Make it and sell it from your home kitchen!

Pick-A-Pepper is more than a central location for your community to buy locally grown products, it’s also a place where you can sell things you make in your own kitchen.  I love to cook, and I have just a little extra time during the winter months when I can’t spend as much time in the garden (not saying there’s not plenty to do out there though!).

So this year I think I am going to try my hand at tortillas.  There are no locally made tortillas in any of the grocery stores around where I live, but they are certainly a staple in my kitchen as well as many of my friends.  My friend Jen gave me a really simple recipe that she has been using, and they turned out really good.  Here it is if you want to try them too:

  •  2 cups of flour (whole wheat is fine too)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 T canola oil
  1.  Whisk everything together and add ½ – ¾ cup water
  2. Knead into a ball and knead for several minutes (should be pretty stiff)
  3. Let rest for 30 min
  4. Divide into 8 balls
  5. Roll each one out, trying not to use more flour
  6. Cook each one in a cast iron skillet for about 30 seconds per side

All states, cities, and counties have different guidelines for what you can sell from your home kitchen or if you need a certified kitchen to sell your products.  For example, I will have to label my tortillas “not made in a certified kitchen” as well include my address and the ingredients on the packaging.

Here are some links to see what the guidelines in your area are:

From the national center for home food preservation (info for all 50 states)http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/business/starting_business.html – ceslinks

FDA regulations on acidified and low-acid canned foodshttp://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/AcidifiedLow-AcidCannedFoods/Regulations/default.htm

States with cottage food laws http://homebasedbaking.com/knowledgebase/rules-regulations/cottage-food-law-states/

The best place to check with is your local health department, or health inspector.  There are often exemptions for certain value added products such as jams, jellies, salsas, and baked goods.

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