Not many years ago, canning and preserving vegetables and other foods was not a choice. It was a necessity. Thank goodness, today we can enjoy the taste of fresh foods just about any time of the year.

We are fortunate that Robeson County has a very mild climate. Fresh vegetables right out of the garden are available just about any time of the year, but during the winter the selection is rather limited.

As summer approaches, we have lots of options. There are a large variety of fresh vegetables available, and we can get them at a lot of different places. They are available at the local farmers markets, produce stands throughout the county, our own gardens, or as in my case, my brother's garden.

Just this week, I had the best sweet peas! As we stood in Glenn's garden picking peas, I ate them right out of the shell. Then my sister-in-law invited our family over for a delicious dinner that included fresh potatoes and mustard greens. When I went home, I steamed some of the sweet peas. If you like fresh vegetables, it doesn't get any better than that.

I have already seen local produce stands filled with quite a variety of produce. It is now the season for strawberries, broccoli, cabbage, potatoes, beets, yellow squash, cucumbers, zucchini, turnips, and much more. Roy and Geraldine Herring have blackberries and raspberries loaded on the bushes. They will be ready in about two weeks. I cannot wait to try my hand at blackberry jam.

When our county is overflowing with all this colorful, tasty produce, what in the world can you do with all of it? I know what I am going to do. I am going to cook, can, freeze, dry, and pickle! I will even make a large assortment of delicious jams and preserves!

There is nothing like the satisfaction of sitting down to a family meal when you were the one who created it. There are many times when the entire meal I prepare for my family, from the corn for our corn bread to the peas and butterbeans, is canned or frozen from our garden. I feel very blessed to be able to bring a little summer flavor to the table all year long.

What a wonderful tradition our parents passed on to my brother and me! There was a time when my mother would fill up three huge chest freezers with vegetables from our garden. That is a little more than I plan for this summer! I do, however, plan on freezing, canning, and dehydrating as much as I can.

It's one thing to be able to can and freeze all that food, but you need to do it safely. Spoilage begins as soon as produce is picked from the garden. The purpose of food preservation is to extend the shelf life, so we can enjoy the food when it is not fresh in the garden.

There are invisible microorganisms such as bacteria, molds, and yeast everywhere around us, including in the air and soil. When canning, foods are placed in canning jars and heated until extremely high temperatures destroy the pathogens. If a food is under-processed, pathogens called clostridium botulinum are not destroyed! That can mean trouble for the ones who eat the unsafe food. According to Ben Chapman, N.C. State Food Safety Specialist, 10-35 percent of those who get botulism die. Usually, those with weakened immune systems, particularly the very young or very old, are the ones who suffer most from botulism.

I don't know about you, but I do not want to be responsible for anyone getting botulism. The answer is to use proven safe methods for whatever food preservation method you choose.

Before I scare you out of canning or freezing, please understand that there are tested methods that work wonderfully to help you save your vegetables. Research from Land-Grant Universities and private industry has determined the most effective and safest method for preserving foods. The role of Cooperative Extension is to share those methods with you. You can also call with questions if you get in the middle of something and need an immediate answer. If I do not know the answer, I will get it for you quickly.

I am offering a food preservation workshop Tuesday, June 2, for beginners and for those who want to learn about updated guidelines of canning, freezing, drying, pickling, and making jams and preserves. The workshop will be held at the O. P. Owens Agriculture Center (Highway 72 West) at 3:30 p.m. In order to give more people an opportunity to attend, the workshop will be repeated at 6:30 p.m.

Those interested in attending are asked to call the Extension Center at 671-3276 no later than noon on Monday, June 1, so we can make the proper arrangements for seating. There will be a small registration fee of $5 to cover the cost of demonstration materials. If you have a question or need more information, please give me a call.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu and Janice_Fields@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 06/05/09