Joy Agcongay, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer The Overlooked Step That Protects Your Dehydrated Foods: The Critical Step of Conditioning in Food DehydrationWhy Conditioning MattersConditioning refers to the process of evenly redistributing any remaining moisture across a batch of…

Jadrian Johnson, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer Image credit: Jadrian Johnson, 2025 If your childhood tasted like Atomic Warheads and early-generation Sour Patch Kids, you already know the joy of a good sour pucker. This recipe for frozen sour grapes brings that same zingy magic,…

Paige Weisskirch, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer Image credit: capecodprof from Pixabay, 2013 This month, many Americans celebrated Independence Day with home-canned jams, pickled vegetables, and smoked meats, foods that connect us to a long tradition of preservation. What many…

Maria Giovanni, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program VolunteerCounty of residence: Previously Butte, now lives out of state (CO) Image credit: Maria Giovanni, 2025 Do you ever think about the “why” and “how” of food?  I joined the UC MFP Online program from a different perspective than most…

Henry Shaw, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer It’s sometimes possible, but it’s not recommended. Can one reuse mayonnaise and other similar commercial product jars for home canning?  Some people have done so with some success.  But although it’s technically possible, it’s…

Ariel Patton, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer I often kick-off my summer by preserving strawberry jam, as the bright, ruby-red fruit overflows tiny green baskets throughout markets in the late spring and early summer. In California, strawberries are abundantly available and easy to…

Tim Long, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer Commercial freeze-dried foods have been around for quite a while.Astronaut Ice cream for example: Image credit: Public Domain, 2025. For those who may be hikers or back packers, as I was while working with Boy Scouts, the commercial…

Sherida Phibbs, UC Master Food Preserver San Joaquin County Volunteer  Image credit: Sherida Phibbs, 2025.  "Being a Master Food Preserver isn’t just about jars and recipes — it's about resilience, community, and preserving traditions that feed both body and spirit." — Sherida Phibbs&nbsp…

Henry Shaw, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer Part 1: When is a tablespoon not a tablespoon?Common salt, sodium chloride (NaCl), is the most widely used condiment worldwide. It’s also the only rock we normally eat. (“Halite” is the geological term for rock salt.) Today, you can buy a…

Travis Alexander, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Coordinator In our funding agreement with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, we committed to conducting periodic evaluations (6-month, 12-month, 18-month) of our monthly newsletter. We would greatly appreciate it if each of…