Our Chester County Correspondent Kirsten Harper reports on a recent Pickling Party:

Over the summer, Kimberton Whole Foods is hosting workshops led by Betsey Gerstein Sterenfeld of Essen Cooking School, as a way to help launch PASA's Good Food Neighborhood program.  The classes cover a variety of food preservation topics, and are geared to help busy moms and curious foodies alike add valuable tricks to their arsenal of techniques.

On Tuesday, July 28th the first preservation workshop was held for a small but enthusiastic group.  Several participants gathered in the intimate setting of the café kitchen to learn a time honored, yet largely underappreciated art – Pickling!
 
During the session, Betsey delved into the specifics of hot water canning, tips about extending shelf life in foods and shared details about preserving produce for year round enjoyment. She spoke about specialized equipment one could invest in for pickling and shared some of the ways she uses her preserved food in cooking.  Several unusual flavoring agents were suggested for pickled foods, adding interest to dishes throughout the year during the times when fresh local produce is harder to come by.  She also shared her secrets to cutting vegetables with the most ease and the least amount of waste.

Participants at the workshop learned how to pickle local cherries which, after 3 weeks of storage in a dark place, can be used as a sauce base for fall dishes.  Students also created Giardinara (a classic Italian mixed vegetable relish) using a variety of local produce on hand (see photo above).
 
By the end of the workshop participants came away with several jars each of pickled cherries and relish as well as a binder with detailed step-by-step instructions for each recipe. Some have already signed up for the upcoming event this month which will focus on freezing preservation techniques. A September workshop will cover tomatoes and a December workshop will feature "Homemade Holiday Food Gifts."

If you're not close enough to Chester County to attend one of these upcoming workshops at Kimberton Whole Foods, there are other workshops on food preservation coming up in other parts of the state:

Southwestern PA - Slow Food's Canning 101 events at McConnells Farm in August and Braddock Community Garden in September.

South Central PA - Kitchen Shoppe's Food Preservation Workshops on August 15 and August 22 in Carlisle, PA.

And finally... for our Good Food Neighborhood members -- we've created a new discussion group in our Community Table forum that's devoted especially to local food preservation.  Check it out!