Preservation Link Roundup 2/4/10

The Washington Post attended the "Edible Institute," the annual meeting of the editors of Edible magazines, aka Edible Communities, the publishing network of local food magazines, such as our own Edible LA (A Look into the Edible Future). The trends discussed at the conference include things like innovative CSAs and how local food businesses help rebuild local communities.

The LDS Activity Day Ideas blog had an interesting idea for dry mixes in a jar that hadn't occurred to me (Family Home Evening in a Can ... Done!). We're all familiar with putting cookie mixes or soup mixes nicely layered into a jar for a gift. What I hadn't considered is that such gift jars can be made and given as a family activity. Maybe a "rainy day" can or something would be a nice gift to give to a family with children.

Wisconsin has nearly passed a bill that would allow home canners to sell their product at farmers' markets and the like without licensing and inspection, according to the AP (Home Canning Exception Gains). I'm sort of torn on this. On the one hand, it would encourage a lot of good product. On the other hand, if someone messed it up, the consequences would be bad for those affected and the backlash could be significant. Still, I think the dangers are probably worth it.

LA's own Homegrown Evolution has a very good post on freezing vegetables, both kale (which is abundant now) and a mixture of other veg that is a bit past its prime (More Fun with Food Preservation). I like the concept of freezing mixed vegetables. It would be quite interesting to make mirepoix or trinity cubes.