I’ve definitely done some awesome things in my food service rotation that I would have never normally had the opportunity to do.
Like help can 1200 cans of salsa, for example.
The interns and I spent the day at Ohio State’s Food Innovation Center Pilot Plant making/canning salsa to benefit cancer survivors. It was truly a remarkable experience seeing peach salsa go from a mere idea to a real bottle of salsa, all for such a wonderful cause!
You wouldn’t believe the time, effort and paperwork that goes into making salsa for the public. The formula even had to be sent to Cornell so the pH could be approved for preserving purposes. Special thanks to food service directors Jim and Drew for working so hard to make this vision a reality!
We arrived bright and early at the plant, all ready to go with some hot hair nets.
Our first task was to remove the peels from red onions and then chop them in half. We did the same with red peppers, followed by de-seeding jalapenos. Thank god we wore gloves, let me tell ya.
We were all fascinated with the machine that power washes the tomatoes and removes parts of the skin.
I’d never seen so many chopped vegetables in my entire life.
All I know is that I’ve got to get one of these choppers for my apartment. My mini food processor just isn’t cutting it these days.
Just us interns stirring the cauldron of salsa. It turned out great– nicely spiced with sweet peaches and spicy notes at the end. Even though we waaaaaay underestimated the yield of tomatoes, the cans were dated incorrectly and a large chunk of rubber fell in the pot and ruined the last batch, it was was a wonderful learning experience!
The jars will be sold on Cancer Survivor Day, Sunday September 20th at the chemical abstracts building lawn. They will be asking for donations of around $10. The proceeds from the salsa will go to James Care for Life, which funds programs that benefit cancer survivors and their families.
Hope you all CAN make it!
No pun intended.
Hummusapien 
That is so cool! 🙂
Definitely one of the coolest thing I’ve done in a while!