Just Dry It: Intro to Food Dehydration

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Scenes from the Sitka Kitch’s Preserving the Harvest class on making jams and jellies

Students learned about jams, jellies, fruit butters, marmalades, preserves and conserves during the Jam Session: Preserving Jams and Jellies class on Monday, July 24, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen. This was the fourth of six scheduled classes in the Preserving the Harvest food preservation class series offered this summer.

The class was taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, a Sitka dietitian and health educator who has taught several cooking and food preservation classes for the Sitka Kitch. In this class, students learned how to make strawberry-kiwi jam, a blueberry conserve (with lemon, orange and raisins), a rhubarb-strawberry conserve (with cranberries or raisins and walnuts), and plum jam.

This was the fourth class in the Preserving the Harvest food preservation class series, which is sponsored by the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). The other classes in the series are (underlined titles take you to the class registration page):

  • Ring Around the Rose Hip: Rose Hip Relish and More — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 18, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, $27.50 registration fee
  • Venison Jerky — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 30 (this date and class topic may change), taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart and Jasmine Shaw, $27.50 registration fee

The Sitka Kitch programming team is working on other classes to be offered later this summer and next fall. We also might reschedule the Clear the Freezer, Fill the Pantry community canning session for later this summer, but on a Saturday instead of during the week. Watch the Sitka Kitch page on Facebook or our online registration page to see when these and any future classes are scheduled.

When registering, students should prepay for the class through the Sitka Kitch online registration site, http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com, using PayPal or credit/debit card. If you need other payment arrangements, contact Chandler or Clarice of Sitka Conservation Society at 747-7509 to arrange a time when you can pay with cash or check. To qualify for a partial refund, please notify us at least three days in advance if you need to cancel. The registration deadline is three days before each class so our instructors have time to purchase materials. Please email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org with any questions.

A slideshow of scenes from the jams and jellies class follows below.

• Link to UAF Cooperative Extension Service publication Jams and Jellies

• Link to UAF Cooperative Extension Service publication Alaska Blueberries

• Link to UAF Cooperative Extension Service publication Wild Strawberries

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Scenes from the Sitka Kitch’s Preserving the Harvest class on simple pickles and sauerkraut

Students learned how to make pickled squash and sauerkraut during the Simple Pickles and Sauerkraut class on Tuesday, July 11, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen. This was the third of six scheduled classes in the Preserving the Harvest food preservation class series offered this summer.

The class was taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, a Sitka dietitian and health educator who has taught several cooking and food preservation classes for the Sitka Kitch. In this class, students learned how to make a variety of fermented foods, with the focus on squash pickles and sauerkraut (many of the recipes came from the food preservation book So Easy To Preserve, which is produced by the University of Georgia with the book’s meat and fish recipes coming from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service). She also discussed how probiotics help with digestion and gut health.

This was the third class in the Preserving the Harvest food preservation class series, which is sponsored by the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). The other classes in the series are (underlined titles take you to the class registration page):

  • Jam Session: Preserving Jams and Jellies — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, July 24, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, $27.50 registration fee (NOTE: Class is full. Email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org to ask about a waiting list)
  • Ring Around the Rose Hip: Rose Hip Relish and More — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 18, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, $27.50 registration fee
  • Venison Jerky — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 30 (this date may change), taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart and Jasmine Shaw, $27.50 registration fee

The Sitka Kitch programming team is working on other classes to be offered later this summer and next fall. Watch the Sitka Kitch page on Facebook or our online registration page to see when these and any future classes are scheduled.

When registering, students should prepay for the class through the Sitka Kitch online registration site, http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com, using PayPal or credit/debit card. If you need other payment arrangements, contact Chandler or Clarice of Sitka Conservation Society at 747-7509 to arrange a time when you can pay with cash or check. To qualify for a partial refund, please notify us at least three days in advance if you need to cancel. The registration deadline is three days before each class so our instructors have time to purchase materials. Please email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org with any questions.

A slideshow of scenes from the Simple Pickles and Sauerkraut class follows below.

• UAF Cooperative Extension Service free publication “Pickles and Relishes”

• UAF Cooperative Extension Service free publication “Sauerkraut”

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Scenes from the Sitka Kitch’s Preserving the Harvest class on creative ways to use rhubarb

Students learned how to make a variety of dishes featuring rhubarb in the Rambunctious Rhubarb: Creative Ways To Use Rhubarb class on Monday, June 26, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen. This was the second of six scheduled classes in the Preserving the Harvest food preservation class series offered this summer.

The class was taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, a Sitka dietitian and health educator who has taught several cooking and food preservation classes for the Sitka Kitch. In this class, students learned how to make a curried rhubarb lentils dish (served over rice), a rhubarb chutney, a jalapeño rhubarb chutney, rhubarb pickles, rhubarb ketchup, and a rhubarb salsa. (Most of the recipes came from the book The Joy Of Rhubarb).

This was the second class in the Preserving the Harvest food preservation class series, which is sponsored by the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). The other classes in the series are (underlined titles take you to the class registration page):

The Sitka Kitch programming team is working on other classes to be offered later this summer and next fall. We also might reschedule the Clear the Freezer, Fill the Pantry community canning session for later this summer, but on a Saturday instead of during the week. Watch the Sitka Kitch page on Facebook or our online registration page to see when these and any future classes are scheduled.

When registering, students should prepay for the class through the Sitka Kitch online registration site, http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com, using PayPal or credit/debit card. If you need other payment arrangements, contact Chandler or Clarice of Sitka Conservation Society at 747-7509 to arrange a time when you can pay with cash or check. To qualify for a partial refund, please notify us at least three days in advance if you need to cancel. The registration deadline is three days before each class so our instructors have time to purchase materials. Please email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org with any questions.

A slideshow of scenes from the Rambunctious Rhubarb class follows below.

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Scenes from the Sitka Kitch’s Preserving the Harvest series class on food dehydration

Students learned how to make fruit leathers and how to dehydrate a variety of fruits and vegetables in the Just Dry It: Intro to Food Dehydration class on Monday, June 12, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen. This was the first of six scheduled classes in the Preserving the Harvest food preservation class series offered this summer.

The class was taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, a Sitka dietitian and health educator who has taught several cooking and food preservation classes for the Sitka Kitch. In this class, students learned how to dehydrate four types of fruit (bananas, blueberries, mangoes, and apples), dehydrate four types of vegetables (zucchini, peppers, green beans, and mushrooms), and make four types of fruit leather (blueberry, rosehip, strawberry-rhubarb, and rosehip-blueberry).

This was the first class in the Preserving the Harvest food preservation class series, which is sponsored by the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). The other classes in the series are (underlined titles take you to the class registration page):

The Sitka Kitch programming team is working on other classes to be offered later this summer and next fall. We also might reschedule the Clear the Freezer, Fill the Pantry community canning session for later this summer, but on a Saturday instead of during the week. Watch the Sitka Kitch page on Facebook or our online registration page to see when these and any future classes are scheduled.

When registering, students should prepay for the class through the Sitka Kitch online registration site, http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com, using PayPal or credit/debit card. If you need other payment arrangements, contact Chandler or Clarice of Sitka Conservation Society at 747-7509 to arrange a time when you can pay with cash or check. To qualify for a partial refund, please notify us at least three days in advance if you need to cancel. The registration deadline is three days before each class so our instructors have time to purchase materials. Please email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org with any questions.

A slideshow of scenes from the food dehydration class follows below.

• UAF Cooperative Extension Service handout, “Drying Fruits and Vegetables”

• UAF Cooperative Extension Service handout, “Fruit Leather”

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