Food Preservation Workshop Series Continue

This fall, the Local Food in the Kitchen workshop series will cover fermentation, meat preservation, vinegars and homemade drinks. Fall is traditionally the time to preserve the summer's harvest for the winter ahead and this year Wildsight and the Cranbrook Food Action Committee are teaching locals modern and traditional techniques to create delicious preserved foods from abundant local produce and meat.

"There's an abundance of local food sources still at this time of year" said Shannon Duncan of CFAC and Wildsight, "but that drastically changes when the snow starts falling. Plan ahead and delicious local meals can be had all year round."

The fall session of the Local Food in the Kitchen workshops will cover three areas of food preservation: making drinks and vinegars, fermentation, and meat preservation.

"A big part of the fall workshop series is fermentation and the traditional techniques that transform simple ingredients into the complex flavours of fermented foods with great nutritional value" added Duncan. "Fermented foods are one of our earliest technologies - and the basis of so much culture around the world."
"Preserving food doesn't have to be complex" added Duncan, "and our workshops will give people hands-on experience so they can start stocking their cupboards."

For the fall season, the workshops will cover seasonal preserved foods including apple cider vinegar and infused vinegars, fermented condiments, and meat. The series runs from Sept 30th to October 22nd on Tuesday evenings in Kimberley and Wednesday evenings in Cranbrook.

1. Homemade Vinegars & Drinks (Sept. 30 and Oct. 1): Apple cider vinegar, herb-infused vinegars, herbal decoctions and infusions.

2. Gourmet Fermentation (Oct. 7 and 8): Fermented condiments: gourmet relish, salsa, chutney, and sauces

3. Meat Preservation (Oct 21 / 22): Jerky and pressure canning. Local sources of meat.

Workshop details and registration are online at wildsight.ca/localkitchen or by phone at 250 427 7981. The workshop cost is $20, which includes food, so participants will take something home from each workshop. Participants are asked to register as early as possible to help the organizers plan ahead to buy ingredients.
"After the success and feedback from the first three summer workshops in the Local Food in the Kitchen series, we are excited to get back into the kitchen" said Duncan, "and we are very excited to be covering meat preservation with a guest expert as well this fall."