Learn canning basics on Sunday

Kristin Davis, the family and consumer specialist for Mecklenburg Cooperative Extension, will continue her series of summer cooking classes at Harvest Moon Grille on Sunday afternoon with "Canning and Preserving the Harvest."

The class will cover the basics of food preservation, the difference between high- and low-acid foods and other preservation techniques. Every person will leave with a canning booklet including recipes and instructions.

The class is 2-5 p.m. at the Dunhill Hotel, 235 N. Tryon St., and costs $25 per person. You need to call to reserve a spot: 704-342-1193.

Mecklenburg wants to help you fill those cans

Canning fans, forgive me: I've had the list of canning classes from the Mecklenburg Cooperative Extension on the top of my stack for weeks and haven't gotten it posted up on the blog.

That doesn't mean the classes aren't worthy. And while you've missed "Basics of Home Food Preservation" and "Basics of Waterbath Canning," you still have a couple of helpful classes ahead. And a whole summer's worth of food to use them on.

• "Basics of Pickling Your Harvest" is still ahead on Thursday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Piedmont Natural Gas Technology Kitchen, 4301 Yancey Road. Cost: $15. You can sign up if you call by the end of the day Wednesday. Call 704-336-2082 and ask for Class Code 35694.
• "No Pressure! Basics of Canning Low-Acid Foods" (ie, when and how to use a pressure canner) is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. June 21 at the Piedmont Natural Gas kitchen, 4301 Yancey Road. Deadline for signup is also Wednesday. Cost is $15; call 704-336-2082; class code is 35692.
• "Jam Party! Canning Jams, Jellies and Fruit Spreads," is at Harvest Moon Grille at the Dunhill Hotel, 237 N. Tryon St., from 2-5 p.m. June 24. The cost is $24. Call 704-332-4141 to register.
• Finally, "Canning and Preserving the Harvest," covering both pressure and water-bath canning, will be from 2-5 p.m. July 22 at Harvest Moon Grille. Cost is $25. Call 704-332-4141.

And if canning isn't your thing, hang on for next Wednesday, when my colleague Andrea Weigl will have a story on refrigerator pickles and preserving. See? We've got you covered.

Giveaway: Not your grandmother's canning kit

As my colleague Andrea Weigl reports Wednesday, canning has taken off with a whole new generation of home preservationists.

To keep up with the popularity, Ball has a new Home Canning Discovery Kit: 3 jars with lids, a nifty heat-safe canning rack/lifter basket for lifting jars from boiling water, and a recipe book with instructions for pickles, relishes, salsas and a few more specialties you can make easily in a boiling-water canner.

To celebrate the smart cooks who are canners, I'm giving away one kit, which retails for about $10. Respond here with a name I can recognize you with, and we'll have a random drawing at the end of the day Wednesday.

Don't forget to check back here -- if I can't reach you, I can't send it to you.