Facts about Facility Kitchens

Our 2,800 sq foot kitchen is available to rent by the hour.  You can rent just the hours you need for your volume of production.  We supply the kitchen facility, utensils, basic kitchen equipment, basic pots and pans, a ware washing isle, hand sink, mop sink, kitchen towels and supplies for clean up.   Dry storage, freezer and cooler storage and rolling lockers for your supplies are also available for rent.  

We're here to help you grow your food business!  

Christmas Holiday Baking

Planning your Christmas baking,

but your kitchen at home is just too small?

Did you know that our kitchens are available for rent by the hour?

At Facility Kitchens you can get your

holiday baking done in half the time!

Contact us today to schedule.

 

 

Made In Michigan Annual Food Show

Facility Kitchens went to the Made in Michigan annual food show!

At the show, there were new food products and

great breakout sessions to help businesses get them to market.

Tonight

Don't forget tonights "PERSONAL PRODUCTION CANNING WITH THE CANNING DIVA"  5:45pm

Personal Production Canning, Nov 14 at 5:45pm

In-Season Personal Production Canning at

Facility Kitchens Lowell – 5:45P

November 14, 2013 5:45 pm

Personal Production Canning with the Canning Diva! 

 

Looking to put up as much of your favorite recipes this season but don’t have the kitchen space or time to manage the task…or the mess?  Well, the Canning Diva has the solution!
Gather your favorite recipe, ingredients, jars, lids and rings and meet us for an evening of personal production canning in Lowell and fill your pantry in no time!
The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens (a 2800 sq. ft. a commercial rental kitchen in Lowell, East on M-21-Fulton St) are teaming up to give West Michigan Canners an opportunity to can together!  Canners will reap the benefits of a spacious commercial kitchen all the while having fun producing a fun recipe their families will surely enjoy!
What to Expect:   Canners will be given time and resources to crank out a plethora of their favorite recipe for their personal consumption!  Canners will need to bring their own ingredients and jars/rings/lids – however, Facility Kitchens will provide food prep and processing supplies, facility space and utilities and, not to mention, the Canning Diva will be onsite to share her knowledge while keeping production moving forward!
Be sure to reserve your space ASAP as spaces are limited – and will fill up fast!

Facts about Facility Kitchens

Our 2,800 sq foot kitchen is available to rent by the hour.  You can rent just the hours you need for your volume of production.  We supply the kitchen facility, utensils, basic kitchen equipment, basic pots and pans, a ware washing isle, hand sink, mop sink, kitchen towels and supplies for clean up.   Dry storage, freezer and cooler storage and rolling lockers for your supplies are also available for rent.  We're here to help you grow your food business!  

"Enjoy life, it's delicious!"

Sanitizing Machine

We have recently added a sanitizer

to the equipment available in Facility Kitchens.  

This machine sanitizes glass containers before filling.  

It will help speed up your process of production.

New Food Business

One of the hardest things to overcome when starting a food business is taking on the expense of construction a commercial kitchen.  That is why Facility Kitchens has done that for you.  We are a fully licensed, fully equipped commercial kitchen for rent by the hour.  We taken on these high costs so you do not have to.  Our kitchen is available 24/7 for you to produce at your convenience.  Contact us today for pricing and a tour of our amazing kitchen!  
501 Ottawa, Lowell MI 49331
616.421.4540

We offer a 50% discount on your kitchen rental bills for the whole first 2 months after you apply for your license!  


"Enjoy life, it's delicious!"

Tonight Personal Production Canning, 5:45pm

Personal Production Canning with the Canning Diva!

Looking to put up as much of your favorite recipes this season but don’t have the kitchen space or time to manage the task…or the mess?  Well, the Canning Diva has the solution!
Gather your favorite recipe, ingredients, jars, lids and rings and meet us for an evening of personal production canning in Lowell and fill your pantry in no time!
The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens (a 2800 sq. ft. a commercial rental kitchen in Lowell, East on M-21-Fulton St) are teaming up to give West Michigan Canners an opportunity to can together!  Canners will reap the benefits of a spacious commercial kitchen all the while having fun producing a fun recipe their families will surely enjoy!
What to Expect:   Canners will be given time and resources to crank out a plethora of their favorite recipe for their personal consumption!  Canners will need to bring their own ingredients and jars/rings/lids – however, Facility Kitchens will provide food prep and processing supplies, facility space and utilities and, not to mention, the Canning Diva will be onsite to share her knowledge while keeping production moving forward!

