Many types of fruit and juices can be used to make jams and jellies. This guide provides recipes for several wild fruits, including buffalo berries, chokecherries, gooseberries, ground cherries, pin cherries, rose hips and sand cherries. You may need to experiment a bit to get an acceptable product because of variations in the growing conditions and varieties of wild fruits.

Water-bath canning is a method of preserving high-acid foods. Fresh foods contain a high percentage of water, which makes them very perishable. High-acid foods can be preserved safely when they reach temperatures provided by a boiling water-bath canner. To kill harmful molds, yeasts and some bacteria, processing using the boiling water-bath method ensures the safety of preserved produce. However, this method does not provide high enough temperatures to destroy botulinum spores in low-acid foods such as vegetables.

Pickling is one of the oldest known methods of food preservation. Pickled foods add a special touch to many snacks and meals.

While many excellent types of salsa are available in supermarkets, you can tailor homemade fresh salsa to suit your own taste buds. By following guidelines in this publication, you can safely process salsa in a water bath canner for later enjoyment.

Food preservation guidelines have changed through time. Test your knowledge of current food preservation recommendations by deciding if these statements are facts or myths. See the answers and explanations on the back.

A food safety study was conducted with 58 international students from 30 different countries at North Dakota State University. Participants indicated the kind of food safety information they would like to get to help them safely handle new and unfamiliar foods they encountered in the U.S. many of the participants asked for information about food storage, preserving leftovers, proper handling of salads and fresh vegetables, and the safety of processed and frozen foods.

Sweet spreads are foods with many textures, flavors and colors. They are thickened or jellied to varying degrees. The traditional jellies and jams are preserved primarily by sugar.

Processing is essential to ensure safety when canning fruits. Fruits, being acidic foods, can be processed safely in a boiling-water bath. However, some people prefer to pressure-process fruits.

The method used for canning a product is determined primarily by the acidity of the food or mixture of foods being canned. Low-acid foods must be processed in a pressure canner to be free of botulism risks.

How about some chips and salsa? While many excellent types of salsa are available in supermarkets, you can tailor homemade fresh salsa with fresh vegetables or fruits to suit your own taste buds. By following research-tested recipes, you can process salsa safely in a water-bath canner for later enjoyment. If your recipe has not been tested to determine its acidity and safety for canning, you can freeze the salsa