Grape Jelly and Salsa

A local group of women from “Genesis Express” recently contacted the Trigg County Extension Office sharing their concern that younger people in the community may not know important skills such as food preservation. They asked if someone from the Extension Office could teach food preservation classes at their newly built community center.

The Trigg County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent and a Volunteer Homemaker scheduled an introductory meeting with the group. At this meeting, they discussed how much experience the group had in canning and food preservation, what types of foods they wanted to learn to preserve, and what supplies and materials would be needed, etc. With the Family and Consumer Science Agent’s suggestions for good choices at the beginner level, the group decided they wanted to learn to can Grape Jelly and Salsa. The Family Consumer Science Agent and the Homemaker volunteer conducted 2 hands on food preservation classes and participants learned how to make grape jelly and salsa using the hot water bath method. A total of 18 participants helped with all stages of making the jelly and salsa and at the end of the program they were able to take these products home with them.

Only 1 of the participants had any previous home canning experience, but after the classes, 100% of the participants stated they felt they were now confident enough to try canning at home. One participant shared that the day after the Grape Jelly class, she taught 4 children in her neighborhood how to make Grape Jelly. The children had a great time and were excited to take their jelly home to their families. Another participant shared that her daughter has never liked Grape Jelly, but she tried her mother’s and loved it. There were also 2 participants who said they decided to do a taste test. They purchased Welch’s Grape Jelly and put it up against their new canned Grape Jelly and they both agreed their own Jelly was the best.

Teresa Garcia

Trigg County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent

09/30/24