Nina Corbett with final product, canned pears

By Evangeline Heath

As a native Angelino, I’m used to seeing trees sitting in yards pregnant with fruit that is never picked. Many home-owners don’t know what to do with all they produce and don’t have time harvest.  So the fruit dangles, like so many dusty Christmas ornaments, rotting away.

Food Forward is a new organization with a juicy idea to solve this problem. They organize “Fruit Picks” in residential neighborhoods and then donate the bounty to food banks.

They’ve collected over 60,649 pounds of fruit in 2009.  Beyond giving it to those in need, Food Forward is looking at other ways to preserve their produce.  Like canning.

On a Sunday afternoon, my husband and I were lucky enough to participate in Food Forward’s first canning workshop.  Kevin West of the savingtheseason.com and Nina Corbett of putsup.com were generous enough to donate their time and teach about twenty Food Forward volunteers the canning basics in the M.E.N.D Poverty kitchen in Pacoima.

M.E.N.D (Meeting Each Need With Dignity) is one of the largest poverty agencies in the Valley, serving over 368,969 people.

The canning process is straightforward and pleasing in its Zen-like repetition.  First peel the fruit, chop it, poach it, then heat the jars, fill them, seal them, boil them, cool them, and eventually eat them.

With 240 jars, 10 crates of pears, and 7 huge pots to work with, we split into groups and got to work. I grabbed a peeler with the dullest blade I’ve ever used and picked a pear to peel (say that three times fast).

Soon, everyone was moving apace: peelers, choppers, syrup makers, water boilers, timekeepers, jar washers, talkers, photographers, and jokers. We were a jolly group, buzzed with the easy camaraderie of folks who think spending a Sunday afternoon canning is a fun idea.

Volunteers working

My husband seemed to be having the best time, challenging anyone close by to try squeezing more pears into a jar than him. Needless to say, nobody could – for which he gave praise to many years of playing Tetris.

After a few hours, it was time to can the canning.  There was no official count, but I’d say we made about 50 jars of pear preserves which were all donated to M.E.N.D.  Not bad!  Plus, FF now has a small army of expert canners at the ready.

Afterwards, we were treated to a smorgasbord of Kevin and Nina’s gourmet preserves.  Kevin’s Fire-Roasted Peppers in Red Wine Vinegar (a recipe that is thankfully published on his blog) were transcendent.  Nina’s raspberry jam was about the best I’ve ever tasted.  Oh and the pickled okra – yum!

For those of you out there with fruit trees in your yards, Food Forward is always looking for new trees to harvest.  Contact Erica, the Property/Harvesting Coordinator at erica@foodforward.org.

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Evangeline Heath is a foodie and sustainable living advocate. She blogs at www.farmapartment.com