Canning classes

[me&thegals]

I had this idea, and then Farmerlor posted about it on BYC. With the economy stinky and people getting back to the basics, I thought I would offer canning classes to my CSA customers. They are already in touch with me, already receiving loads of veggies for about 28 weeks and are fairly likely to be interested in learning this if they have not already.

Do you see any problems with this idea? I would buy new jars and probably focus on one ingredient. For example, during the height of tomatoes, I could have a 3- to 4-hour class to teach basic canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and salsa, each person taking home 1 jar of each.

I'd love to have comments, suggestions, critiques. Thanks!

me&thegals

 

[freemotion]

Sounds like a great idea!

 

[breconbcs]

Sounds like a great idea! Wish I could find someone around here that would be able to do that.

 

[freshaire]

Sounds like a great idea. Spread the knowledge.

 

[me&thegals]

Thanks for the encouragement!! Does anybody have thoughts on liability, or do you think this would be a state or county issue?

I wouldn't really be *selling* the food, just the knowledge. They would have canned the food themselves that they are taking home. Or maybe I'm splitting hairs...

 

[miss_thenorth]

Would you be doing it out of your home? maybe you could contact a local community college--continuing ed or something and find out how they handle things like this. Or maybe Dace would know since she is getting into classes herself as a business. I think it is a great idea, have you asked ppl if they would be interested in taking classes? When I started canning--I just took the plunge. Some ppl are not that adventurous, and might need the help.

 

[keljonma]

I think offering the canning lesson is a great idea. Make sure you give each participant a copy of all the recipes you covered, so they can complete them at home. Pictures added to the recipes to show the steps taken is always a big help. Don't forget to stress food handling and canning safety.

Think about the logistics of canning - Are you going to have each person do every step of the process? Or will each do just one or two steps (as in an assembly line)? Or will they just be watching you, as in a demonstration class?

I think you *could* check with your county officials - but they *may* say you have to have a certified kitchen for that... Each state has its own regulations. You also might find that your local County Extension Office is offering similar classes.

Since they are your CSA customers, they are already "buying" the tomatoes (in this example) from you, right? Maybe you offer it only to CSA participants, maybe to anyone interested. You know, Jane (your CSA customer) tells her friend Sally that you are offering canning classes, Sally tells her sister Mary and now they both want to join the canning session with Jane. You might not ever know how many people to expect, so a pre-registration might be a good idea, to prevent some stress at your end.

I'm not sure what your legal ramifications would be if any of them got scalded or injured, so a "sign off on liability" form would be a must. Whenever we had a hands-on class at the cooking school, we had every participant sign one.

This fall our church is offering "Come and Learn" classes, and canning is just one of the subjects to be offered. I'm working on my notes now, so this was a timely question.

 

[me&thegals]

Lots of great points--thanks!

Yes, keljonma, it's a great point to send them home with material that they can duplicate.

I haven't thought through all the logistics, and it would depend somewhat on class size. For salsa, for example, I would probably have each person working on a different chopping step. I would demonstrate all equipment usage and sterilization stuff. We would all work together on prepping things, and I would try to get them to the point in the process where they were filling their own jars, cleaning off rims, putting lids on and putting into the canner. I have 2 steam canners, so while they are steaming we could start on the next recipe.

I teach CPR and first aid. In those classes, there is clear explanation and demonstration followed by hands on by the students. I think I would duplicate that model since it works well for adult learning.

Each person would go home with 1 jar of each recipe tried, hopefully feeling even more like they got their $ worth.

My CSA people get a lot of food, including tomatoes, but I would save this class for a non-CSA day so all the tomatoes would be ripe and ready just for processing. They would pay a set fee, taking home a few jars, and would be able to buy more produce at a certain price if they wanted to continue canning at home.

I could also do this very easily with blackberries and black raspberries for jam and jelly making, since we have both in abudance.