guess you could say i always have been able to entertain myself. Growing up as a single child until i was thirteen left me a lot of time to perfect my never lonely attitude. Then as i got older it felt very good to go out to eat by myself, cook by myself, and read for hours on end all by myself. Then i met my husband..he loved to go out to eat, sit beside me on the couch and both of us silently reading our own books, sharing recipes in the kitchen, and best of all dancing in the kitchen.
  Cooking, eating and sharing should always be a happy occassion, if it is not.. then my view is this.. What planet are you from..
  Don't get me wrong, we both have our separate worlds and hobbies too. Most of the time while i'm in the kitchen cooking, singing and dancing, he is down at the barn tinkering on something.
  My passion of sharing traditional recipes keeps me dancing,and singing all of the time.Of course i will never be able to read all of the wonderful cookbooks that are available in my lifetime so i am trying to focus on canning books. And you know what they say..if you chase too many rabbits at one time..you will end up not catching any..

  So here's to being happy, self entertainment, shared dancing, spreading the word and remember..What " Can " you do..

North Carolina biscuits

Well this is day four of being iced in and thank the lord it's starting to thaw. I think i have cooked everything in the house. When i was little, Grandma Cora could whip up a batch of drop biscuits quicker than a jackrabbit crossing the hard road. Well i watched her many times and could never quite get the hang of it. Oh she did have a rolling pin, but she preferred drop biscuits. I would always ask, how you know how much lard to cut in, well it's all in how it feels. Well let me tell ya, i bet i have made a zillion batches of biscuits. Fourty five years later and i'm finally getting the feel for it. I'm glad i never did give up , cause let me tell ya, I make a mean biscuit. Here's a picture and in my experimenting i have found that if you add a little MmmMarmalade in the mix, makes it better yet. Remember our youth and Remember..What " Can " you do..

What is a Shared Use Kitchen..

As my food ventures grow so does the need for a test kitchen, a place also, where others can build their food businesses. I have always been one that loves to share and have the gift of gab that has opened many doors for me. In the beginning of my food business so many ideas and secrets of the trade were unavailable and kept at bay. I guess a lot of other food companies kept info thinking it was part of their success. Well, i never looked at things that way. Sometimes being the new kid on the block was lonely, so i made a change to that. Every time i would go to a marketing meeting or festival i made it a point to be the first to talk with the newcomers. Networking and enjoying the ability to answer any question i could. Any questions that were not answered i made sure i got back with them and sometimes introduced them to someone who could help.Well this is what i believe, we are all gifted with a special talent or gift and a lot of times networking unlocks these talents. If you do not ask, do not shout out, how is anyone going to know what your hurdle is. Oh trust me i do listen a lot too, especially to the older folks that have so much to share. And their is nothing better than having a child taste sample your products as they never hold back, does my heart good to hear them holler, that is soooo good.
  So in my travels i have visited two different shared use kitchens. A shared use kitchen is a commercial incubator kitchen designed to foster food business entrepreneurs, create new food businesses, grow existing food businesses and provide workforce development resulting in new jobs and new economic development. The kitchen has space for rent for food processing, food packaging,or food testing. One of the best features is there are seminars on every aspect that will help you from start to finish. The kitchen facility has three distinct processing areas, seperate dry storage and walk in coolers and freezer as well as seperate wash areas.
  As i toured the other two kitchens a lot of things came to my mind that i will do differently here.
  Downscale the equipment as everyone is a little leary of large equipment and no intimidation factor is a key to success.
  Participate with each individual till they are at ease with making their products.
  Having a little store area where others may come in and buy products locally made.
  Have a farmers market out front to showcase fresh produce, support local farmers and then have the ability to take their products and make value added such as leftover strawberries to make Strawberry jam.
  Offer classes to enhance recipes and teach proper canning techniques.
  Utilize our retired individuals to not only teach but share traditional recipes.
  Work with Cooperative Extension and have everyone Serv Safe certified.
  Coordinate festivals and events to showcase products.
  Have each business certified with the Health dept. and properly licensed as a small business.
  Start up about five food trucks to serve the area and serve as a commissarie.

