Long Island canning class will help you preserve summer's bounty

Is your garden overflowing with more harvest than you can handle? Or maybe you’re looking to expand your culinary skill set? The tradition of canning, first introduced in the 1800s, has gained new interest in recent years. This method of food preservation, done either by water bath or pressure, involves heating sealed jars of food to a specific temperature, thus removing air from it and preventing the growth of bacteria. Canned foods prepared this way — fruit, vegetables, meats and fish — can last from one to five years.

It’s a practice that can be intimidating, as mistakes, in some cases, can make people sick (botulism can occur in improperly canned foods).

Earlier this year, a group of retired West Islip school district teachers and their friends with a shared passion for cooking and gardening took a canning class to learn the ropes from an expert.

“We wanted to start canning but were so afraid of poisoning our entire families,” said Nikki Cagno-Angerame, of Miller Place.

They found a canning class at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County in Riverhead taught by Maryann Birmingham, of Southold. She is the former owner of Case’s Place restaurant in New Suffolk, Birmingham and has a long history in the food industry.

“I love what I do and was inspired to teach food preservation by a co-worker when she demonstrated making blueberry jam at one of our staff meetings,” Birmingham said.

The teachers arranged for a group class just for them and enjoyed it so much that they booked additional classes every few weeks over several months.

“Maryann is amazing. The class was so educational and fun,” said Cagno-Angerame. “Safety is her No. 1 concern, but she also tells so many stories. She’s so knowledgeable.”

The three-hour workshops include a brief but thorough educational component, as Birmingham reviews procedures, safety and terminology. The participants are then separated into workstations where they each follow steps that include food prep, measuring, boiling and sealing the containers.

The group made canned tomato sauce, pumpkin jam, peach jam, salsas, pickled carrots and other goodies during their canning journey — and left with a recipe and jar (or two!) of the finished product after each session.