Do you have an abundance of tomatoes, peppers, or peas? Don’t have the room to freeze them? Try canning! Canning is a great way to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables so that you can enjoy them all year long. Many people remember watching a relative can while growing up. Unfortunately, the art of canning is declining.

When I think of canning, especially pressure canning, I used to find it a little intimidating. I have heard many horror stories about the pressure canner, and have also sat through food safety classes where I learned about botulism. It wasn’t until I spent a day in Alice Scott’s kitchen canning jelly, picking okra, and pressure canning field peas that I realized canning is not scary at all, and is actually quite fun! Alice Scott and her husband D.L. own Kneeling Pines Farm in Pink Hill. Their farm is a nonprofit, and Alice uses the fresh produce from the farm to can things like jams, jellies, pickles, and other goods. As a former educator, Alice did a great job going teaching me how to can different products and gave me the hands on experience I felt I needed to be comfortable canning at home.

This August I will be offering a canning class at the Sampson County Cooperative Extension office where Alice Scott will be joining me in teaching. We will be making a jam or jelly and a pickled product to take home. The class is welcome to all who are interested in canning. This could be your first time hearing of canning, or you may can all the time, regardless we want you to join us! The class is $15 which includes two canned products for you to take home, lunch, and 3 ½ hours of a fun educational experience! Come join us August 17th from 10am – 1:30pm. Visit the Sampson County Cooperative Extension office to sign up, or our website Sampson.ces.ncsu.edu/categories/health-nutrition/ and mail in a form along with the registration fee. Checks for registration must be payable to ‘County of Sampson’, and please send to Sydney Johnson at 55 Agriculture Place, Clinton NC, 28328. Please call the Extension office at 910-592-7161 prior to mailing in the form and fee so we can have you on the registration list. Maximum number of participants is 10.

There will also be a class at the Duplin County Cooperative Extension office on August 18th from 10am – 1:30pm. For more information, contact the Duplin County Extension office at 910-296-2143.

Sydney Johnson
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Johnson-1.jpgSydney Johnson

By Sydney Johnson

Contributing columnist

Sydney Johnson is an area Family & Consumer Sciences extension agent, with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. She can be reach by calling the Sampson County Center at 910-592-7161.