The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round

by Margaret Howard and Ellie Topp

Book Overview

The easiest and safest methods for making delectable preserves in small batches -- all year long. "Takes the pressure off cooks who don't have much time... but still want to savor the season's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1554072565
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 0.9" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Should be named 'The Complete Book of Condiments"

This book is only condiments. Many ingreedients you need to buy in the grocery store, not pluck out of a garden. It aludes to canning, but many of the recipies are just kept in a jar in the fridge, not canned.

Super recipes for using garden veggies and fruits!

Easy to read recipes, use items on hand, very interesting recipes. Got mine for a Christmas gift and now I am keeping it for myself, can't wait to try many of the goodies.

I love this book!

This is one of my favorite cookbooks. The recipes are very easy and it contains more useful recipes than any other cookbook I have except Betty Crocker. From salsas to conserves to chutneys to marmalades, this book is just excellent. I've loved every recipe I've tried!

Interesting recipes for the bored gardener/chef

I am not a "canner" -- putting up 40 quarts of plain green beans just doesn't do it for me -- but I am intrigued by unusual recipes that make good use of my harvest and this book delivers in that regard. Sure, it's not the canning bible that details the process ad naseam, but you can find that info in many other (even free) places, and true, some recipes call for refrigeration or consumption within the week, but those recipes (some salsas, oils and vinegars) are the exception in this book. Where this book really shines is in the condiment area and honestly wouldn't you rather have a recipe for Indonesian Satay Sauce or Summer Sizzle BBQ Sauce than yet another (yawn!) dill pickle recipe?? For the record, yes, there are MANY pickle recipes in this book too, but you probably already have a favorite one of those, so branch out a little! I don't have an enormous garden so the small batch sizes eat up just enough produce to keep up with my harvest yet not leave me 2 or 3 pounds short of something vital. I also like the small size of the finished batch because it makes it fun to experiment without the fear of wasting my entire tomato harvest on something I don't like. I have enough to taste, keep for winter, and still have a jar or two to give away. In fact this year I'm basing my entire gift giving season around my produce and this book. If you have no sense of adventure in food, are canning for your family of 12, or feel the need to process anything within a 5 mile radius just because you "can", then this book is probably not for you. If, on the other hand, you want to do more with tomatoes than pasta sauce or more with plums than jam, then I highly recommend this book.

Excellent, but maybe not for a beginner

This is an outstanding source of recipes for people who want to experiment with preserving and making their own condiments. I disagree that it's not a true "preserving" cookbook, but I will say this: if you are looking for a book with 500+ "canning" recipes this may not be your book. Also, I would caution those without a lot of preserving (or canning, for that matter) experience; the recipes work, but the cook needs to be comfortable with processing, etc. becasue the authors don't provide a lot of detailled instruction on it. It's very intimidating to work with hot jam, glass, boiling water, etc. if you've never done it before. This book provides the user with a good overview on how to process, but nothing too detailed. Also, they don't stress enough that users shouldn't alter recipes. If a recipe calls, for example, for whole strawberries, and the user slices them in half, the user will end up with more liquid than what the amount of pectin specified in the recipe will gel. So, you end up with a really good ice cream topping instead of jam! Oh well, try again!

Well worth purchasing

Very diversified book with wonderful recipes. Readily available ingredients, complete processing and mixing procedures for every recipe. Perfect for people like me that don't want 6 or 8 jars of the same thing at the same time.

Excellent little book for the small household canner!

If you are into canning and have a small household, this is the book for you. I do LOTS of canning of jams and jellies and was tired of having 7 to 10 jars of the same thing. Wonderful, different receipes - many using unusual ingredients (fresh pineapple jalapeno salsa or kiwi-cranberry conserve anyone?)- done in small batches that usually yield an average of 4 jars. Wonderfu,l tasty and most importantly, DIFFERENT! From a food safety standpoint, the receipes seem safe and she tells you when tyo can them or when to put them in the fridge of freezer. Some of the items can be tricky to get, but any good produce dealer or greengrocer that has a good distributor should be able to get you what you need! Yummy!!!