 

October 17th 5:45 Personal Production Canning with the Canning Diva

In-Season Personal Production Canning – 5:45 Oct 17th

                                                                                                                                                     Personal Production Canning with the Canning Diva!
 
Looking to put up as much of your favorite recipes this fall season but don’t have the kitchen space or time to manage the task…or the mess?  Well, the Canning Diva has the solution!
Gather your favorite recipe, ingredients, jars, lids and rings and meet us for an evening of personal production canning in Lowell and fill your pantry in no time!
The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens (a 2800 sq. ft. a commercial rental kitchen in Lowell, East on M-21-Fulton St) are teaming up to give West Michigan Canners an opportunity to can together!  Canners will reap the benefits of a spacious commercial kitchen all the while having fun producing a fun recipe their families will surely enjoy!
What to Expect:   Canners will be given time and resources to crank out a plethora of their favorite recipe for their personal consumption!  Canners will need to bring their own ingredients and jars/rings/lids – however, Facility Kitchens will provide food prep and processing supplies, facility space and utilities and, not to mention, the Canning Diva will be onsite to share her knowledge while keeping production moving forward!
Be sure to reserve your space ASAP as spaces are limited – and will fill up fast!

Our Kitchen

One of the hardest things to overcome when starting a food business is taking on the expense of construction a commercial kitchen. That is why Facility Kitchens has done that for you. We are a fully licensed, fully equipped commercial kitchen for rent by the hour. We taken on these high costs so you do not have to. Our kitchen is available 24/7 for you to produce at your convenience. Contact us today for pricing and a tour of our amazing kitchen! We offer a 50% discount on your kitchen rental bills for the whole first 2 months after you apply for your license.

Cooking for Fun!!

It is fun and productive, just what a Michigander likes!
You do not need a license, insurance and food safety certification to use Facility Kitchens if you are cooking for fun, not for resale.
Contact us and let us know what you want to do.
We will set everything up so you can host your social cooking event! 

Getting ready for fall? Chicken Soup Canning is the perfect place for you!

The Canning Diva is moving into fall canning with chicken soup. She is doing personal production canning of chicken soup at Facility Kitchens October 3rd. For information, visit her website www.canningdiva.com. On her site, get Diane’s “chicken soup for canning” recipe, know how many quarts or pints you want to can and Diane helps you figure out how much of ingredients to buy. Then just buy your ingredients, jars and lids, and come to the session ready to use Facility Kitchens’ big commercial kitchen with big range tops. Walk out with jars of chicken soup for the winter. How great is that! To be held at Facility Kitchens www.facilitykitchens.com Thursday evening, October 3rd starting at 5:45pm – 10:30pm.

What can Facility Kitchens help you do?

Stepping up to a higher production volume is a

critical step in your business success. 

 

We help you reach profitability at a

higher level of food production, faster!

Homemade Chicken Soup Canning

Personal Production Canning Homemade Chicken Soup with the Canning Diva on a Thursday at our location so you have plenty in stock for the cold and flu season... She is wide open October 3rd. Register online or call to make arrangements!!

Let's stock our pantries together this fall!!

Have you heard...

Facility Kitchens is a 2.800 square foot facility with commercial kitchen equipment, available to rent by the hour. We are licensed as a mobile food establishment and commissary by the Michigan Department of Agricultural. We are able to help bakers, caterers, chefs, cooks and entrepreneurs become more profitable. Our kitchen is located in Lowell, Michigan.


Please visit us at www.facilitykitchens.com.

In-Season Fruit /Vegetable Personal Production Canning – Facility Kitchens in Lowell

Thurs, Sept 5 @5:45PM

 

Personal Production Canning with the Canning Diva!



