Through my work as a video production manager I have had the impetus this summer to take the video camera to the Capital City Farmer’s Market in downtown Montpelier, which takes place every Saturday from May through October, then twice monthly the rest of the year indoors. This year the “Montpelier Market” received a grant from the Ball Corporation, (the folks whose jars, lids and apparati our grandparents used) to provide four workshops over the summer, demonstrating the use of Ball canning supplies, and how easy it is to can. I was asked to videotape one of the workshops, which would be available to the folks at Ball. It being the right season in many people’s gardens, the Market folks decided that both the time and the tomatoes were ripe for me to tape the canning demo of that selfsame noble and versatile fruit.
Armed with the Panasonic HMC-80 HD camera, a shotgun microphone, a wireless lav, and a sense of levity I showed up for what NECI Chef-Instructor Tom Bivins, one of the people demonstrating, had dubbed “Tomatopalooza.” “Tomatopalooza” became my word for the week, for once the taping fun was done the edit fun began, and by Thursday the following week I had posted the resulting video to YouTube. See video.
First I taped Chef Bivins as he showed how to blanch and peel tomatoes, as well as take out the juicy bits, leaving the “meat” for use in dishes. Then it was Peggy Thompson’s (of Peg’s Pantry) turn. Peggy demonstrated salsa-making and canning right before the lens. She showed some of the gadgets that Ball makes to help in the process. When the mixture was cooked enough she spooned it into sterilized jars and placed them in the hot water bath.
What was really fun about this shoot was talking to the vendors and customers who make the Market so special. I asked them about their wares, what they like about the Market, and that “question of great import to national security” (which made them expect the worst) “Do you say ‘to-MAY-to’ or ‘to-MAH-to’”? Then a big smile and some very insightful answers. The verdict? Nobody I spoke to that day answered with ‘to-MAH-to’ except for one woman who faked a British accent just for the question. I guess Vermont is just a to-MAY-to sort of place.
