Learning how to Preserve

I've always loved courses not only because you learn new things, it's also a nice way to spend a day with a friend.  After Karin and I finished making soap recently we rang up and booked ourselves into a "preserving course" before the kids finish school for two months.

The course was run by "Green Living Australia" at Underwood which is just out towards Ikea way if you know the Brisbane area.  Green Living Australia is a family owned business that has been going for about 10 years.

Today we learnt the correct procedure how to cook and do water baths for Jams, Chutneys etc.  The classes are kept small ie. a maximum of 6 students however today it was just Karin and I so we got lots of hands on experience and thoroughly enjoyed learning this new to us skill.  It was a good day to do it in an air-conditioned room considering it was a hot 32 degrees in Brisbane today.

  

We made a Kiwi Lime Jam, then a Shiraz Wine Jelly and an Apple Chutney all of which went into the water baths.  Lastly we learned about Fermented Vegetables like Korean Kimci and German Sauerkraut and we made the Kimci.  I probably won't be making this type of food again as I'm not a big fan however will be making lots of the other things with my new preserving skills.  While we were there I picked up some extra soap making supplies to replenish my kit after making the first batch of soap.

Here's a few photos from our day and we are going to enroll in the "Cheese Making" course next year.  Even though there are instructions and video's on the internet on how to make cheese, I like to be taught in a class environment so Karin and I have put this on our "skills list" to learn in 2014.  At the end of the day we each got to take home a jar of everything we had made which was great.