Too many apples? How to preserve them for longer

KEESEVILLE, NY. (WCAX) - For folks with an abundant harvest this season, canning may be the solution. A Keeseville class teaches the skill.

Benjamin Eichenberger, a chef and farm worker, was an amateur food preserver.

"Kind of self-taught canning, hit or miss, experimental, for several years. My grandmother canned, my mom did not, and then I picked it up again," Eichenberger said.

Saturday, Eichenberger improved his skill by attending a class on preserving apples.

Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Ausable Valley Grange hosted the class at Hope Kitchen, where Eichenberger cooks meals for his community.

First, the apples are peeled and cut, then soaked in water with citric acid, which keeps the apples from browning. Then, the apples are cooked in simple syrup. After that, they can enter the preserve jars, which have been sanitized in boiling water and kept warm. A tool called a bubbler helps get air bubbles out and measure the half-inch of headspace. Finally, they go in the canner for about 20 minutes.

Once the cans are hot out of the canner, they need to stay completely still for 10 to 12 hours in order to seal. After that, they'll be good to eat for at least a year.

Noelle Eichenberger, Benjamin's wife, is the lead pastor at the Good Shepherd Church of the Nazarene, where Hope Kitchen is based.

She says that preserving food can be empowering.

"We have a lot of families that struggle with food insecurity. Being able to can fruits and vegetables, and with pressure canning they can can meats and soups and things like that. It gives them the opportunity to eat well, have more control over the food that they are putting in their bodies," Eichenberger said.

Kari Lamkins, the Community Educator and Certified Master Food Preserver who led the class, grew up in Peru, 10 minutes away.

"We live in an area where we have a long winter where we're not able to really grow and produce a lot of food on our own, or access those local foods as much, so this is kind of a way that you can take that food, preserve it and keep it, and make it last through those winter months," Lamkins said.

Many kinds of foods can be preserved, but to keep safe, Lamkins recommends always following a recipe from a trusted source.