  And a few more wonderful ideas that i will share later, i found the building by asking and sharing with others, it will never be under my name as i have met an individual who has the resources and knowledge and it truley needs to be a community effort.
  While i was at The manufacturing makes it real tour, and i was expressing my dreams for Harnett County, a wonderful gentleman handed me his business card..the rest will be history that i will continue to blog about..until then..Remember What " Can " you do..
 
 

Certified Green

The last few days i have been working on gathering supplies to take with me on Tuesday for the first canning class. My equipment is very simple and so are my recipes. I have found that it sort of shocks folks when they try my Marmalades or Chutney. They cannot believe that the whole secret to wonderful flavor is perfecting the spices and simplicity of all of the ingredients. This all came to me because we did not have the money to make things fancy. Spices were sort of a premium and were always last on the shopping list if at all. So we sort of had to work with all natural and no preservatives to make all of our recipes.
  We were " Green" and did not even know it. My husband introduced me to spices after we got married and he always takes me to the store. We have spent many a wonderful hour together either in the grocery store or cooking together in the kitchen.  I'm glad that with his Northern background and my Southern roots we have sort of met in the middle.
  Well when my business was brought to the attention of the Sustainable Sandhills Green Program, I was very excited to meet with them.
  After a wonderful afternoon of talking and filling out a questionair, she looked at me and said..you know what every question you answered makes your company qualified to be Certified Green..Little did i know that being without due to being poor..doing with what you have..cleaning with vinegar because it was cheaper..waiting to take the trash to the dumpster till it was full..not using so many lights, lightbulbs were expensive..routing deliveries, gas is so expensive..all in all made for a Green situation. so i guess i have been green my whole life and was considered Green when Green was always just a way of life..

What is in an approach..

My ventures have included making a quality product, getting it bottled, and then the marketing from my warehouse to store shelf. I have attended many marketing seminars hosted by the NC Dept. of Agriculture and have taken a lot of notes. But...there is nothing like hands on experience. Long gone are the days of friendly buyers and just presenting your products. Meetings must be scheduled and professional presentation packs given within a fifteen minute little show. The meeting must only be scheduled in what ever month they are taking that product for consideration. Really bothers me that a lot of the local aspect with friendly handshakes and help is like a secret hidden treasure. Maybe i should not say bothers me..it actually makes me more determined to get their attention. But..that is just a small hurdle. the paperwork is a nightmare. Then there comes the glorious day of actually getting to set your product on the shelves.
  Entering the store and asking for the manager is easy enough, then it's on..why we don't have any room for your products..but i have received permission to place my products on the shelves..locking of eyes..eternity of silence..well then let's look at the shelves..see they are full..locking of eyes..I gently exclaim looks to me as tho a few of the products are collecting dust..oh..look at these expiration dates..now the store employees are called over..and as they pull the dusty products off the shelf..I'm placing mine in their place..now look how nice that looks..
  A few of the classes that i have been asked to speak at i asked about this scenario and how would they have responded..most of them would have left..
  Really makes me wonder about the word..Approach..
  A...Attitude
  P..Passion..
  P..Persistence
  R..Resistance
  O..Outlook
  A..Aspiring
  C..Committed
  H..Honesty
  Stand firm for what you believe in..and Remember..What " Can " you do..

Condiments or Recipes

I was sitting here thinkin what is my favorite; recipe's or condiments. Well that is a very difficult subject for me to ponder on.
  First off you need a tried and true recipe to make a great condiment.
  Second  you need a tried and true condiment to sometimes make a recipe.
  Hmmmm...how about this..give a cook a condiment to share in a recipe..
  Oh i know..make a delicious recipe for your condiment needs bottling..
  uh oh..your condiments are showing..
  Please recipe me with your condiments..
  Don't condiment me..
  Just recipe me and we will remain friends..
  Knock Knock..who's there..condiment..condiment who..condiment the stupid door open..

  Here's a picture of me and the kids enjoying our winning Blue ribbon that the group received from the State fair.
  Rmember our youth..and remember..What " Can " you do..

Marmalades and Sauces

Yesterday was a wonderful day, to that matter any day spent in the kitchen is a wonderful day. Canning was heavily on my mind and the oranges were piled high in the sink.

