Jeff Hill – Canning and Drying Foods for Winter Consumption

Jeff Hill is a plant science expert who focused on plant health and agronomy during his studies in college.

You may be afraid of canning foods at home because it seems dangerous. If you follow step-by-step instructions for canning fruits and vegetables, your sauces, jams, pickles and tomatoes will be just fine. You can always tell if a jar was properly sterilized by looking at the color of the canned food or the lid of the jar. A bowed or rounded on top jar points to botulism. A lid that doesn’t pop when you open a jar indicates that the jar was not sealed properly. If the liquid has a strange color that looks brown or black, it means that something went wrong. If the food looks slimy or moldy, you should throw it in the garbage.

Canning offers a number of benefits compared to freezing. First, you do not need a freezer for food when it’s canned. Second, some foods, such as pickles and peaches, taste better when canned.

Canning is more complicated compared to freezing and drying. It also preserves the least amount of nutrients in food. In contrast, dried foods are great sources of nutrients and energy. You do dry your foods the old-fashioned way: by hanging them in a dry place and letting them dry or by using a dehydrator or an oven. Just like with freezing, blanching vegetables before you start the preservation process helps them keep their nutritional value. Slicing or dicing produce into pieces helps it dry faster and makes the process easier.

Agriculture experts like Jeff Hill know about the importance of strictly following the rules. Use a screen when drying food outdoors. Cover the produce with a cloth to safeguard it from insects. Once the food dries, keep it in the refrigerator or in a dark cold place.

Jeff Hill Tests His Dedication to Agriculture at Reedley

Jeff Hill pursued his Associates Degrees in Plant Science and Agriculture Business as an initial “testing of the waters”, a way to experiment with his agricultural turn of mind and his true dedication to agriculture as a career and way of life.  Hill’s pursuit of an Associates in Plant Science enabled him to test his feelings about this career path before he delved into a pursuit of the Bachelors of Science in the subject.

Jeff Hill

The Associates Degree is the equivalent of the first and second year education of those pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree; although it is important to check into the transfer of credits process to ensure that courses for the Associates will translate into ongoing work toward the Bachelor’s at the chosen university.

Jeff Hill attended Reedley College in Reedley, California a public community college which offers Associates Degrees in 80 disciplines.  Reedley offers the option to transfer to a 4-year university if they make the decision to pursue their chosen discipline.  Hill attained his AG Business and Plant Science AA’s, and was moved to concentrate his studies for another two years to specialize in Agronomy at Fresno State.
Jeff Hill chose Reedley College carefully when searching for a school that would offer the types of agricultural background education which would advance his goals in agronomy.  Hill’s choice of Reedley College was both an experimental venture to measure his dedication to agricultural sciences and a carefully planned preliminary study to find his true areas of interest in the field and his strongest points of achievement.

http://www.aadegree.website/aa-degree-in-plant-science/