If you’ve thought about cooking for others, the UT Extension office is offering a food-safety certification class.
It covers the rules for using domestic kitchens to prepare, manufacture and sell nonpotentially hazardous foods to the public, such as jams and jellies, baked goods (breads), cakes (not cheesecakes), cookies, candies, dry mixes, dried pastas and granola bars.
It’s rare that these classes are brought to Hamilton County by the UT food technology faculty, said Extension agent June Puett.
The daylong class will be held 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, at the J. Merle Crawley Agriculture Services Building, 6183 Adamson Circle, off Bonny Oaks Drive. The cost is $100 per person. Box lunches will be provided. Registration is mandatory. For more information, call 865-974-7717.
Note: If you are in a catering business or are interested in starting a catering business, this course is not a requirement for you. For that type of business, you need to contact your local health department. Also, if you are interested in manufacturing foods that are considered potentially hazardous, such as salsas and pickled vegetables, the Domestic Kitchen Rule does not allow these to be produced in a home kitchen, according to Extension regulations. Also, If you have an inside pet of any kind, you do not qualify as a food manufacturer under the Domestic Kitchen Rule.
When you’re settled in for dinner with the family Thursday, blessings will blossom. I couldn’t even begin to say what all I’m grateful for; there are just too many things to mention. But it’s my family that stands out most for me, as I’m sure it does for many. Not just immediate, but extended, too. I don’t know how I could have made it through my dad’s recent illness, followed by his passing in late October, without my mother’s family — no blood relation to him but a relation of the heart. That’s family. And yes, I’m truly blessed and thankful for them all. And all of you, too, who read this column and the accompanying food pages. I love it when you call or e-mail to tell me you like a story or even to take me to task when you disagree with something I’ve written. It keeps me on my toes, and for that, yes, I’m thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6285.