There’s nothing like showing some hospitality by inviting the neighbors over for home cooking.
Last week, the did one better. It invited area residents to a free workshop at its headquarters at 6934 S. Lima St. in Centennial during which taught people how to make and can their own wine jelly.
“This whole building is going to smell like wine,” Gains said with a smile as she heated a pot of dry, red wine, lemon juice and powdered pectin to boiling in the office’s demonstration kitchen.
The workshop, offered at both noon and 5 p.m. sessions on Thursday, June 1, is just the latest no-cost class the office has offered this year as part of . The program got started last year but was only open to Arapahoe County employees, officials say. Disappointed by the attendance and looking for a way to let more people in the area know the county’s CSU Extension office is in Centennial now after being located in Littleton up until 2015, organizers have been encouraged by the response this year. Classes on lawn and turf care and growing tomatoes each drew more than 40 attendees between two sessions, Gains said.
“I’d say 80 percent of (attendees) are members of the public,” Gains said, adding that the Extension continues to consider ways to improve the fledgling program. “We’re still looking for the perfect time slot. Is 5 p.m. too early? We’re also considering a $5 registration fee so people have some skin in the game. We do offer free gifts to the first 25 people who sign up online.”
Programs so far have come from two focus areas: family and consumer science and horticulture — Gains’ area of expertise.
, led a class on Japanese beetle control this week and .
Extension staffers have been collecting feedback from attendees about what other topics they might like to see covered and both Cox and Gains said they hope to add more classes at some point this year. Right now, the ash borer class is the last one available for registration online.
Parker resident Jane Lane attended last week’s wine jelly class after reading about it on the Arapahoe County website. She said she thought the idea of making jelly using wine instead of fruit sounded unique.
“Itap great,” she said of the program. “I love that they offered an afternoon time and an evening time so, if you work during the day, you still have an opportunity to come and be educated.”
Gains offered many helpful tidbits during the session. She noted wine jelly is typically sweeter than fruit jelly. All kinds of wine can be used in its making including port, chardonnay and Merlot. She recommended people look at a wine’s label for a flavor profile — such as fruity or nutty — before adding other potential flavor enhancers to their jelly mix, such as fruit juice.
For Joanne Littau, a lot of the class was ongoing education. She makes and sells her own wine jelly and other goods at the under the banner of She and her husband, David Bailey, attended Gains’ class last week because she remains curious about the way other people make the mixture and there’s always something more to learn, she said. Littau is among the more than 1,000 certified producers who received food safety certification through CSU Extension classes as of 2016, which is important on several levels.
“This helps you avoid a lawsuit,” Littau said of the food safety portion of CSU’s offerings. “And, you know, itap also a lot of fun.”
“CSU is a valuable, valuable resource,” David Bailey added.
To sign up for Extension Enlightens classes .