July 2024 Edition

Family & Consumer Sciences
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Monthly Russell County FCS Newsletter - July 2024 Edition

Canning Season Has Kicked Off
The Russell County Extension Office hosted two boiling water canning classes in June to offer instruction on how to properly can jams, jellies, and tomato products. Preserving foods through boiling water or pressure canning is a cost-efficient way to preserve your garden produce, or make homemade gifts.  Additionally, the Extension Office has a plethora of canning guides available for free for community members.   Please call the Extension Office at 270-866-4477 or email them at russell.ext@uky.edu for more information. 

Russell County Farmers’ Market Open for the Season 
The Russell County Farmers Market is open for the season! They will be open on the below dates.
Tuesdays - 9:00 am - 2:00 pm          Fridays - 7:30 am - Noon or Sell-out          Saturdays 9:00 am - Noon or Sell-out
The Farmers Market is located in the parking lot of the Russell County Extension Office. 

This Summer is Hot, Practice Heat Safety to Stay Safe

Oven Canning is Not Safe
Source: Annhall Norris, Food Preservation and Food Safety Extension Specialist

Oven canning is the process of placing food in jars, applying lids, then heating in an oven for a period of time until “done.” When you remove the jars and allow them to cool, the lids seal, and it is supposedly safe for the jars to sit at room temperature. However, this is not true. Oven canning is not a safe way to preserve food. Just because you used canning jars and the jar sealed, it doesn’t mean the food was preserved and is safe to eat. Food that you can in an oven has not reached a safe internal temperature and you should not store it at room temperature or eat it.     

The goal of canning is to destroy spoilage microorganisms and harmful bacteria that would otherwise be able to survive in the food at room temperature. It refers to heat treating closed containers of food for a set amount of time at a set temperature. The canning process uses moist heat to reach temperatures of 212 degrees F inside jars processed in a boiling water bath canner and 240 degrees F inside jars processed in a pressure canner. Using dry heat from an oven will not achieve these temperatures inside jars of food. Food canned in an oven will be underprocessed and runs the risk of bacterial contamination. Low acid foods in particular may be contaminated with the botulinum toxin, which causes botulism, a deadly form of food poisoning.     
It is also important to understand that canning jars are not designed for use in an oven. The dry heat can cause the glass to crack or shatter. Jars can explode in the oven causing personal injury and damage to the oven.

You should always use up-to-date, research-based canning recipes and processing procedures when canning food. Not all recipes on the internet or social media are research-based. You can find research-based recipes in the Cooperative Extension Service home canning publications, the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, or the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s website https://nchfp.uga.edu/. Follow each recipe exactly as written. Do not make changes to ingredients or the processing instructions. Not following the recipe precisely may result in sickness or death. 

References: https://extension.psu.edu/avoid-open-kettle-or-oven-canning and https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/ipd/canning/exhibits/show/techniques/processing/oven 

 

Upcoming Workshops

• July 9th: Cooking with Herbs @ Noon (R.C. Library)
• July 18th: Cooking Outdoor Meals @ 6 PM
• July 20th: Canning Vegetable Soup @ 10 AM 
• July 22nd:Cooking Desserts Outdoors @ 6 PM

Homesteading Series

• August 1st: Making Breakfast Sausage @ 5 PM
• August 8th: Sourdough & Breadmaking @ 5 PM
• August 15th: Rain Barrell @ 5PM
• August 22nd: Canning Meat @ 5 PM
• August 29th: Herb Garden @ 5 PM

For all workshops, please call 270-866-4477 to RSVP.  This allows the agent to better plan for your attendance.
You can also find these events on our Facebook Page.

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Office: 270-866-4477 OR Email: russell.ext@uky.edu    Website:  russell.ca.uky.edu

 

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Black Walnut Zucchini Bread with Lemon Glaze
Published On July 15, 2021 | In Breakfast Quick Breads By Home Baking Association 

Prep Time: 15 Minutes   Cook Time: 60 Minutes    Yield: 2 loaves

Recipe courtesy of Hammons lack Walnuts

Ingredients:

Bread:

• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cups Hammons Fancy Large Black Walnuts

Glaze:

• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray (with nonstick cooking spray) 2 standard loaf pans and set aside.
2. Combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir to blend.
3. Combine eggs, grated zucchini, oil, buttermilk, and lemon juice in a separate bowl and stir to blend.
4. Add zucchini mixture to dry ingredients and stir to blend. Fold in black walnuts.
5. Transfer batter evenly between 2 oiled loaf pans. Bake uncovered for 60–70 minutes or until the tester comes out clean. Cool.

Glaze

Combine confectioner’s sugar, granulated sugar, and lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Drizzle over zucchini bread.