Looking to put up as much of your favorite recipes this season but don’t have the kitchen space or time to manage the task…or the mess?  Well, the Canning Diva has the solution!  So gather your favorite recipe, ingredients, jars, lids and rings and meet us for an evening of personal production canning in Lowell and fill your pantry in no time!
The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens (a 2800 sq. ft. a commercial rental kitchen in Lowell, East on M-21-Fulton St) are teaming up to give West Michigan Canners an opportunity to can together!  Canners will reap the benefits of a spacious commercial kitchen all the while having fun producing a fun recipe their families will surely enjoy!
What to Expect:   Canners will be given time and resources to crank out a plethora of their favorite recipe for their personal consumption!  Canners will need to bring their own ingredients and jars/rings/lids – however, Facility Kitchens will provide food prep and processing supplies, facility space and utilities and, not to mention, the Canning Diva will be onsite to share her knowledge while keeping production moving forward!
Be sure to reserve your space ASAP as spaces are limited – and will fill up fast!

Personal Tomato Canning-Beautiful Salsa!!

Personal Canning with the Canning Diva!!

 We had a record breaking night

89 Quarts, 29 Pints and 6 Half Gallons.

 

 

In-Season Fruit/Vegetable Personal Production Canning Tonight!!

Personal Production Canning with the Canning Diva!
Peaches, blueberries, apples, cherries, raspberries and almost every summer vegetable start to make their appearance in August here in Michigan!  Gather your favorite recipe, ingredients, jars, lids and rings and meet us for an evening of personal production canning every Thursday night through August in Lowell!
The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens (a 2800 sq. ft. a commercial rental kitchen in Lowell, East on M-21-Fulton St) are teaming up to give West Michigan Canners an opportunity to can together!  Canners will reap the benefits of a spacious commercial kitchen all the while having fun producing a fun recipe their families will surely enjoy!
What to Expect:   Canners will be given time and resources to crank out a plethora of their favorite recipe for their personal consumption!  Canners will need to bring their own ingredients and jars/rings/lids – however, Facility Kitchens will provide food prep and processing supplies, facility space and utilities and, not to mention, the Canning Diva will be onsite to share her knowledge while keeping production moving forward!
Be sure to reserve your space ASAP as spaces are limited – and will fill up fast

Personal Canning with the Canning Diva

Personal production canning in Facility Kitchens was lead by the Canning Diva. Four ladies came in with 4.5 bushels of Roma and Heirloom tomatoes and left with 84 jars full. "Tis the Season!"

Personal Production Canning with the Canning Diva!

In-Season Fruit/Vegetable Personal Production Canning

Start:

August 15, 2013 5:45 pm

End:

August 15, 2013 10:15 pm

Cost: $45.00

 

Facility Kitchens 501 Ottawa, Lowell, MI, 49331, United States

Phone: 616.901.6531

Email: diane@canningdiva.com

Personal Production Canning with the Canning Diva!
Peaches, blueberries, apples, cherries, raspberries and almost every summer vegetable start to make their appearance in this month here in Michigan! Gather your favorite recipe, ingredients, jars, lids and rings and meet us for an evening of personal production canning every Thursday night through August in Lowell!
The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens (a 2800 sq. ft. a commercial rental kitchen in Lowell, East on M-21-Fulton St) are teaming up to give West Michigan Canners an opportunity to can together! Canners will reap the benefits of a spacious commercial kitchen all the while having fun producing a fun recipe their families will surely enjoy!
What to Expect: Canners will be given time and resources to crank out a plethora of their favorite recipe for their personal consumption! Canners will need to bring their own ingredients and jars/rings/lids – however, Facility Kitchens will provide food prep and processing supplies, facility space and utilities and, not to mention, the Canning Diva will be onsite to share her knowledge while keeping production moving forward!
Be sure to reserve your space ASAP as spaces are limited – and will fill up fast!

Personal Canning Tonight

The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens are teaming up tonight to give West Michigan canners a chance to can together!  Join us!

