by Colleen Young, UCCE Master Food Preserver
Why I became a Master Food Preserver
What interested me enough to join the 2018 Master Food Preservers (aka MFP) training class? I had been canning for years, jams, pickles, and fruit pie fillings mostly, but I had some experience with pressure canning as well. But why spend time and money learning what I already did without having had any obvious issues? The time commitment alone was daunting to me.
As an adult, I am a learner, I love taking classes and learning new things all the time. I have always felt that if there was something out there that I didn’t know that would make my journey better I needed to try it. I was already retired, but I was a busy volunteer at the local library teaching computer skills to adults some of who had never used a computer. So, I had some teaching skills, but mostly I wanted to know what I didn’t know about food preservation. Not just the how, but the why. I didn’t know the whys.
For about a year, I took workshop classes through the San Joaquin County MFP program, loved the group and loved the learning. Several of the MFP’s there asked why I didn’t just become an MFP. I could not see myself quitting or changing my commitment to the library at that time. The timing just wasn’t right for me.
When the announcement came out for the 2018 training and it fit perfectly in my schedule, I threw caution to the wind and signed up. We had classes on Tuesday nights and labs on Saturdays. And the homework, and quizzes and studying, and wow, there were other things to learn besides canning.
I had watched my grandma drying tomatoes and peaches on old window screens but that was all I knew about dehydrating. I didn’t do much freezing either because I was an empty nester at the time and what was I going to do with all that food. The jams and pickles I could share with my family.
Excuse me, food safety? Well, I wipe off my counters, my utensils are clean, what more did I need to do? Ah, foodborne illnesses, Clostridium botulinum, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes and I need to know how to pronounce them too! What do you mean there is no such thing as the stomach flu?
I was learning what I didn’t know, and let me tell you there was a lot I didn’t know. But I wasn’t alone in this journey, I had classmates and we were all in on the same adventure. Some of them had more experience in food preservation and some had less but we were there for each other and we learned together. There were late evening phone calls and where did you find that, that’s not what I have. We became a determined team and we were not going to let anyone fail.
Before we knew it, we were helping to put on workshops, and then we were leading workshops. And we relied on each other for our successes, we wanted each other to succeed, and we did. Were there failures, you bet there were! But those are the best learning experiences. I always say just because I get it right the first time does not mean I know what I’m doing.
I have made some wonderful friends through the MPF program. Out of that 2018 class there are about 6 of us left that have stayed with the program and have dedicated ourselves to its success. We work well together and we have helped the program be successful. We are planning the training program for 2026, deciding what workshop we will offer in 2026, we have initiated the first Spanish language classes in California and I am lucky to share the co-coordinator duties in San Joaquin County with one of my closest friends. Just because we took that leap in 2018.
Do I know everything about food preservation? Absolutely not. I have my strengths and I know what I need to work on, and even more important I know where to get the information I need to be successful. To me, the most important was the why. I learned the why
If you have the opportunity, if you have not already made the leap, take it. Never hurts to learn.