Food Preservation

Whether you're preserving your own harvest or you've purchased locally grown fruits or vegetables, canning, freezing and drying can be effective ways to serve foods that taste harvest-fresh at a later date. To ensure that the products you serve are safe, it is important to follow tested guidelines for safely preserving foods by these methods. Cooperative Extension offers both information and hands-on, small group training in a variety of home food preservation topics.

Resources

National Center for Home Food Preservation Website at nchfp.uga.edu
Site includes science-based information on home food preservation, publications and links to other Extension sites. The Center was established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (CSREES-USDA) to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods.

So Easy to Preserve, University of Georgia, Cooperative Extension, 6th Edition (July 2014).
This edition contains the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture recommendations for safe food preservation, along with step by step instructions and in-depth information for both the new and experienced food preserver. For more information and to order, visit: setp.uga.edu.

2020 Resource List from Cornell Cooperative Extension

Complete Guide to Home Canning, USDA, revised 2009.
Available online at: nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html

Canning Equipment: CCE of Saratoga County has compiled helpful fact sheets on Using a Steam Canner, Using Boiling Water Canners, and Using Pressure Canners.

Penn State University Food Preservation Data Base
This site at extension.psu.edu/food/preservation links to approved recipes, food preservation questions and answers, kitchen unit conversions, and food safety.
See also: extension.psu.edu/food/safety which addresses food safety issues; includes links to commercial companies selling preservation supplies & equipment.

Cost of Preserving and Storing Food, Colorado State University, 2008 updated 2014, includes a downloadable 4-page PDF on this topic.

The Cornell Food Venture Center (CFVC) provides comprehensive assistance to beginning and established food entrepreneurs to help enhance food safety, satisfy regulatory compliance and promote economic development. The CFVC provides access to educational materials, industry resources, workshops and direct assistance for product and process validation for safety and stability, as well as guidance in local, state and federal regulations for food manufacturers.

Last updated February 23, 2024