In-Season Fruit/Vegetable Personal Production Canning – 5:45PM

Start:

August 8, 2013 5:45 pm

End:

August 8, 2013 10:15 pm

Cost:

$45.00

Venue:

          Facility Kitchens    

Phone:

          616.421.4540

Address:    

          501 Ottawa, Lowell, MI, 49331, United States

Phone:

          616.901.6531

Email:

diane@canningdiva.com

Personal Production Canning with the Canning Diva!
Peaches, blueberries, apples, cherries, raspberries and almost every summer vegetable start to make their appearance in this month here in Michigan!  Gather your favorite recipe, ingredients, jars, lids and rings and meet us for an evening of personal production canning every Thursday night through August in Lowell!
The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens (a 2800 sq. ft. a commercial rental kitchen in Lowell, East on M-21-Fulton St) are teaming up to give West Michigan Canners an opportunity to can together!  Canners will reap the benefits of a spacious commercial kitchen all the while having fun producing a fun recipe their families will surely enjoy!
What to Expect:   Canners will be given time and resources to crank out a plethora of their favorite recipe for their personal consumption!  Canners will need to bring their own ingredients and jars/rings/lids – however, Facility Kitchens will provide food prep and processing supplies, facility space and utilities and, not to mention, the Canning Diva will be onsite to share her knowledge while keeping production moving forward!
Be sure to reserve your space ASAP as spaces are limited – and will fill up fast!

In-Season Fruit/Vegetable Personal Production Canning –

July 25, 2013 5:45 pm-10:15pm

 

Cost:

$45.00

Location:

Facility Kitchens  501 Ottawa, Lowell, MI, 49331, United States

Organizer:

Canning Diva

 

Phone:

616.901.6531

 

Email:

diane@canningdiva.com

Personal Production Canning with the Canning Diva!
Peaches, blueberries, apples, cherries, raspberries and almost every summer vegetable start to make their appearance in July here in Michigan! Gather your favorite recipe, ingredients, jars, lids and rings and meet us for an evening of personal production canning every Thursday night in Lowell!
The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens (a 2800 sq. ft. a commercial rental kitchen in Lowell, East on M-21-Fulton St) are teaming up to give West Michigan Canners an opportunity to can together! Canners will reap the benefits of a spacious commercial kitchen all the while having fun producing a fun recipe their families will surely enjoy!
What to Expect: Canners will be given time and resources to crank out a plethora of their favorite recipe for their personal consumption! Canners will need to bring their own ingredients and jars/rings/lids – however, Facility Kitchens will provide food prep and processing supplies, facility space and utilities and, not to mention, the Canning Diva will be onsite to share her knowledge while keeping production moving forward!
Be sure to reserve your space ASAP as spaces are limited – and will fill up fast!
Canning Recipe Suggestions:
Canned Peaches
Pickled Beets
Cherry Pie Filling
Canned Green Beans - Pressure Canning
Raw Sauerkraut
Pickles
Pickled Radishes
Peach Preserves and/or Jam
 

July 11 Canning Results for Cherries, Strawberries and Raspberries

July 11 production canning results for cherries, strawberries and raspberries!

Three canners, Janet of Facility Kitchens and her daughter Madeleine and niece, Clare, in from Kansas City, were led by Diane Devereaux, The Canning Diva.

Input: one 10# tub of pre-pitted tart cherries, from Heidi’s of Lowell, and one flat of raspberries, one flat of sweet cherries, and one flat of strawberries, from the Ada Farm market.

Output Tally! 4 quarts & 2 pints of cherry pie filling, 10 pints and 2 half-pints of raspberry-lemon concentrate, 5 pints of cherry berry fruit spread, 2 pints and 9 half-pints of cherry – lemon concentrate, and 6 pints of “Signature Strawberry Salsa” for a total of 40 jars processed.  (We did some pre-prep and used a cherry pitter.)

The next personal production canning session is July 17 starting at 5:45pm until 10:15pm. We will work with berries and cherries again. Bring enough berries and other ingredients for your recipe and jars, lids and rings and can as much as you can in 4.5 hours. Reserve your place in the canning line at www.canningdiva.com or email janet@facilitykitchens.com. The session is $45.00 for the 4.5 hours. Facility Kitchens is a large commercial rental kitchen and provides the space and tools for you to can your produce.

