Food Preservation

Preserving Your Harvest
Hands-on canning and freezing workshops

Home canning assistance is available from our office:

• Recipes

• Fact sheets with step-by-step methods for preserving food

• Solutions to canning problems

• Telephone inquiries: Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM

• We'll check your pressure canner dial gauge for accuracy for free!

Freezing is one of the simplest and least time-consuming ways to prepare foods at home. It helps keep the natural color, fresh flavor, and nutritive values of most fruits and vegetables. Read more about freezing in our Freezing and Canning Quick Guides. For assistance with your freezing questions, call us at 942-7396 or 1-800-287-1485(in Maine).

Food Drying is one of the oldest methods of preserving food for later use. It can either be an alternative to canning or freezing, or complement these methods. Drying foods is simple, safe, and easy to learn. Food dehydrators are available from the small appliance section of department stores, mail-order catalogs, natural food stores, and garden supply catalogs. If you are thinking about making such a purchase, consider reading more about them at the National Center for Home Preservation Web site. Learn how to dry foods by reading Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving: 100th Anniversary Edition or So Easy to Preserve.

Additional Food Preservation Resources.