Nine workshops across the growing season — pickling, jamming, canning, smoking, and curing — what the pantry forgot.
Five preservation methods, nine monthly workshops, one growing season. Each session stands alone — drop in on one, or attend them all. Pickling and fermentation in spring. Jelly, jam, and water-bath canning through summer. Pressure canning as the harvest peaks. Smoking and curing when the weather turns. Every workshop follows what’s abundant that week, sourced from local farms and the Taylor-Grady House garden. You leave with jars you filled yourself, recipes to take home, and skills your grandmother wished she’d passed down.
Canning was a homestead skill, passed from one generation to the next. Most have not even heard of the science of canning, let alone a smokehouse with meats curing from the rafters. Within two generations, the knowledge of how to make summer last through winter — how to turn abundance into security — nearly disappeared. Food Jar recovers it, one jar at a time.
Anchor Event
October 2026
Fall Festival
All-day celebration on the Taylor-Grady House grounds showcasing preservation work from across the season. Tasting stations, live demonstrations, and take-home jars.
What You’ll Take Home
Jars of preserved food from each session. A recipe packet with methods, timing, and safety guidelines. The practical knowledge to stock a pantry the way families once did.
What to Bring
Canning jars (pint or quart), new lids and bands, and an apron. Towels recommended for handling hot jars.
All produce, equipment, and instruction provided. Full materials list sent with registration confirmation.
- Schedule
- First Saturday of each month, March–November, 10 AM–1 PM. Each workshop stands alone — no prerequisites. Seasonal timing follows local harvest.
- Audience
- Home cooks, gardeners with more produce than they can eat, heritage seekers reconnecting with skills their grandparents had, anyone building pantry resilience beyond the grocery store.
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