  One of my favorite parts of making any Marmalade is making the " Zest". Zest is the peel of the citrus, finely chopped and then cooked, drained, and placed back into the Marmalade. I always try to drain my cooked " Zest" and save the reserve liquid to put back into the Marmalade as I'm cooking because it is loaded with natural pectin. The best method i have found is to use a food processor for the chopping as it makes nice uniform pieces that cook very evenly. Here's a picture of my " Zest".
  Well as things happen in the kitchen more things seem to develop and next thing i know time is flying by. As i was working on my Marmalade, thumbing thru the cookbook a piece of paper fell out. Now this is my grandmothers cookbook, Momma Cora...well as i was reading this it was lingering in my mind, my goodness i can't remember her making this..Momma Cora's Seafood Sauce. Well it called for a nice citrus base and what the heck i'm up to my elbows with oranges, might as well make this too.
  WOW is one of the words that sort of fell out of my mouth as i tasted this wonderful new product, now not only have i recreated her famous " Sunshine in a jar" Marmalade, I have made a wonderful Seafood sauce. Another day's topic will be the uses of citrus based Seafood Sauce.
  A little more about " Zest", i have noticed a lot of folks saying..well why do you call that peach MmmMarmalade , Zesty Peach Cocktail MmmMarmalade, because it has lots of " Zest ", not only in the wonderful blend of peaches, pineapples,and maraschino cherries but also the much needed requirement for Marmalade which is " Zest".
  When i'm finishing up in the kitchen and if i have a little " Zest " left over , I like to put it into a saucepan, add a cup of brown sugar, a little of the reserve liquid and boil it. Next i lay it out evenly on a shallow pan, let the liquid drain, and then bake it for about 30 minutes at 250, it makes wonderful " Zesty Candy" which is great to spoon on buttered toast or eat right out of the pan.
  Until tomorrow, remember What " Can" you do..

Canning equipment needed

This is my favorite part, the equipment that you need. Please make sure you have all of your equipment ready and that it is very clean.
  Boiling Water Canner, Steam-Pressure Canner, Jar lifter, Jar funnel, Plastic Spatula, Lid Wand. Specialty equipment includes: Food scale, Food Mill, Food Grinder, Candy or Jelly Thermometer, cooking timer, adjustable slicer, refractometer, i hear ya..what is a lid wand, it's one of the coolest little gadgets, it is a small wand with a magnetic end that helps you easily remove lids from hot water.
  Jars of course are really important and they must be like mason jars or ball brand jars that have a two piece cap and ring system.
  All of this info that i'm sharing could easily be reviewed by purchasing a canning book, but, as time goes by my blog will start including more tips, photos and tried and true recipes. Best of all i will start sharing my stories and try to keep things simple.
  This time of year is perfect for buying your equipment and supplies because most of it is on sale and you can save a lot of money. I try to buy most of my canning supplies from local hardware stores and i stay away for big chain stores as i feel they are killing our country and have no respect for supporting local.
  As your garden progresses and your desire to experiment with various fruits grows, you may find it interesting to visit your local farmers market and share your desires. I will be doing the same and what is in season gives me the reason to can up a storm.
  Next blog i will share a little info on Preparing for canning, until then, remember, What " Can " you do...

