1. Brian Norder Vermont Food Consulting Services Brian@Vermontfoodconsulting.com (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

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

3.  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

4.  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- http://setp.uga.edu/ http://setp.uga.edu/ (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

5.  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

6.  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

7.  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)  <3.7 160  3.71 to 3.8 180  3.81 to 3.9 185  3.9 to 4.1 190  4.11 to 4.2 195  Source: Cornell/NYSAES (c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services

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

9.  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

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

11.  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