Pepper Basics
Purchasing & Preparing Peppers Sweet peppers should be fresh-looking, firm, thick-fleshed and a bright green or red color, depending on the stage of maturity. Avoid peppers that are soft and...
Author: E.H. Hoyle
Peach Basics
Getting Ready to Preserve Peaches Choose ripe, mature fruit of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking. Dip fruit in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds until skins loosen. Dip quickly in cold...
Melon Basics
Buying Melons When selecting melons of any variety, look for quality and freshness. The melon rind should have good color and should not be misshapen or bruised. The rind should give slightly at the...
Cucumber Basics
Buying Cucumbers for Fresh Eating Select only well-shaped, firm cucumbers that are a deep green color. Avoid any exceptionally large cucumbers or those appearing puffy, shriveled or withered. At...
Corn Basics
Getting Ready to Preserve Corn Select only tender, freshly-gathered corn in the milk stage. Husk and trim the ears, remove silks, and wash. Canning Corn Wash ears and blanch 3 minutes in boiling...
Food Safety after a Tornado
Be Prepared If you live in an area where loss of electricity from seasonal storms is a problem, you can plan ahead to be prepared for the worst. Keep your freezer as full as possible by freezing...
Dill Pickles & Sauerkraut
How Does Fermentation Preserve? Brined pickles or fermented pickles go through a curing process in a brine (salt and water) solution for one or more weeks. Curing changes the color, flavor and...
Fruit Syrups & Honeys
Fruit Syrups Juices from fresh or frozen blueberries, cherries, grapes, raspberries (black or red) and strawberries are easily made into toppings for use on ice cream, pancakes and pastries. Fruit...
Pickled Foods
Pickled Dilled Beans Ingredients: 4 pounds fresh, tender green or yellow beans (5- to 6-inches long) 8 to 16 heads fresh dill 8 cloves garlic (optional) ½ cup canning or pickling salt 4 cups white...
Chestnuts
When growing chestnuts at home, it is important to distinguish between the “real” chestnut trees (Castanea species) and those trees producing horsechestnuts and buckeyes (Aesculus...
Vibrio vulnificus
The organism Vibrio vulnificus causes wound infections, gastroenteritis or a serious syndrome known as “primary septicema.” V. vulnificus infections are either transmitted to humans...
Food Service Operation Inspections
In South Carolina, the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) is the regulatory agency with the authority to inspect food service operations. The ultimate goal of a food establishment...