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by Katie Yamashita, Los Angeles County, Online Delivery Program Volunteer  Few preserving projects are as accessible as salt-cured citrus. There's no canner, no fermentation crock, no specialized equipment beyond a clean jar, and the ingredient list rarely goes beyond what's already on hand: citrus…

Three tips for making the best pickles by Ariel Patton, UC Master Food Preserver Online Delivery Program Volunteer There's nothing quite like a sweet, tangy, crunchy pickle to perfect your next sandwich. This bread & butter pickle recipe is an annual staple in my kitchen. With the amount of…

by Paige Weisskirch, UC Master Food Preserver Online Delivery Program Volunteer  Fruit leather is one of my favorite ways to use up fruit that is just past its prime: soft pears, a handful of mushy berries, peaches that need to be used today, or the apples that have lost their crispness but…

 My name is Paige Weisskirch, and I volunteer with the UC Master Food Preserver Online Delivery Program. I live on the Monterey Peninsula, which means I am lucky enough to live near the beach, but not exactly in backyard tomato country. It is foggy and cool much of the time, so big backyard…

Paige Weisskirch, Monterey County, Online Delivery Program Not everyone has, wants, or needs to preserve a bushel of anything. In my house, that's probably for the best. I have a small family and a garden that prefers to produce a little bit of lots of things instead of a lot of any one thing. I…

Monica Gross, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer How do you know an avocado is ripe? It avocadon’t stay on the shelf for long!What did the avocado say to the toast? “You’re the best thing since sliced bread!” My love affair with avocados began when I was a teen and tasted guacamole…

 My name is Marlene Suzuki. I became a Master Food Preserver in 2025. I grew up in Pennsylvania and watched my grandma can jars of tomatoes and other vegetables from her garden. We always went to grandma’s house to get something tasty from her pantry and garden.I just visited back east for my 50-year…

 I learned how to can fruits and vegetables from my grandmother while growing up mostly in the Midwest. I loved the cool, earthy smell of a root cellar and took delight in perusing the many rows of colorful jars, especially when it was 95°F outside with 90% humidity.  Wherever the family moved, we…

Four valuable lessons that will take the stress out of canning pickled asparagus.My first time making pickled asparagus at home, by myself, with a borrowed steam canner, was a lot of fun, a fair amount of work, and produced what I would call mixed results, but I have no regrets.   The recipe I…

Monica Gross, Los Angeles Co., Online Delivery Program VolunteerDehydration is one of the earliest preservation methods developed by humankind. There is evidence from Middle Eastern and Asian cultures that dehydration was used as a method of preservation as far back as 12,000 BCE. The hot sun was harnessed…