Pickling is a form of food preservation that has enabled centuries' worth of people to keep food safe to eat over long periods of time. Beyond pickling as a handy way to store extra produce, pickles also add distinctive flavors to our culinary practices. In this interactive class you'll learn about both methods of pickling, fresh and fermented pickling.

We'll start with fresh (vinegar) pickles that you will prepare with spices of your liking. Participants will learn how to seal the jars for room-temperature, shelf storage (in the waterbath canner pot) and learn alternative storage methods, like refrigerator pickling. Jars of sealed, vinegar pickles also make great holiday and hostess gifts; get a jumpstart on your home-preserved gift plan for this holiday season!

In addition to waterbath canning methods and safety basics, you'll learn the basics of fermentation (brining) as a form of food preservation. Lacto-fermented foods provide numerous health benefits using lactobacillus bacteria to preserve food as opposed to vinegar. We'll discuss how fermentation works, why it's safe and how to successfully manage small-scale fermented pickling projects at home.

We will likely be working with green beans and okra for the fresh pickling portion of the class and pickling cukes for the fermentation portion, but those might change as the seasonal produce in local gardens and markets may vary. Participants will each take home their own personalized jar of fresh pickles.

Pickled snacks and an array of supper food will be served since this workshop spans the dinner hour.