Check back to see our results or Join in

July 11 Canning Cherries

July 11! Join us for canning cherries at Facility Kitchens starting at 5:45pm - until 10:15pm! You bring enough tart and sweet cherries, your recipe ingredients, and the jars, lids and rings and leave with your cherries in jars. Facility Kitchens provides space, utilities, tools, and the clean-up. You do not need to be an experienced canner because Diane Devereaux, the Canning Diva, will lead you and answer your questions.  $45.00 for the 4.5 hour session. Sign up at www.canningdiva.com or email janet@facilitykitchens.com to reserve your place in line. Join in!

June 27 Production Canning Results: Strawberries

June 27 production canning results: Strawberries

One canner worked with strawberries in a very short session making strawberry pie filling.

Input: One flat of strawberries

Output: eight pints of strawberry pie filling.

This may be it for strawberries this year.

All-in-all; During this June, at Facility Kitchens’ personal canning sessions, nearly 18 flats of strawberries were processed into: rhubarb-strawberry pie filling, “Signature Strawberry Salsa”, jam, strawberry-lemon concentrate, strawberry pie filling, and bags of frozen strawberries.

It is “On to Cherries!” for the next production canning session. Stay tuned and Join in!

Strawberry Production Canning Results

June 24 production canning results:

Four canners working in two teams did a production canning session in Facility Kitchens. Laurie Brooks was “Leader of the Pack”. They worked with strawberries. One team made freezer jam and the other made canned jam.

Input: 8 flats of strawberries, 4 were hulled before coming in.

Output: 32 pints of freezer jam, 29 pints of canned jam, and at least 16 bags of frozen strawberries. There were 2 failures to seal.

Total Units: At least 77 total units of strawberries processed in one evening!

The next production session is today, Thursday, June 27.  Diane Devereaux will lead a session working with strawberries. To get more information and reserve your space in the canning line visit www.canningdiva.com

Production Canning Results of Strawberry Salsa, June 20th

June 20th production canning results of: “Signature Strawberry Salsa” and strawberry-lemon concentrate.

Thursday evening four canners with Diane Devereaux leading the session processed “Signature Strawberry Salsa” and a strawberry-lemon concentrate.  

Input: We had at least four flats of strawberries and enough of the minor ingredients for quadruple batches of “Signature Strawberry Salsa” and one and a half batches of the strawberry-lemon concentrate.

Production results: 43 processed pints of “Signature Strawberry Salsa”, 7 processed pints of strawberry-lemon concentrate, 2 pints of unprocessed (to be refrigerated) concentrate, and 5 bags of frozen strawberries.

The strawberry salsa may be eaten with chips or poured over pork, chicken, or cheese. The concentrate may be a drink mix with club soda, or used as a smoothie starter, or a daiquiri starter. Both recipes are quite versatile.

Next week’s planned production is for the last of strawberry season and the beginning of cherry season. Possible choices to preserve include more salsa or drink concentrate, cherry pie filling, maraschino cherries, canned cherries, or jam.

To reserve your space in the June 27 canning line, go to www.canningdiva.com to sign up on-line. You bring your ingredients and jars and we provide the tools, the facility, the cleanup, and The Canning Diva leading the session to bring order and increase output.

The Canning Diva’s “Signature Strawberry Salsa” recipe is also available on her site.

Tune in next week for the results of canning production for Thursday, June 27.

Strawberry Salsa Production Pictures

 Doesn't this look fun, nutritious and delicious!!!

 

Strawberry Salsa Canning Tomorrow Night

 

Kick off the Canning Season with the Canning Diva!
The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens (a 2800 sq. ft. a commercial rental kitchen in Lowell, East on M-21-Fulton St) are teaming up to give West Michigan Canners an opportunity to can together!  Canners will reap the benefits of a spacious commercial kitchen all the while having fun learning a new recipe their families will surely enjoy!
What to Expect:   Canners will be given time and resources to crank out a years supply of the Diva’s Signature Strawberry Salsa for their personal consumption!  Canners will need to bring their own ingredients and jars/rings/lids – however, Facility Kitchens will provide food prep and processing supplies, facility space and utilities and, not to mention, the Canning Diva will be onsite to share her knowledge while keeping production moving forward!
Be sure to reserve your space ASAP as spaces are limited – and will fill up fast!
Important Production Canning Information:

