Brian Norder Vermont Food Consulting Services (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

 Food Safety  Canning Basics  Freezing  Drying and Dehydrofreezing  Fermenting  Questions (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

 Cleaning vs. sanitizing  Chlorine- 2 teas./gallon=120ppm ◦ Should have only slightest smell  When in doubt…  Bare hand contact (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

 3 Control Measures ◦ Temperature ◦ Acidity (pH) ◦ Available moisture (water activity or aW)  Hurdle concept ◦ Low acid- one hurdle, heat ◦ Pickles-two hurdles, heat, acid ◦ Jams, jellies-three hurdles, heat, acid, aW  So Easy To Preserve- (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

 Developing your own recipes ◦ A good digital thermometer and pH meter a must  pH meters- ◦ Handheld ◦ Removeable/replaceable electrode ◦ 4.0 buffer solution ◦ Temperature appropriate (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

 Low acid- pressure canning, no guessing!  Pickling- finished pH below 4.0 ◦ Brine (pH 3.0)+Veggies (pH 6.0+)=finished pH ~4.0 ◦ Measure, don’t guess  Jams, jellies, preserves ◦ Generally around 50/50 fruit/sugar  Fruit spreads and syrups ◦ Less sugar,(60/40, 70/30) ◦ Need thermometer and pH meter ◦ pH of <3.7 desirable, <3.4needed for set-up (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

 To Water Bath or Not to Water Bath… ◦ If you have a good thermometer and pH meter you can use commercial guidelines for jams, tomato sauce, salsa, etc.  Minimum Fill/Cap Temperatures at Various pH Ranges pH Temp. (F)  <  3.71 to  3.81 to  3.9 to  4.11 to  Source: Cornell/NYSAES (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

 Blanching improves quality  Bulk freezing  IQF-allows you grab as little as you want (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

 Removes 80 to 90% moisture ◦ Watch for mold development  Oven with pilot effective  Excalibur has rugged affordable dehydrators for serious home preservers (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

 Dry to roughly 30% moisture contend  Freeze- bulk or IQF  Great for soups, stews (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

 Sauerkraut, kim chee, carrots common fermentation  Lactobacillus or commonly lacto-fermenters develop acid to bring finished pH below 3.7  Prolonged temperatures above 70F can result in spoilage  Salt is most common starter, yeast and whey also used in some products  Ample resources on-line (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services