The strawberries are ripe! If you have a home garden or community garden plot, you may already be harvesting fruits and vegetables for your table. If you dont, you can take advantage of one of the many u-pick farms in Douglas County. If you want to preserve some of your harvest to enjoy later in the year, here are a few reminders to make sure you have a safe, high quality product.

Take stock of what you have in the pantry or freezer from last year.

Before you start adding new items to your freezer, or make another batch of strawberry jam, think about what you actually use in a year. For best quality, most canned foods should be used within a year. However, they will still be safe if the seal is intact, they were canned using proper methods and they havent been exposed to extreme hot or cold temperatures.

Frozen foods kept in a freezer at 0F or below maintain quality for a few months to a year, depending on the product. Longer storage times will affect the quality but not the safety if they are handled properly.

Check your recipes.

Make sure you are using up-to-date, research-based information for all of your food preservation activities. Recommendations and recipes have changed over the years, and there is a lot of untested information available on the internet.

OSU Extension has dozens of publications available on its website, covering everything from low-sugar fruit spreads to canning smoked fish: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch/food-preservation.

Other reliable sources of information include So Easy to Preserve from the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving and the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. If you dont have access to the internet, stop by the Extension Office to pick up a copy of current publications.

OSU Extension also has a new app available for Android and iOS users. Intended for people with previous canning experience, the app provides simple checklists and a built-in timer to guide users in canning vegetables, fruits, meats and fish. https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/pnw689

Take a food preservation class to learn a new skill or refresh your memory.

Master Food Preservers offer hands-on classes for a minimal fee throughout the summer and fall. Upcoming classes include: Jams, Jellies and Pie Filling noon to 3 p.m. on June 24 at the Sutherlin Community Center, Pressure Canning Tuna 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 29 at the Umpqua Community Center and Canning Tomatoes and Salsa 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 26 at Pine Grove Community Church.

For more complete class information, and to register, visit http://extension.oregonstate.edu/douglas/food or contact the Douglas County OSU Extension Office at 541-672-4461.

Have the gauge tested on your pressure canner.

If you are pressure canning low-acid foods like tuna or green beans, it is essential that your gauge be accurate. All new pressure canner gauges should be tested before use, and then annually or when the lid has been dropped or bumped. OSU Extension Service Master Food Preserver volunteers are available to answer food preservation questions and test pressure canner gauges for free at the following locations.

Douglas County OSU Extension Service (office)

1134 SE Douglas Avenue, Roseburg.

1st & 3rd Thursdays of the month, July through October

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Douglas County Farmers Co-op, 124 SW Douglas Ave., Winston

1st and 3rd Sundays, June through August

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Lehne Garden & Orchard

386 Cleveland Rapids Road, Roseburg (off Garden Valley Road)

Saturdays, July 15 through Sept. 30, and alternating Fridays, July 14 through Sept. 29

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Umpqua Valley Farmers Market

1771 W. Harvard, Roseburg (First United Methodist Church parking lot)

Saturdays, June 3 through Sept. 30

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Elkton Community Education Center

15850 State Hwy 38 West, Elkton, OR

July 11, Aug. 8 and Sept. 12

9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

If you find yourself in a pickle and still have questions, call the OSU Food Safety and Preservation Hotline at 1-800-354-7319.

The hotline is available 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday July 10 through Oct. 13. It is staffed by trained Master Food Preserver volunteers from Douglas and Lane Counties.

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