Interested in safely preserving food for you and your family but don’t have time for traditional classes? It is time to think about gifting yourself or a loved one with an online, hybrid course, Preserve @ Home. Oregon State University Extension Service invites you to enroll in Preserve @ Home, a national award winning, food preservation course. Participants learn how to safely preserve a variety of tasty food products with high quality. The science behind food preservation and food safety will be explored. Individuals with full-time jobs or live in remote areas may be very interested in this course because it is self-paced. There are weekly topic releases and a hands-on lab offered in several regions in Oregon at the end of the series. Some are on Saturdays.
The first session of the 6-week course opens on-line on Thursday, January 17, 2019. Each lesson includes online text that can be down loaded and printed. Additionally participants discuss topics in an online forum and a real-time weekly chat with instructors. Beginning on Thursday, January 24, 2019 from 1:00 to 1:45 PM. Topics to be covered include: Foodborne Illness – causes and prevention, Spoilage and Canning Basics, Canning High Acid Foods, Canning Specialty High Acid Foods – pickles, salsa, jams, jellies, etc., Canning Low Acid Foods, and Freezing and Drying.
The optional regional hands-on labs will feature pressure canning and boiling water canning. Sessions will be on March 1 in Wallowa County, March 2 in Deschutes County, March 7 in Klamath County and March 9 in Polk and Tillamook Counties. Harney County will also host a hands-on lab, date to be determined. In the online registration, participants choose a location to attend.
Cost of the course is $55 plus the cost of required supplemental materials. The registration deadline is Monday, January 14, 2019. Many of the supplemental materials are available free, online or may be purchased for a small fee at Oregon State University Extension county offices. Class size is limited. This course is offered cooperatively with the University of Idaho Extension Service and eXtension, a national resource for online courses offered by Extension professionals. For more information and to register, visit this web site: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/events/preserve-home-online-hybrid-course. For other questions contact Glenda Hyde, OSU Extension educator at glenda.hyde@oregonstate.edu or call 541-548-6088.
Preserve @ Home won the 1st Place Award for Food Safety Education from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in 2016.