Naturally Preserving Foods

 Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent

 President of Vegreville Garden Club, Diana Ashton, and member Jocelyn Hryniw gave a presentation on pickling and fermenting at the VGC Regular Meeting on September 29 at Vegreville Agricultural Society Boardroom.

VGC now has 63 members.

Diana Ashton reported that their club is in charge of the Horticulture portion in the Exhibit Hall during the Fair. 

Ashton said that many of the items from the former Vegreville Regional Museum are now moved into the Exhibit Hall, and will be permanent exhibits there. They decorated around them, and were pleased as they were appropriate and very nice.

The number of entries for their exhibits was the same, but the junior entries were up, and she believes that the attention the Junior Gardeners Club brought helped create this bit of an increase.

Bev McCarty spoke about the new program, Streetscapes, which was a committee of four members-three from VGC and one Vegreville Agricultural Society. They chose three categories-Front Yards, Best Balcony, and Best Business.

They only had nine nominations in the Front yard category, and no entries in the balcony or business category. “So, we drove around town, and we nominated two balconies and five businesses,” McCarty said.

After this, Ashton started to speak about fermenting and said sauerkraut is one of the top fermented foods.

Fermenting is pretty easy, and there are many books that will show you how to do this. The difference between fermenting and pickling is in fermenting it turns the sugars into lactic acid.  Fermented foods are good for you because they contain probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that improve our health and support the immune system. Pickled foods are a way to enjoy and preserve our food.   

Fermented foods also enhance nutrient absorption by breaking down anti-nutrients, increasing overall microbiome diversity, and providing valuable vitamins and antioxidants. 

Ashton then showed the fermented cucumbers she made out of vegetables, salt, and water. She mentioned not to use tap water, as the chloride will kill the ferment. Instead, use bottled water.

Next, Hryniw did a brief presentation on pickling and mentioned she uses bottled water and always keeps her pickles in the fridge, and they stay crisp. She doesn’t use any type of pickling salt, but uses regular coarse salt. “I wash the cucumbers, cut off the ends, and take a paring knife to poke holes in the cucumbers. Then at the bottom of the jar, I usually put some dill and pickling spice, and garlic, and then stuff my cucumbers in there. At the top of the jar, I put some pickling spice, garlic, and dill, and I boil my brine. I pour my hot brine in, wrap the top with a towel, put my lid on, close it up, and seal it,” Hryniw said.    

Attendees then were able to sample the pickles and fermented foods that members brought in.