Mrs. Picky Fanicky's foods How it Started

Only two years, has that been all. It is still very surprising to me that my small business has only been into operation for only two years. But, what a fantastic two years, you see it all started because of the need for a child. Jacob my youngest son was born with Cerebral Palsy due to doctor's that think they know it all.
  Jacob has given me insight to a lot of great things, how to observe and enjoy the gardening world is his favorite. We made trellises out of old bamboo that we drug home tied to the top of the van from Alabama. Searched catalogs and local seed outlets for the perfect cucumber seed, and tilled, planted and weeded a beautiful garden, the cucumbers were perfectly long and straight, just right for canning.
  Many a day we spent in the kitchen cooking and perfecting bread and butter pickles, and we would experiment with different Marmalades and Bell Pepper recipes. There is no better method in the world to teach a child math and telling time than in the kitchen. Singing out load with no critics and laughing at the funny shapes of some of the fruits, great times.
  We were ready to take our products to the State Fair as a lot of my folks did in the past as sort of a community gathering and sharing of traditional recipes. We were getting such nice reviews and everyone loved our products.
  Receiving the premium book from the State Fair is a very exciting day, looking up your categories, picking out the best jar, labeling requirements and sending in the form.It is still to this day a grand event that we love to take to the post office and hand over to the postmaster, winking and then waiting for the delivery day. Much anticipation and then the day arrives to take your products to the nice sign in ladies in front of those glorious white cabinets that showcase your products.
  Well the anticipation finally comes down to the day of us running and pushing the wheelchair thru the State Fair parking lot, around the bend and thru the big double doors of the building.
  I bet Folks can here us hollering all the way across North Carolina as we carefully search the cabinets for the beautiful ribbons tied to the jars, what a great celebration, great accomplishment and best of all great times spent together sharing and laughing, these moments make Jacob equal in the big world, not invisible...
  So, you ask how i received my business name, well during all of these times, my kids get a little tired of taste testing so many different products and one day while we were in the kitchen, they started chanting you are a picky, picky fanicky..and it stuck..Mrs. Picky Fanicky's Foods...after all i am Picky..

Canning Principles let's talk about bacteria

Bacteria are very hard to destroy. Certain bacteria actually live at temperatures that destroy molds and yeast. Salmonella is killed at temperatures of 140F. Staph is killed if food is kept above 140F. Staph is very nasty it also produces a toxin that must be killed by heating the product to 240F for a time that has been tested by a canning recipe.
  Botulism is basically food poisoning caused by a bacterium, this bacteria can be killed by boiling; but, the toxin produces spores that cannot be destroyed by boiling which is 212F. This bacteria also thrives on low acid in the absence of air in moist environments- exactly the conditions inside of a jar of canned vegetables, meats or other low acid foods.
  Because of this low acid foods must be processed at 240F which is a lot hotter than the boiling point so with these items you must use a steam pressure canner..
                                                       o
          240F--------------------240
  
     Processing temp for                         Temperature that bacterial
low acid foods in a steam                        spores are destroyed in
pressure canner                                       low acid foods
                                                        o
            212F--------------------212

       Water boils and processing temperature for high-acid foods
          in a boiling water container.
                                                         o
             180F--------------------212

        Temperature at which molds, yeast and some bacteria
          are destroyed in foods
                                                         o
              50f-----------------------70

         Best storage temperature for processed canned foods

  So remember wash everything, maintain proper temperatures for what you are making and remember..What " Can " you do..

Why you should Share..

My food business journey started years ago, with visiting my grandma Cora or Momma Cora as she liked to be called. Let me give you a little background history on momma Cora.
  Momma Cora was raised in a convent by nuns, as soon as she turned thirteen which was a woman's passage and being that she was alone with her father, she was placed in the home to apprentice as a cook. I remember her telling me how they had two pair of stockings and one pair of shoes for the entire year, and taking care of things was part of the strict regime. She found a passion in cooking and it led her thru a wonderful life.
  Momma Cora was raised in the town of Sanford and later moved to Forest city, working at a restaurant in downtown Orlando. As time went by she gained employment with a gentleman named Mr. Fosgate, who came to Florida from Boston to revitalize a packing house for fruit that had gone into bankrupcy during the big freeze.
  Hi- Acres was the orange packing house and with over two thousand employees, a lunch house was needed. Momma Cora started cooking and my grandfather would pass out the blue plate specials to everyone at lunch time. Times were good, packing fruit was in full force, then another huge freeze hit. Everyone showed up to work thru the night picking oranges, packing fruit and getting the trucks loaded, but it was not enough, they ran out of crates, folks got frostbite on their toes including my other grandma, Nana, who was the fastest packer in the plant.
  Momma Cora was in the kitchen cooking her blue plate specials and asked if she could use a few of the oranges to make a Marmalade to serve at lunch. The nun's ways were still in her cooking soul and waste was not a thing that was taken kindly. As she prepared the Marmalade, Mr. Fosgate came in as he always did to eat lunch, he was taken with delight as he ate the orange marmalade, the following day he made the announcement.
  Hi- Acres will start to use any oranges that we cannot pack to make Marmalade, it turned out to be a multi million dollar idea, as time went by Mr. Fosgate sold the company to Deep South which is a subsidiary of Winn-Dixie. Grandma Cora went on during retirement to Mr. Fosgate's estate to cook and help them raise their children, living a quiet life, never receiving monetary compensation.
  As the years went on and the children grew up she quietly retired to Conway and grew plants and had a spectacular plant nursery, forever loving the interaction of folks coming to her place and walking the grounds and admiring and purchasing her plants. We visited often and later moved her to our property in Plymouth were i spent many a day cooking with her and talking about recipes.
  Well time flies and when she passed away i received her cookbook, the gift of gab, and the greatest of all the act of sharing..which is what i want to do now as i continue to write about canning, making Marmalades and pickling..always remember..What " Can " you do..

