Build confidence and inspiration to preserve the harvest by attending one of three free Canning Demos held at accessible locations across St. Lawrence County. 

Each demo includes seeing a water bath canner in the filing and processing stages along with a display of water bath and pressure canning equipment. Participants can ask questions throughout the session and bring home recipes, resources plus free canning jars to the first 10 attendees.  Each session includes background information about food safety and how canning recipes are developed.

Find the Master Food Preservers on Thursday, August 1st, 6:00-7:30pm at the Gouverneur Community Center at 4673 State Highway 58. The second Canning Demo is Friday, August 2nd 1:00-2:30pm at the Ogdensburg Presbyterian Church at 423 Ford Street. The final demo is  Saturday, August 3rd from 2:00-3:30pm at the newly renovated kitchen in the Hepburn Library of Madrid located on 11 Church Street. Extension is thankful to the gracious site hosts in each community offering their spaces and allowing these events to be free and open to the public.

The sessions will be led by Harvest Kitchen Manager M. “Flip” Filippi and Master Food Preserver volunteer Loni Recker.

The North Country is bursting with seasonal foods and water bath canning is a flexible technique that once it is learned, it can be used to preserve our region’s diverse and abundant produce. Fruit, such as blueberries and strawberries, can be made into jams and jellies, tomatoes can be processed into sauce and canned, and variations of pickled vegetables, including cucumbers, green beans, and beets, are numerous.

No registration is required to attend these events, but find additional information at http://stlawrence.cce.cornell.edu/. Contact the Local Food Program Leader M. “Flip” Filippi with questions at (315) 379-9192, ext. 229 or mpf65@cornell.edu.

This course is part of Extension’s Homesteading for Everyone Series offering 1-3 workshops each month of 2024 to share skills and build community resilience. Cornell Cooperative Extension is an employer and educator recognized for valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities and provides equal program and employment opportunities.