Holiday Food Gifts Workshop Features Pear Liqueur And Other Artisanal Edible Techniques
The successful L.A. event, held at Homegirl Cafe and hosted by the L.A. County Master Food Preservers, was the first-ever public fundraiser that taught a group of 50 enthusiastic students how to channel their creativity into creating delicious presents for their friends and family.
First, students learned to make candied orange peels dipped in chocolate from scratch. The multi-step process involved blanching then cooking the peels in syrup, drying them, then dusting them in fine sugar before dipping them in chocolate. The result was a pleasantly chewy citrus candy with a slight crunch of the sugar coating and a hint of decadent chocolate that paired perfectly with the bitterness of the orange peel.
The spicy Guinness mustard demonstration used spices such as nutmeg and cloves as well as a bottle of Guinness Extra Stout beer. Whole brown mustard seeds were soaked in red wine vinegar before being blended with the other ingredients to create a fresh, aromatic batch of mustard with a zing that beats the processed stuff any day.
For the last lesson, Master Food Preservers program founder Chef Ernest Miller demonstrated how to make applesauce and cinnamon keepsake ornaments that resembled gingerbread cookies. The aroma of apple pie, perfect for the holidays, wafted through the air. Due to the dehydration process, these unique gifts can last for decades. The ornaments can be further personalized through decorating to make them even more special for the recipient.
The mission of the Los Angeles County Master Food Preservers, a volunteer arm of the University of California Cooperative Extension, is to teach safe home food preserving methods to the public through research-based educational programs taught by trained and certified volunteers. Food preservation safety is critical to preventing illness. Therefore, the workshop instructors taught with an emphasis on food safety methods.
The first public fundraiser workshop was a great success, and plans for the next one are already in the works. For information on upcoming events, visit the Master Food Preservers' blog.
You can reach reporter Tanaya Ghosh here or follow her on Twitter.
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