• You must sign up before the class date as registration closes at 12:01 AM the day of the class. Payment is required at time of registration.
• Sometimes, we may have to cancel scheduled classes due to: insufficient participation, really bad weather, or other unspecified circumstances. In these cases we will notify you by email and phone and we will refund your payment.
• You may cancel your registration up to 1 week prior for an equal value class credit. No cash refunds for canning classes unless canceled by Canning Diva. Cancellations within 1 week are not refundable, although you may have someone take your class reservation.
• We cannot accommodate walk-ins, audits, or unpaid guests.
• Production Canning is designed for adults, however minor children over the age of 16 are allowed with an accompanying paid parent or guardian.
• We endeavor to make the Production Canning small, informal, entertaining, informative and fun. Feel free to ask any questions or share your experiences during the class.
• Each attendee is encouraged to bring enough ingredients and materials to produce as many jars of food for personal consumption as possible within the time allowed.
• We have non-alcoholic beverages available. You are welcome to bring a beverage of your choice – we have wine glasses.
• Aprons will be provided for your use during production.
• Production Canning start promptly at the scheduled time – so plan to arrive with enough time to settle in. 

Rhubarb & Strawberry Pie Filling and “Signature Strawberry Salsa” Results

June 13 - Production canning results for: Rhubarb & Strawberry Pie Filling and “Signature Strawberry Salsa”

Thursday evening we canned “Signature Strawberry Salsa” and rhubarb-strawberry pie- filling.

Input: Three flats of strawberries (24 quarts), about 30 stalks of rhubarb, and a lot of the lesser ingredients including  jalapeño peppers, green and red peppers,  lime juice, cilantro, mint, sugar, vinegar and onions. We quadrupled the recipes from www.canningdiva.com  

• The hard part was prepping the strawberries, rhubarb, onions and peppers. It took almost 3 hours to wash and chop everything for a quadruple batch of each recipe. Fortunately it is enjoyable prepping and talking while drinking margaritas.
• The easy part was cooking the pie filling mixture and salsa mixture on the range tops for about 15 minutes.
• The really fun part was filing the jars. It takes some time and is my personal high-pressure part of canning.
• Both recipes only need to be water-bathed for a short time, and we were done!

Output: Rhubarb Strawberry Pie Filling - 4 quarts and 11 pints; “Signature Strawberry Salsa”- 17 pints;

Strawberry Salsa marinade – 3 pints processed and 3 quarts unprocessed to be refrigerated for quick consumption; strawberries frozen – 5 bags

Total: 43 units and they are lovely on the shelf, all pink.

What did we learn?  Three flats of strawberries is a lot of strawberries and having Diane Devereaux running the session cuts ingredient waste and reduces failures. Thanks again Diane!

Next week we will again can “Signature Strawberry Salsa” and a canned strawberry – lemon drink concentrate.

Flash Change in Tomorrows Production Canning Session

The rhubarb & strawberry pie filling canning session for tomorrow is changed to next week, June 13, to follow the season’s produce

We planned to can rhubarb & strawberry pie filling in tomorrow’s production canning session. Rhubarb is ready and will still be ready next week. Strawberries are not ready and will be available next week.

We will do rhubarb & strawberry pie filling along with “Signature Strawberry Salsa” in next week’s production canning session on June 13, 2013, starting at 5:45pm going until 10:15pm. To reserve your space in the canning line, go to www.canningdiva.com.  

My goal is to make three batches (21-24 pints) of rhubarb & strawberry pie filling and one batch (7-9 pints) of the “Signature Strawberry Salsa” in 4.5 hours next week.

Production Canning Report for May 30, 2013

We started at 5:45pm with three canners, Janet and Clare of Facility Kitchens, and Diane Devereaux, The Canning Diva, who also ran the session.

Janet & Clare brought in 20 pounds of fresh asparagus with the goal of processing it all into canned, pickled, and frozen asparagus.  Diane brought in ingredients to test the creation of her new recipe of conserve.

Michigan asparagus is in the peak of its season and our produce was tender and tasty which was perfect for processing. To prepare the asparagus, we washed and trimmed off the tough ends, then cut the spears to fit in pint jars, saving the cut off parts for freezing. The hardest part of this whole process was getting the spears into the jars. The spears to be pickled were hot packed with vinegar and salt and water bathed. The spears to be canned were packed with just water and pressure canned.  A few spears and the reserved ends were blanched, vacuum packed and then frozen.

