It’s harvest time and the 2020 grow season, with many staying home and practicing social distancing, has been a landmark one for home gardeners and livestock farmers. Now what do you do with your garden bounty homegrown meat? The new Food Preservation Course features some of our most popular Fair speakers discussing tips and tricks for freezing, canning, curing meat, dehydrating, jam-making, fermentation, and more! 

Kirsten Shockey
Fermenting Cilantro and Other Tender Garden Herbs for Year-Round Flavor

Say goodbye to drying herbs and hello to fermenting them. Discover the magic of fermentation for nutrition, flavor, and preservation through your garden’s herbs. Fermentation is easy and safe. In this class, learn why this is the best way to preserve tender herbs for superior flavor, and how to do it.


Kirsten K. Shockey and Christopher Shockey are coauthors of award winning The Big Book of Cidermaking; award winning Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments; Fiery Ferments; and the best-selling Fermented Vegetables. Kirsten has also just released Homebrewed Vinegar. These books came from their desires to both help people eat in new ways, both for the health of themselves and the planet. They got their start in fermenting foods twenty years ago on a 40-acre hillside smallholding which grew into their local organic food company, Kirsten realized that her passion lay in the wish to both teach people how to ferment and push this culinary art to new flavors. She leads experiential workshops worldwide and online at fermentationschool.com helping people to make, enjoy and connect with their food through fermentation. Christopher is behind the camera.


Books by This Speaker:

Fermented Vegetables

Fiery Ferments

Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments

The Big Book of Cidermaking

Homebrewed Vinegar

Linda Ziedrich
Simple Jam-Making

Learn how to make jam from the fruits of your gardens — in small, quick batches or bigger ones for pantry storage. This course explains what pectin is and whether you need to add it; what kind of sugar to use, how much, and why; whether to add acid, and why; how to recognize the gel point; what kind of thermometer works best; and how to can your jam. Linda will demonstrate two no-pectin-added jams, small-batch strawberry, and big-batch blackberry.


Linda Ziedrich writes about food from her home in Oregon's Willamette Valley, where she continually experiments with the fruits and vegetables she grows. Her books include The Joy of Pickling, now in its third edition, as well as The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves. Linda teaches preserving classes and develops recipes on request, and she keeps a blog at https://AGardenersTable.com.

Melissa Norris
Store Vegetables All Fall and Winter Without a Root Cellar

Learn which vegetables you can store without a root cellar, basement, garage, or refrigerator by using simple curing techniques. Find out which temps are ideal curing, how long to cure, and which vegetables will store the longest using this old-fashioned method of food preservation and storage.


Melissa K. Norris shares simple modern homesteading for a healthier and more self-sufficient life with hundreds of thousands of people through her website, books, YouTube, and popular Pioneering Today podcast. She's a fifth-generation homesteader who thinks she might've been born a century too late, but is grateful to have modern tech to connect with others who feel the same pull to get back to simpler ways of living.

Meredith	Leigh
The Basics of Curing Meat

From ancient times to today, people have been putting salt on meat to preserve bounty, improve texture, and concentrate flavor. It's one of the most ingenious and utilitarian traditions that has endured all over the world. This course will explain how curing meat has evolved, and how to approach meat curing in a way that will give you a range of options in the kitchen. Meredith Leigh demonstrates the basics, providing you with recipes for a smoky cured leg of lamb, as well as a completely dry-cured ham in the style of prosciutto. You'll walk away from this class with the ability to cure beef, lamb, venison, mutton, pork, and other meats with ease and confidence.


Meredith Leigh is a farmer, butcher, cook, and author of The Ethical Meat Handbook: Complete Home Butchery, Charcuterie, and Cooking for the Conscious Omnivore and Pure Charcuterie: The Craft & Poetry of Curing Meat at Home. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Renee Pottle
Dehydrating 101

Dehydrating fruits and vegetables is the easiest way to preserve the harvest, but some fruits and vegetables are better suited to the process than others. Explore dehydration options, learn which produce dehydrates well, and hear how to turn your dehydrated foods into delicious gifts and home-prepared meals.


Renee Pottle is a Family and Consumer Scientist and a serial side-gig entrepreneur. She writes about food preservation, gardening, and food business from her home in Kennewick, Washington. She's the author of several books, including Creative Jams and Preserves, Profitable Preserves, and The Confident Canner.

Sherri Brooks	Vinton
Water Bath Canning

Water bath canning is the most widely used method for putting up delicious produce. It doesn’t require a lot of specialized equipment and is accessible to even the most inexperienced kitchen novice. Stock up your pantry and create delicious food gifts with this one simple technique. Join Sherri Brooks Vinton to learn how to can jams, jellies, pickles, salsas, tomatoes, and more!


Sherri Brooks Vinton began her food career on the back of a motorcycle. A cross-country ride brought her face-to-face with the negative impacts of industrial agriculture and compelled her to begin a quest for food raised with integrity. Since then, her books, appearances and hands-on workshops have taught countless eaters how to find, cook and preserve local, seasonal food. Whether developing content, organizing events, or consulting with clients, Sherri is always working to find her next great meal. To learn more, visit www.SherriBrooksVinton.com.

Sherri Brooks Vinton
Preserving Food in the Freezer

The freezer is a time machine that can extend the life of many foods. Use it to:

• Enjoy seasonal ingredients longer.

• Reduce food waste.

• Build a treasure trove of meals and meal starters that help you put dinner on the table in a flash.

Let Sherri Brooks Vinton teach you quick, easy ways to preserve foods by freezing.


Sherri Brooks Vinton began her food career on the back of a motorcycle. A cross-country ride brought her face-to-face with the negative impacts of industrial agriculture and compelled her to begin a quest for food raised with integrity. Since then, her books, appearances and hands-on workshops have taught countless eaters how to find, cook and preserve local, seasonal food. Whether developing content, organizing events, or consulting with clients, Sherri is always working to find her next great meal. To learn more, visit www.SherriBrooksVinton.com.