Canning and preserving

I know this journey in the process of proper canning techniques is a little boring, but i promise it will get better. There are a few steps that are crucial, boring and may make you nod off. Please try and hang with me as later on i will be actually making, photographing and taste sampling loads of canned fruits, pickled items, and sharing my experiences.
  Today's topic is Molds and Yeast: Molds are fungi that grow as silked threads and appear as fuzz on food. Some mold can produce mycotoxins which are harmful to eat. Molds thrive on the acids that are a protection against bacteria. Yeasts, which are also fungi, cause food to ferment, making it nasty or unfit to eat. Thank goodness, the acids in foods protect against the growth of bacteria; remember tho molds and yeasts are always present. Molds and yeast are easily destroyed at temperatures between 140 and 190F. boiling water processing heats food to 212F, more than enough to destroy the molds and yeast without destroying the quality of the product.
  So now we have covered two completely different topics and the simple version is this, always wash everything, and take the time to properly heat as temperature will be a key in not only the killing of bad food contaminates, but will also be crucial in many of the canning processes that i will share to ensure quality foods and proper sealing of the jars.
  Until tomorrow, keep thinking, what " Can " you do..

Home Canning Principles

Understanding how to prevent food spoilage and deterioration is the trick or key to canning safety and success. All around us are tiny microorganisms, like mold,yeasts and bacteria. Don't get me wrong many of these are beneficial to us, while others can be very harmful under certain conditions. These " bad micro's" live and multiply on the surface of lots of types of foods.Foods that have bad spots, bruises and disease tend to have more of these ' bad micros". Enzymes are responsible for changing the color, flavor and texture of food, and are found throughout the tissue of each food type. Loss of Quality means in simple terms do not use. If you cannot use the food that you are going to can at it's peak, then don't.
  There are a few ways to reduce the conditions which encourage the growth of " bad micro's".Washing, Peeling and blanching greatly reduces the conditions of enzyme activity. Washing is important to the whole process of canning for not only the foods, your equipment, yourself and any tools or equipment that you may use.
  Canning sort of interrupts the normal spoilage cycle of food by heating the food in a jar that has been closed with a sealing cap. When heat is applied for the correct amount of time and temperature not only is the " bad micro's destroyed, at the same time air is allowed to escape from the jars. Upon cooling the jars lids "pop" and seal. The vacumn that has formed prevents other things from entering the jar and contaminating the food.

  As i share canning techniques please excuse any misspelled words or grammar mistakes along the way, I'm not a rocket scientist, just a woman with a passion for trying to preserve traditional recipes and trying to make the science aspect of canning simply available, until next time....remember...What "Can" you do..

Canning and preserving

I often wonder how many great batches of products are ruined by someone not knowing the proper technique of canning. This has been very heavy on my mind ever since I witnessed first hand ( where I shall not mention) the great efforts of a facility that tried to make Jam but ended up with syrup. There is no trick or secret methods but it does help to have a few batches made correctly. Trust me in the beginning of my Marmalade making a few things were very dissapointing. In the next few days i will try and lay out a few proven methods and resources for key ingredients as well as tools for the trade. Remember the old saying if life gives you lemons make lemonade, well here's one for you, if life gives you Fresh Fruit what "Can" you do..