Picklers “Pucker Up for Pickles” in Class

On Aug. 15 the Master Food Preservers of San Bernardino held a class at the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) demonstration kitchen on Rialto Ave. in San Bernardino, providing interested community members with pickle-preserving tips. Kathy, who led the demonstration, then went on to teach the students in the class a recipe for sauerkraut that consists of only two core ingredients: cabbage and salt. Every recipe was done step-by-step for clarity. Master Food Preserver Pat Malone said, “The master food preservers teach food safety and they teach all methods of home food preservation. Pickling is one of them we already covered. We did Tons of Tomatoes. In that class we covered dehydration, canning, and we even made a jam with tomatoes, so then we did Saving Summer in June. That covered squash and a lot of different vegetables and fruits. Other home food preservation methods are pickles, pickling and fermentation; we believe that we should cover all [methods] during the canning season.” The Master Food Preservers are certified through UC Davis and are also rich in history. Malone said, “I have been doing this since 1996.” Classes have been taught even before her involvement. Through word of mouth, the program has been able to teach interested community members. She said, “It has been really, really good. You know we fight with publicity trying to get the word out. But I’m always surprised—I mean, one of the people who signed up for tonight’s class called and said ‘I didn’t even know you guys did it!’ So you know publicity and word of mouth is the only way we can get the word out.” The end of the event consisted of tastings and a raffle.