Milton Hershey School (MHS) Instructional Assistant
Carol O’Donovan purchases plants from fifth-grade stu
dent Cory Shockey during the Mini-Society Outdoor Mar
ket.
Students Conduct
Outdoor Market
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.)
Milton Hershey School (MHS) el
ementary students took part in
an annual end-of-the-school-year
project, an outdoor market.
Each year, the fifth-graders de
velop businesses for a “mini-so
ciety” as a career educational ex
perience. During a designated
“shopping day,” MHS staff act as
consumers, using student-de
signed money to purchase goods
and services provided by students
at their businesses.
All businesses are product
based to provide students with an
in-depth study of the start-to-fin
ish process of producing and sell
ing a product. All products,
which include maple syrup,
honey, butter, ice cream, herbs,
Milton Hershey School students explain their ag-relat
ed products to Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Secretary Sam Hayes before the opening of the Mini-So
ciety Outdoor Market.
birdseed, and soap, were made
with resources available at the
School’s Agricultural and Envi
ronmental Education (AEE)
Land and Learning Use Centers.
AEE staff guided students in
their product-making activities.
In early stages of the 12-week
project, students completed re
search to determine products that
would be in demand, as well as
how to make those products. For
example, students making bird
seed researched attractive birds
indigenous to this region and
their diet preferences. With the
information, students were able
to determine for themselves the
best ingredients for their bird
seed.
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The Well Preserved news
column is prepared by Lan
caster County Cooperative
Extension. It includes food
preservation information and
questions.
July seems to burst forth
with an abundance of produce
from our gardens and local or
chards needing to be preserved.
Freezing foods requires less
time and effort than canning,
and some people prefer the re
sulting quality and texture.
Freezing is especially desira
ble when you have small quan-
tities to freeze. Even food pre
servers who have only the
freezer on top of the refrigera
tor can preserve a few pints of
blueberries or packs of green
beans from the garden. Wheth
er you are freezing large quan
tities or small amounts, there
are some basic guidelines to fol
low for best results: Maintain a
freezing temperature of 0 de
grees F. or lower. This is much
colder than the freezing tem
perature of water and is needed
to maintain the quality of fro
zen food.
Keep a freezer thermometer
in the freezer to monitor the
temperature. Freeze foods as
soon as they are packaged. Add
only 2 to 3 pounds of food per
cubic foot of storage space so
that the food will freeze within
24 hours. Overloading the
freezer slows down the freezing
rate which results in the loss of
quality. Place food in contact
with the freezer surface in the
coldest part of the freezer.
Leave a little space between
packages so that cold air can
circulate between them. When
the food is frozen, the packages
can be placed closer together.
Label each package or con
tainer with the name of the
product and packaging date.
You may also need to include
any added ingredients, the
number of servings or amount
and the form of the food such
as whole, sliced, etc.
Unless you are using the in
dividually quick freezing meth
od, pack foods in quantities
that will be used for a single
meal. Cool all foods and syrups
before packaging to speed up
freezing. This also maintains
the natural color, flavor and
texture of the food.
Here are some questions that
we have received at the exten-
Free Farm Market Guide For Montgomery County
COLLEGEVILLE (Chester
Co.) Warmer weather means
fresh, locally-grown produce is
becoming available, and Mont
gomery County Cooperative
Extension offers a free “Farm
Market Guide.”
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Agency
Well Preserved
Tips For Successful
Freezing of Foods
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 13, 2002-B9
sion office: How much head
space is needed for frozen
foods? It depends upon the
type of food, the container
used, and the type of pack.
Head space is needed to allow
for the expansion of liquid
when it is frozen. Inadequate
headspace results in sugary liq
uid seeping out of the container
onto other packages and onto
the freezer surfaces. Fruits
packed in juice, sugar, syrup or
water, crushed or pureed fruit
should have Vi inch headspace
for pint containers and 1 inch
head space for quart containers
with a wide top opening.
Liquid pack fruits should
have 'A inch head space in pint
containers and 1 'A inch
headspace in quart containers
with a narrow top opening. The
liquid nature of juice requires
more headspace and you
should allow 1 'A inches in a
container with a narrow top
opening. Fruits or vegetables
packed without added sugar or
liquid require only 'A inch
headspace in either wide or
narrow top containers. Foods
that do not need head space in
clude loose packing vegetables
such as asparagus and broccoli.
What effect does freezing have
on spices and seasonings? Pep
per, cloves, garlic, green pep
per, imitation vanilla, and some
herbs tend to get strong and
bitter. Onion and paprika
change flavor during freezing.
Celery seasonings become
stronger. Salt loses flavor and
has the tendency to increase
rancidity of any item con
taining fat. If it is necessary to
season foods before freezing,
season lightly and add addi
tional seasoning when reheat
ing or serving the food. Can all
foods be frozen? No, some
foods become limp, soft, and
mushy when frozen. Foods that
are traditionally eaten raw such
as lettuce, celery, cress, cucum
bers, endive, cabbage, parsley,
and radishes become water
logged and develop off colors,
aromas, and flavors.
Cucumbers and cabbage can
be frozen as marinated prod
ucts but do not have the same
texture as regular slaw or pick
les. Baked or boiled potatoes
tend to become soft, crumbly,
meaty, and watery when fro
zen. Do you really need to
blanch vegetables to freeze
them? Most vegetables need to
blanched to stop the enzyme re-
Forty-eight Montgomery
County farms and farmers’
markets are listed in the publi
cation. A description of avail
able items, location, and busi
ness hours for each market are
given. There is also a helpful
actions that cause the ripening
process. Blanching improves
the color, flavor, and texture of
the frozen food. Exceptions to
blanching vegetables are chop
ped onions, green peppers, cel
ery, and herbs.
Is it cost effective to buy a
freezer? A freezer is usually
more of a convenience than a
saving. Make the best use of
your freezer by keeping the
freezer full, using and replacing
the food, and using older food
first. Can food be reffozen if it
has thawed? Foods that still
have some ice crystals in the
package can be safely reffozen
although the quality will be
lower. Fruits survive thawing
with the least damage to quali
ty-
What causes freezer bum?
Moisture loss in the form of ice
crystals evaporating from the
surface of the food produces a
grainy grayish white or brown
ish spot. The tissues become
dry and tough but are not
harmful. Package food in
heavy weight moisture proof
wrap or vapor proof containers
to prevent moisture loss.
Why do frozen peaches be
come brown? Enzymes in fruit
cause browning as the fruit
continues to ripen and Vitamin
C is lost. Browning can be con
trolled by adding ascorbic acid.
How can I freeze green beans
so that they don’t clump to
gether? Try freezing them in a
single layer on a tray. Fretze
them only until they are frozen
through and immediately place
into vapor proof freezer bags or
containers. This works well for
many fruits and vegetables.
Called individually quick freez
ing, this method allows you to
remove the portion you want at
any given time.
If you have food preservation
questions, a home economist is
available to answer questions
on Wednesdays 10:00 a.m.-l:00
p.m., call (717) 394-6851 or
write Penn State Cooperative
Extension, Lancaster County,
1383 Arcadia Rd., Rm.l, Lan
caster, PA, 17601.
chart for consumers to show
which months are best for ob
taining specific fruits or vege
tables.
For a free copy, contact the
Cooperative Extension office at
(610)489-4315.