Shannon Dougherty has never canned before, but she’s excited to give it a try this year.

“The food tastes so much better,” she said.

She plans to can blackberries and blueberries and try her hand at jams using Farmers Market produce.

“I don’t have a garden yet but it’s a future hobby,” Dougherty said.

Roselyn Payne, a retired home economics teacher, taught Dougherty and six other women the basics of water bath canning last month at the first of a series of home canning and preservation classes held at the Senior Activity Center.

Sponsored by Skagit Beat the Heat, the classes focus on different food-preserving techniques, including canning, freezing and drying.

Sandra Chomiak, a Master Gardner, was at the class to get a refresher. She took a home canning class in the 1970s.

“I want to see if there are any changes to canning,” she said.

She plans to can apples, peaches and other fruit and make jams and jellies.

Skagit Beat the Heat sponsored the community garden project that started earlier this year, and preserving extra fruits and vegetables was a natural progression, said member Betty Carteret.

“This is part of the big full-circle picture of having a garden and you have way more than you can eat now,” she said.

Carteret said it fits well with the group’s work to encourage people to get their food locally.

“The group’s mission is focusing on things we can do in our community both to reduce our carbon footprint and also to promote living sustainably,” she said. “If we can bring our food system back more locally and get people growing and preparing their food more at home or in the community, that supports the whole vision we have as a group.”

The country’s food production system is one of the largest contributors to carbon footprints, Carteret said.

In grandma’s day, canning was routine, but not as many people do it anymore.

“We’ve really gotten away from that with our grocery store convenience,” she said.

The combination of climate change and the economic downturn, among other factors, has people more interested in growing and preserving their own food.

“There’s a big revitalization of home gardens and community gardens are just booming around the country,” she said.

Carteret has done some of her own preserving, including traditional pickling with cucumbers and zucchinis, jams and jellies and even salsa with extra tomatoes. She’s also made soups, like minestrone and potato, using vegetables from her garden.

“Then come winter time I have all these soups I can pull off the counter,” she said.

Carteret said the canning and preservation classes are great for first-timers because they all include demonstrations of the different techniques.

“The great thing about these classes is it’s not just listening to someone, but she will actually be doing it,” she said.

At the first class last month, Payne showed the gathered group the entire water bath canning process, from sterilizing jars and cutting fruit to troubleshooting suggestions and where to store canned goods.

“Don’t be afraid of it. It’s lots of fun,” she told the group of mostly first-time canners.

As she went through the process, she gave the group suggestions and advice.

“When I can my fruits I never add sugar,” she said. “I can with just water.”

Sugar is not a preservative, she said, and by just adding lemon juice you prevent fruit like peaches from turning dark. You can also can using syrup.

Payne said one of the best preservation methods is freezing fruit and vegetables 12-24 hours after harvesting them.

“You’ve saved a lot more nutrients in your food than canning,” she said. “You loose nutrients in the heating process.”

She showed the class how to fill the jars with apricots and syrup, getting all the air bubbles out before putting on the lid. Jars were then boiled in a large pot for about 20 minutes.

Payne said high-acid foods store longer. All canned goods should be stored in cool, dry places.

She demonstrated recipes from “Ball Blue Book: Guide to Home Canning, Freezing and Dehydration” so students could recreate the canning at home.

“These are tried and true recipes,” Payne said. “You can do all kinds of things when you can fruits.”

Upcoming classes

Why give away your extra homegrown fruits and vegetables? Let Roselyn Payne show you how to preserve food by canning at home.

Home canning and preservation classes, offered through the Parks and Recreation Department, are coming up at the Senior Activity Center.

• 6-9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 — Pressure Canning
• 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26 — Waterbath Canning
• 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29 — Pressure Canning
• 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7 — Pressure Canning
• 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 — Pressure Canning
• 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21 — Water Bath Canning

Cost for each class is $12.50.

The book that will be used for the class is optional. “Ball Blue Book: Guide to Home Canning, Freezing and Dehydration” is available at Ace Hardware for $6.49. Other canning supplies are also available at the store.

To register for classes, call the Parks and Recreation Department at 293-1918.