Putting Food By: 15 September

Food Preservation Demonstration at Sunshine Nurseries Fall Fest 824 Main Street, Steinbach

September 15 2:30-5 pm

We are doing the preservation demo from 2:30 - 5:00, but come for the whole fair http://www.sunshinegreenhouse.ca 

Has this hot Manitoba summer given you an abundance of vine-ripened fruits and vegetables? Have you thought that you would like to preserve these tasty, nutritious foods and become just a little less dependent on produce coming long distances and not tasting as good? Some experienced food preservers will be available at Sunshine Nursery and Greenhouse to demonstrate some preserving techniques.

South Eastman Transition Initiative has brought together some southeasterners to show you how you can preserve your harvest and thus being just a little more independent of the whims of the global food system. Eric Rempel will give a short history and overview of Putting Food by.

Canning:

Marie will demonstrate using the boiling water canner to preserve high acid foods such as fruits, tomatoes and pickled vegetables.

The pressure is on Lisa to show you not to be afraid of the steam pressure canner for putting by all vegetables except tomatoes.

Drying:

Jack will be happy to display, perhaps (sun permitting) even actively drying fruits and/or vegetables in the solar dryer he constructed. A very efficient way to preserve as there is no hydro needed to process or later store the produce.

Gabriel will display his electric dryer. While he uses small amounts of electricity in the drying process, none is needed for storage if the drying process is complete.

Lacto Fermentation:

This method might seem like the new preservation method on the block, but it probably predates canning, freezing and refrigeration by about 6000 years.

Katherine will show you some samples of the healthy food she feeds her young family using lactic acid fermentation driven by beneficial microorganisms. On display she will have her equipment and show you how she preps cabbage for this process.

Cold Storage:

Cold storage is perhaps the easiest method for storing large amounts of food crops, for once the storage area is constructed very little effort and expense is needed to store a good many vegetables and fruits.

Gabriel has put a lot of thought into designing a part of his basement into a modern root cellar.

Gerhard needs to expand his cold storage capacity and is building a root cellar of sorts by burying a reinforced shipping container is his back yard.

Demonstrators:

Water boiling canning  - Marie Dueck

Steam pressure canner – Lisa Desharnais

Solar dehydrator – Jack Heppner

Electric dehydrator and cold storage – Gabriel Gagne

Lacto fermentation – Katherine Funk

Cold storage – Gerhard Dekker

The schedule will go something like this:

2:30 - 2:50 Pressure canning

2:55 – 3:15 Is Preserving food still relevant today?

                   A brief overview of preserving food

3:20 – 3:40 Canning without a pressure canner

3:45 – 4:05 Solar dehydration

4:10 – 4:30 Lacto fermentation

4:35 –  5:00 Cold Storage