Anisa Salazar
Sports Editor
The Farm at the Fairplex in Pomona hosted “Jam Session: Preserving Your Summer Harvest” on Saturday.
The jam session was led by the University of California Master Food Preserver Program.
This education and outreach program shares research-based information on home food safety and preservation.
The workshop consisted of a tour of The Farm at the Fairplex, hands-on making of jam and a presentation of tips to learn about the safest ways to preserve and store homemade jams and jellies.
“Food preservation is a really wide topic, and I think it’s relevant now when you look at the cost of food, and we can’t afford to waste food,” Master Food Preserver Marlene Carter said.
Master Food Preservers use research-based practices to safely preserve food, which reduces food waste, increases food security and provides ways for people to explore healthy foods.
Imran Ahmed, Master Gardener and student of the workshop, came to the jam session to explore different ways that he may be able to limit his food waste.
“One thing I realized is when you really start growing, you grow more than you can really manage,” Ahmed said. “A good example is my guava tree, which is just overflowing … so what other ways can it be preserved or used.”
Roger Lai, Master Food Preserver and lead of the workshop, began the workshop by explaining the step-by-step process of making and canning jelly, using a research-based recipe to ensure that it is safe.
The demonstration of making the jelly used grapes directly from The Farm at the Fairplex.
The Farm uses regenerative agriculture, which is a practice where they disturb the soil as little as possible, feed it with homegrown compost and mulch it to maintain moisture and minimize weeds. The more this is implemented within farmland practices, the more carbon dioxide emissions could be sequestered.
Each person in the workshop was given step-by-step instructions on how to prepare the cans for preservation and exactly how to make jam; the process was down to a science.
Once the jam is processed and sealed properly, it is shelf-stable for up to 18-months.
Master Food Preserver Linda Valdez tagged along on the session to help out with tasks like washing dishes, even though she is not big into canning herself. She takes each workshop as another learning opportunity to grow.
“I do love fermenting, but because I’m in the program … you have a little bit of everything,” Valdez said.
“A little bit of dehydration, freezing, canning, low-pressure canning, fermentation. I really want to continue to figure the rest of them out, but fermentation I’ve been doing … for a very long time.”
Valdez joins in on workshops that are outside of her preferred method of preserving food because each Master Food Preserver is required to complete a minimum of 25 hours of volunteer service and 12 hours of continuing education.
Yzabelle Arias drove out from Orange County to participate in the jam-making workshop. She has done similar workshops before and enjoys anything culinary that allows her to use what she grows from home, so she is looking forward to the possibility of more workshops at The Farm.
“They mentioned they were going to be drying fruit,” Arias said. “I’ve done the Orange County ones, but it’s always nice to see other perspectives … I know Pomona is known for citrus too, so it could be the same, could not be. Everyone’s different, everyone has different skills.”
Over the years, the Master Food Preservers program has grown.
“Initially, it was canning, dehydration, fermentation, but now as we gain more volunteers with different skill sets, it expands,” Carter said.
The next Master Food Preservers event will be an online webinar from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday called “Salsa Beyond Tomatoes: Canning, Freezing & Dehydrating.”
For more information, visit the University of California Master Food Preserver Program’s website.
Anisa Salazar can be reached at anisa.salazar@laverne.edu.
Anisa Salazar is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is sports editor, social media editor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times. She previously served as a staff writer.
