For Minnie Kynch, food preservation has always been a part of life. She recalls her mother canning so that all winter the family would have vegetables to eat. Nowadays, Kynch continues the tradition of preservation for two reasons.
“You know the quality of your food,” she said. “You know that it is without additives and it certainly saves money.”
Now islanders can learn more about preserving food with Kynch and Pomona Grange #54 at the San Juan County Fair. The grange members and fair staff work together each year to create the Food Preservation booth.
This year’s booth theme is Farm-tastic Fun and will feature workshops, prizes and plenty of tasting.
Terri Brown will be providing education materials to instruct others on starting their own adventures in canning.
Brown is a certified 4-H food preservation teacher and certified grange county fair judge of food preservation.
Throughout the fair she will be holding workshops on the subject of safety and different aspects of the canning process.
This year Pomona Grange #54 will also be offering prizes for the best of class in each of the following categories:
• Best pickles, vinegars or relish will receive a “perfect pickler.”
• Best jam or jelly wins a case of jelly jars.
• Best canned vegetable prize will be a water bath canner.
• Best dried fruit or vegetable will receive an electric dehydrator.
• Best meat product prize is a Presto 7 Function Canning Kit.
Each best-of-class winner will also receive a special rosette ribbon and the Bestof Show overall will receive a large rosette and a special prize.
The Food Preservation booth at the fair will feature a People’s Choice Jam and Jelly tasting this year. Fairgoers will have the opportunity to taste test and judge three to five of the jam and jelly entries in the food preservation booth. They will then vote on their favorite.
Look for the schedule of taste testing daily at the Food Preservation Booth. Each day there will be new jams and jellies for tasting and a new People’s Choice winner will be announced.
