BEMENT, IL (Chambana Today) – Bement High School Foods students participated in a local foods and preservation program.
The students participated in a three-day, hands-on lesson focused on understanding the local food system and mastering the art of safely preserving fresh produce. It started with an introduction to Clean Acrres Farm, located six miles south of Bement. Their mission is to provide chemical-free fruits and vegetables for Piatt County and beyond. The students were taught how the farm contributes to the foods system and how they incorporate value-added products.
On the second day University of Illinois Extension Nutrition and Wellness Educator Caitlin Mellendorf led a hands-on lesson. She taught freezing, pressure sealing, water-bath canning, drying, and fermenting. The session focused on safe water-bath canning of a salsa recipe. The students also learned how to boil tomatoes to remove the skins, how to char peppers and jalapenos in the oven, and then applied their knife skills to dice the tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, and onion for the recipe.
Students also finished the recipe and safely pack and seal them in a jar for long term storage.
“Learning how to safely preserve vegetables when they are at their peak flavor and nutrition is a valuable and practical lesson our students will be able to use all through adulthood,” commented Angie Corum, Bement High School’s Home Economics Teacher.
If you are interested in learning how to preserve foods in your home kitchen this growing season, visit go.illinois.edu/FoodPreservation.