MFP's Almost Ready to Graduate - More Classes - Equipment
Ernest Miller
Once again, there has been too much time in between these posts. Once
again, my only excuse is that I've been pretty darn busy!
I am very proud to report that we are less than two weeks away from
adding 18 newly minted Master Food Preservers to the University of
California Cooperative Extension Los Angeles County team. Very soon
some very talented people will be available for classes, demos,
information tables and workshops around the county. MFPLA will
definitely have a presence at the upcoming Eat Real festival in July
as well as the LA County Fair. More details on the Fair in the future,
but expect to see us in the agricultural section near the barn.
Last night everyone in the class did a presentation - we had some
amazing examples of preservation demonstrated - cheese making, walnut
liqueur, jams, olive curing, etc. I'm really excited to have such a
great group of Master Food Preservers enthusiastic and ready to go.
Don't forget to like the Master Food Preservers of Los Angeles County
on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/MFPLA Check it out!
For those who Twitter, we're using the hashtag #MFPLA
I'm also keeping busy with classes at the Farmer's Kitchen. Last
Saturday, I was honored to kick off the "CAN IT!" series of classes
for Food Forward (http://www.foodforward.org/). For those who don't
know, Food Forward is a wonderful non-profit that gleans fruit from
orchards that are otherwise going to waste and takes it to food banks.
The Farmer's Kitchen is in partnership with Food Forward to do a
series of four canning classes as a fundraiser for Food Forward. The
series of classes are sold out, but we soon be selling some of the
canned goods we make with the class in the Farmer's Kitchen with half
the revenue going to Food Forward. For example this past Saturday we
made lovely lemon-ginger marmalade, which we will have on the shelves
in few weeks. We also made limoncello, but that was just for demo
purposes, not for sale, unfortunately.
As a side note, Meg Glasser, the new managing director of Food
Forward, is also one of the Master Food Preserver trainees.
We have a couple of classes coming up for the Farmer's Kitchen.
Tomorrow, Wednesday June 8th, we are initiating a series of classes
we're calling "Know your Farmer, Know your Food," in which local
farmers give insight into local food. Our first class is with Lily
Baltazar of ABC Rhubarb Farms giving us an "Introduction to Herbs".
She really, really knows her herbs. This is going to be a great class
and only $35.
This Saturday, June 11, from 9am to 1pm. I'll be teaching a class on
preserving berries. "Through the use of canning, freezing, drying and
even pickling, you won't have to rely on berries from another
hemisphere to enjoy them when they're out of season here. Not only
will the class teach berry preservation, but you'll learn how these
techniques can improve your culinary creations." For $80, not only
will you be taking home some product, but you will be getting some
really excellent tricks of the trade.
Two weeks later, June 25th, we will be hosting "Pickle University" -
all about pickling cucumbers - bread & butter, relish, kosher dills
(both quick and fermented). More on this class in a future email.
I've also started to make airlock fermentation equipment for
efficiently and attractively fermenting sauerkraut, kimchi,
traditional pickles and other things. More on these tools in a future
email, but we are starting to turn the Farmer's Kitchen into
"preservation central" with all sorts of unique tools (many of which
I've designed) to assist in your preservation needs.
Oh ... and I'll send a supplement soon on how to make Cherries
Preserved in Tahitian Vanilla Syrup ... or Coca-Cola syrup.
That's it for this newsletter ... lots more interesting things planned
for the food preservation community in Los Angeles!
As usual, if you have any questions about canning, pressure canning,
fermentation, dehydration, freezing, pickling,
curing, smoking or brewing, feel free to email me at
ernest.miller @ gmail.com.
Be sure to check out the blog, which hasn't been updated in awhile,
but I plan to do some updating (probably):
http://preservenation.blogspot.com/
And/or join the Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=280846286958
Thanks,
Ernie