1. Cooking With Farm Grown Product
Sanitation, Safety and storage
• Cleaning
• Controlling Bacteria
• Commercial cleaning methods
Product Usage
• Harvest
• Seasons
Preserving the harvest
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

2. “Dinner
in the
Field”
Dinner
Zephyros Farm 2008
The First Culinary
Educational Farm to
Table Dinner in the
World
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

3. Receiving product
• Clean excessive dirt, dry and store product for later use
• Excessive water will cause mold and rotting
• Cut tops from root vegetables
• Root vegetables will lose nutrients and wilt if stored with tops on
• Tops may by used for additional applications
• Refresh wilting greens in tepid water
• Make a fresh cut on the stem so water can be absorbed
• Remove excess water for longer storage
• Store vegetables according to type: most vegetables prefer
dry, cool to cold temperatures and dark.
• Cover to prevent wilting in refrigeration
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

4. Late
Harvest
Bounty
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

5. Controlling Bacteria
Prior to processing and production of product soak all garden
vegetables in an alkaline solution.
• 2 Tablespoons Baking soda & 2 Tablespoons salt in a 5 gallon
bucket of water filled to 4 gallons
• Soak product for 15 minutes
• Rinse all product in fresh water to remove alkaline residue
Avoid storing low acid vegetables in an anaerobic environment
(no oxygen) to avoid botulism.
• Garlic in oil even after roasted should be stored under
refrigeration.
• When processing tomatoes add lemon juice to ensure a pH of
at least 4.6.
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

6. Conventional Methods for
Cleaning Vegetables
• Organic vegetables sold in grocery stores and supermarkets
are soaked in a 5% bleach solution.
• Conventional vegetables grown with pesticides and chemicals
are not always washed to remove these poisons.
• Additional waxes and preservatives may be added.
Dirty Dozen conventional vegetables to avoid
• Apples, celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers
• Grapes, hot peppers, imported nectarines, peaches
• Potatoes, strawberries, spinach
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

7. Old World Cooking
Reclaimed
Wild Game
Livestock
Head to Hoof Cooking
Artisan Practices
Wild Yeasted Breads
Cheese making
Winemaking
Preserving
Pickling
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

8. Seasonal cooking & utilizing
storage crops
Seasonal crops
• Plan menus around what is being harvested
• Vary preparations for diversity
• Utilize vegetables at different stages of growth i.e. pea shoots
• Adapt to abundant harvest i.e. zucchini
Storage crops
• Utilize the stored crops from the previous season
• Plan harvesting to maximize product availability
• Sun chokes can be harvested in the fall or the spring
• Harvesting in the spring when other crops are less abundant is
more efficient
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

9. Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

10. Food Preservation Methods
Canning & pickling
• Boiling water bath canning
• High acid foods with a pH 4.6 or lower
• Addition of acid for low acid foods
• Pressure canning
• Low acid foods
• Utilizes pressure to obtain higher temperatures
Fermenting
• Fermenting crock
• Salt, whey or starter culture
• Increases nutrients in food
• Unlocks essential nutrients
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

11. Preserving the Harvest
Drying Food
• Sun dried
• Food dryers
• Dehydrators
Harvesting Seeds
• Legumes
• Dry on the vine, remove pods and store
• Retain some of harvest for nest seasons crop
• Be careful of plants that cross polinate
• Grains
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

12. Additional resources can be found at the
bottom of the syllabus page
Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder