the Pittsburgh
Canning Exchange

Hello! We're so happy you found us.

The Pittsburgh Canning Exchange is a resource for learning to can, planning your canning season, sharing recipes, connecting with local agriculture, and connecting and trading with other local canners. When it comes to trading, peer-to-peer bitcoin trading sites generally offer the currency at a premium price, but they are very easy and convenient for anyone to use. Bots like immediate Bitcoin are completely automatic and driven by an algorithm. You can check out the immediate bitcoin erfahrungen blog, to know the positive trading experience of the users.

Read all about how to get involved and sign up for our e-newsletter below! To get in touch, email us at [email protected], and connect with us on Facebook!

Best regards,
Your friends at the Pittsburgh Canning Exchange





2016: Hiatus!

The Canning Exchange is taking this summer off from holding our canning workshops. We are all new homeowners and are taking the summer to tend to (and tame!) our new gardens and get inspired by doing some home canning of our own.

In the meantime, check out the food preservation classes being held by our friends at Slow Foods Pittsburgh and by Penn State Master Preserver  Susan Marquesen at Phipps Conservatory. And check out our Facebook page to see what we’re up to at home this summer.

All best,
Gabe, Chelsea, Rob, and Sara


past events

CLICK HERE to read about the events we've held so far.

Rhubarb Chutney
6/6/2015, Friendship

When spring has sprung that can only mean one thing – rhubarb! Rhubarb chutney is an exciting and unique take on this tart treat – we’ve ditched the strawberries for the savory taste of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves (but don’t worry – it’s not all savory – there’ are brown sugar and raisins to balance it all out). The delicious result can be spread on crackers with goat cheese, paired with grilled chicken or pork, mixed in with stir-fried veggies, or smothered between two sides of a grilled cheese sandwich! Oh the possibilities to enjoy rhubarb all year long!


Berries in Syrup
6/27/2015, Friendship

If you’re like us, every year you have a momentary lapse of reason and end up picking more blueberries than you could possibly eat (though you might imagine otherwise!). Fear not, though, for you can can those delicious berries in syrup and then enjoy them in pancakes, yogurt, muffins, and pies all year long!


Dilly Beans
8/15/2015, Friendship

For our August Canning Party, we'll be making pickled string beans, or dilly beans as they are better known. Home canners are often left disappointed in the texture of their pickled cucumbers, but dilly beans have all of the flavor of traditional cucumber pickles, and twice the snap! We will also review basic pickling principles, so you can feel confident experimenting with other produce.


Pepper Jelly
9/12/2015, Friendship

For our September Canning Party, we'll be making hot pepper jelly. With its unique blend of sweet and heat, it makes a great complement to savory foods and has quickly become a staple in our kitchen. You can put it out with cheese and crackers, as a glaze on roasted meats or vegetables, or slather it in a burger. Add this jelly to your repertoire and we think you’ll make it every year.


All About the Kraut
10/19/2014, Swissvale

Fermentation expert and author, Jill Ciciarelli will be leading our first fermentation party. Come learn the fundamentals of fermentation in a fun, hands-on environment, and make two quart jars of your own sauekraut to ferment at home. You will be able to taste sauerkraut at various stages throughout the fermenation process, and will also learn about the health benefits of fermented foods. Utilizing fermentation as a method for food preservation is an ancient practice that is finding new life as people look to blend their support for local agriculture with a new appreciation for pro-biotics. Fermentation also enables you to make some truly delicious food at home!


Canning for Cocktails
10/01/2014, The Wigle Whiskey Barrelhouse

Join us at the Barrelhouse – we'll be rolling up our sleeves to make some apple jelly together, then switching gears to enjoy some apple cocktails. You'll learn all about the art and science of home canning in our hands-on session – and how you can use this craft in clever cocktail making. In addition to the cocktails we'll sample at the Barrelhouse, each attendee will take home a jar of jelly for home experimentation.


Pickles, Two Ways
8/2/2014, Greenfield

For our August Canning Party, we'll be making canned and refrigerator pickles with our friend Danielle Marvit in Greenfield. Pickles are a great way to capture the rush of cucumbers in later summer. Refrigerator pickles make the process fast and easy, and canned pickles help you enjoy the harvest all winter. Danielle is a pickling whiz, and has lots of great tips and recipes to suggest. $12 reserves you a spot in the kitchen and gets you a piece of pie. We will have all of the canning supplies on hand, as well as produce from local farms. Just bring an apron, and some way to carry home your jars. Take as many home as you want for $3/pint, to cover the cost of jars and produce.


Jammin’ with Jane
7/26/2014, Friendship

Join Amy Baer at her home as she makes applesauce and apple butter. Amy is one of the most prodigious canners we know. She'll be demonstrating her Victorio food strainer and will have some of last year's jars on hand so you can sample the finished product. Help Amy make pickles and you'll leave the Canning Party ready to make them in your own home kitchen! Your $5 ticket holds your place in Amy's kitchen, and you will be reimbursed for the ticket fee with a $5 gift card to Marty's Market that Amy will hand out on September 21st.


Rhubarb Social

7 PM - 10 PM on June 14, 2014 at Marty's Market

On June 14th, 2014, the Pittsburgh Canning Exchange will be celebrating the beginning of the growing season with our friend Marisa McClellan, author of the wonderful Food in Jars blog and cookbook and Preserving by the Pint: Quick Seasonal Canning for Small Spaces.

We'll have live music from the May Day Marching Band and DJ Chris Flyer, free food and drink from Wigle Whiskey and Marty's Market, treats from our friends at Legume, canning demonstrations, canning cookbooks for sale and canning-related merch. And more!

Proceeds from the Rhubarb Social will help the Pittsburgh Canning Exchange achieve our goal of providing low-priced canning workshops that make use of local organic produce. Join us to celebrate the return of summer! Tickets are $15 via the Eventbrite link below or $20 at the door.


Can with
Marisa McClellan!

1 PM - 3 PM on June 15, 2014 at Legume Bistro

Join Marisa McClellan, author of Preserving by the Pint: Quick Seasonal Canning for Small Spaces., for a canning workshop in the kitchen of Pittsburgh's premier Farm to Table resturant, Legume Bistro. Using recipes from her newest book, Marisa will lead a hands-on pickling workshop, as well as demonstrate a small batch jam. Every participant will get to take a jar of pickles home! Space is limited to 15 participants, and tickets cost $35 through the Eventbrite link below.


CANNING SWAP + preservation celebration, 11/3/13
Pittsburgh Public Market, The Strip District

Slow Food Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Canning Exchange are joining forces on November 3rd to celebrate home food preservation at the new Pittsburgh Public Market! Reserve your place today to trade your home-canned food with other home food preservers in the Canning Exchange’s Canning Swap; submit a jar of your homemade pickles to Slow Food Pittsburgh’s Pickle Contest; or sample the pickles in competition and a spread of delicious snacks from The Crested Duck Charcuterie. (Kevin from The Crested Duck and Jamilka Borges from Bar Marco will be on hand to help judge the Pickle Contest!) And of course you can stop by on November 3rd to peruse the canning-related items for sale or watch hear James Beard award-nominated chef Trevett Hooper speak about the role of preserved foods in his exceptional menus.


Community Canning Party: Applesauce! 10/27/13
Greenfield, Pittsburgh

For our second Community Canning Party, we'll be making applesauce with our friend Danielle Marvit in Greenfield. While the applesauce is cooking, Danielle will also demonstrate a technique to make apple butter in the oven. If you're a first-time canner, come out to learn how to prepare and process applesauce. If you're an experienced canner, use our space instead of messing up your own kitchen! Five dollars reserves your spot at the Canning Party and a pice of pie baked lovingly for the canning party by the Pittsburgh Pie Guy.


Home Canning Party #3: Apples to Apples!
10/13/2013, Monroeville

Join Amy Baer at her home as she makes applesauce and apple butter. Amy is one of the most prodigious canners we know. She'll be demonstrating her Victorio food strainer and will have some of last year's jars on hand so you can sample the finished product. Help Amy make pickles and you'll leave the Canning Party ready to make them in your own home kitchen! Your $5 ticket holds your place in Amy's kitchen, and you will be reimbursed for the ticket fee with a $5 gift card to Marty's Market that Amy will hand out on September 21st.


Home Canning Party #2: Pack a Pint of Pickled Peppers!
9/21/13, O'Hara Township

Want to spice things up? Sara Kriedler will demonstrate how to make pickled peppers, as she has detailed on her awesome blog Cook. Can. CSA. Help Sara make pickles and you'll leave the Canning Party ready to make them in your own home kitchen! Your $5 ticket holds your place in Sara's kitchen, and you will be reimbursed for the ticket fee with a $5 gift card to Marty's Market that Sara will hand out on September 21st.


Community Canning Party: Salsa
9/8/13, Friendship, Pittsburgh

The community canning party is an opportunity to get together, roll up your sleeves, and turn a whole heap of locally-grown produce into jars of deliciousness. We will have tomatoes, peppers, onions, and jars on-hand to make a big batch of water bath-canned salsa. Five dollars reserves you a spot in the kitchen and gets you a piece of pie made from local, seasonal produce and baked lovingly for the canning party by the Pittsburgh Pie Guy. You can help us process our batch of salsa, work on your own canning project, or somewhere in between.


Home Canning Party #1: Pickles, Two Ways!
8/25/13, Greenfield, Pittsburgh

In a pickle about pickles? Danielle Marvit will demonstrate how to make cucumber refrigerator pickles and spicy dilly bean pickles in the water bath canner. She will also discuss the advantages of both water bath and refrigerator pickling. Help Danielle make pickles and you'll leave the Canning Party ready to make them in your own home kitchen! Your $5 ticket holds your place in Danielle's kitchen, and you will be reimbursed for the ticket fee with a $5 gift card to Marty's Market that Danielle will hand out on August 25th.


press

We've had some great press! Read all about it in the links below:



sign up!

Fill out my online form.

who we are

The Pittsburgh Canning Exchange was founded in 2013 by four friends who are passionate about local food and connecting people. We all have day jobs and work on the Canning Exchange in our spare time.

Sara Blumenstein

Sara is a designer who works at MAYA Design and grew up making applesauce and apple cider with apples from her family's small orchard in Michigan. More about Sara here.

Chelsea Burket

Chelsea directs community engagement for Fourth Economy Consulting. She learned how to preserve food from her mom and grandma in Altoona. More about Chelsea here.

Rob Burrows

Rob is a web developer. He works at a local start-up, which is headquartered in a co-working space in Lawrenceville. He particularly likes making and eating dilly beans. More about Rob here.

Gabe Tilove

Gabe coordinates adult education for Phipps Conservatory. He is an avid gardener and, with Chelsea, enjoys home preserving food, especially pears. More about Gabe here.