Preparing oranges and grapefruit slices to be preserved in the Master Food Preserver class are, from left, Carla Crandall, Steven Barr, Lori Leas, Kaluna Aki, Ann Hofmann and Eileen Russell. Photo by Mike Donahue.

By Mike Donahue

Moapa Valley Progress

A two-day class hosted by the northeast office of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE) in Logandale last week turned out 13 new master food preservers who learned how to freeze, dehydrate and home-can foods according to strict U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines.

The class, taught by food preservation expert Carolyn Washburn of Utah State University Cooperative Extension, is the first in decades to be conducted in Moapa Valley. Its purpose was to train local residents to be become food preservation educators who now are able to help others can and preserve food.

“Most states canceled food preservation courses because the public just stopped being interested,” Washburn said. “Of course it stayed prominent in Utah because of the LDS caution about maintaining a two-year supply.”

Nevertheless, Washburn, who was assisted in class by USU intern Carly Vanderhorst and Las Vegas volunteer Berry Fornes, said the desire to learn about preserving and canning foods is making a huge resurgence nationwide.

People today want to know how to preserve their own food because that’s really the only way they can be 100 percent sure about what’s in it, how it was canned and how pure the finished product is. The poor economic climate is also an important factor.

“Consumers can really save money when food is purchased in bulk and then home-canned or frozen,” Washburn said.

Ironically, the USDA just this year cancelled its canning program because of lack of money, she continued. It certainly wasn’t because of lack of interest.

The Logandale class was the third Washburn has conducted in Southern Nevada this year, the first classes on food preservation in Southern Nevada in decades. The first class in Las Vegas in March sold out in days. It was such a hit, another Las Vegas class was scheduled in April that was packed with interested Nevadans.

“I could teach food preservation somewhere every single day,” Washburn said. “It’s just getting bigger and bigger. I first started the USU program about eight years ago and we used to have to beg people to come. Now, students are signing up and filling up classes months in advance.”

In the local class, four men, joined eight women for two days of instruction.

Everyone who participated in the class said they found it extraordinarily helpful, even those with years of experience. Nevertheless, many had specific goals when they signed up.

“I wanted to relearn and review the new USDA guidelines about food preservation,” said Lori Terril who teaches Home Economics at Moapa Valley High School. “I want to know how to do it right so I can teach right.”

Kevin Sease, a firefighter who works in Las Vegas but lives locally, is a hunter interested in different ways to preserve game.

“I’ve got over 400 pounds of Elk in my freezer,” he explained. “I really wanted to learn a different way to keep – preserve – it.”

Course topics included economics and safety of preserved food; canning fruits; canning tomatoes and tomato products; making jams and jellies; preserving foods through freezing, and preserving foods through dehydration.

Because of the local interest, Carol Bishop, UNCE educator in the Logandale office, said she may schedule another class in the spring.