Tally! 9 pints of canned asparagus in water, 9 pints of pickled asparagus in vinegar and salt and 5 bags of frozen asparagus for soup. We easily accomplished our goal in the 4.5 hours.

Diane focused on perfecting her new conserve recipe; check out her facebook page at  www.canningdiva.com for pictures and details. Tally! for Diane, 9 pints of very colorful conserve.

Clare Seesing is in from Kansas City and is learning and helping to preserve the summer's harvest.

 

 

Next week we are producing rhubarb & strawberry pie filling. Stay tuned!

To sign up and see the list of ingredients for the pie filling visit www.canningdiva.com

Thursday, May 16 Production Canning

 

We started at 5:45pm with two canners:  Janet of Facility Kitchens, and Briana, a first time canner doing strawberry salsa for her wedding.  The Canning Diva, Diane Devereaux, ran the session.  Janet planned to do asparagus and will wait because Heidi’s’ farm market of Lowell said the asparagus were not at their peak and waiting even a week will provide more plentiful and tender asparagus.

• Janet did a repeat of beans in pints and chocolate syrup in half-pints to improve her processes and recipes. The pork and beans were changed to vegetarian beans in tomato sauce using Northern beans. This was the second try for the beans and Janet’s conclusion is: Nuña or Northern beans are best, use 4 pounds of beans, mix 2.5 times the sauce ingredients called for in the recipe, be sure the beans are fairly soft before filling, fill jars with beans and onions to barely ¾ full to make the finished beans more saucy, and try for consistency in the amount of beans, onions and sauce per jar. Goal:  18 consistent pints in a session.
• The chocolate syrup was flavored with cherry syrup to make cherry -flavored chocolate syrup. The recipe only produces 3 half-pints. The thickness is controlled by how long it is simmered and stirred.   Conclusion on the chocolate syrup.  Triple the recipe and you will get 9 half-pints per session.  (Maybe try mint, anise, and coffee flavors too.)

See details and the recipe of Brianna’ Strawberry Salsa at www.canningdiva.com . Diane Deveraux developed and has perfected this recipe. The canned result is beautiful.  A superb marmalade is a bonus from the reserve of the canning. This was Briana’s first production canning session and she hopes to have a full pantry by fall.  
June 13 and June 20 Diane’s Signature Strawberry Salsa is planned to be the featured production run both Thursday’s.  
No canning on the 23rd, Diane is off for the weekend. Thanks Diane for running the show, it makes a huge difference to have an experienced canner in the house.

May 16, Canning Session

We're really looking forward to Thursday Canning Session with Diane the Canning Diva and Janet with Facility Kitchens!  Come join us! 

Visit  www.facilitykitchens.com or

www.canningdiva.com for more information!

Check out what's going on this Thurs, May 16th

Pickling Production Canning – 5:45PM

Event:

Pickling Production Canning – 5:45PM

Start:

May 16, 2013 5:45 pm

End:

May 16, 2013 10:15 pm

Cost:

$45.00   

Phone:

          (616) 421-4540

Address:    

501 Ottawa, Lowell, MI, 49331, United States

Organizer:

Canning Diva

Phone:

(616) 901-6531

Email:

diane@canningdiva.com

Production Canning with the Canning Diva!
The Canning Diva and Facility Kitchens (a 2800 sq. ft. a commercial rental kitchen in Lowell, East on M-21-Fulton St) are teaming up to give West Michigan Canners an opportunity to can together!  Canners will reap the benefits of a spacious commercial kitchen all the while having fun learning a new recipe their families will surely enjoy!
What to Expect:   Canners will be given time and resources to crank out a plethora of their vegetable of choice for their personal consumption!  Whether its in-season Asparagus, Green and/or Wax Beans, of even off-season Brussels Sprouts, canners are welcome to spend their evening pickling until their heart’s content!
Canners will need to bring their own ingredients and jars/rings/lids – however, Facility Kitchens will provide food prep and processing supplies, facility space and utilities and, not to mention, the Canning Diva will be onsite to share her knowledge while keeping production moving forward!