Recommendation for a canning book

February 20, 2021 4:49 PM

I am interested in a book of modern canning recipes to add some interest to my usual rotation. What do you recommend?

I generally can salsa, strawberry jam, beets and hot pepper pickles. I worked at a CSA last summer and felt like I could have made better use of some of the food they gave me if I had a better reference book. I have seen a few for sale online but am interested in what you like.

I'm thinking of it now because we are about to pull out our frozen strawberries and make a bunch of jam. We discovered balsamic strawberry jam last year and I would like to make more discoveries. Thanks!

posted by Emmy Rae to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Marisa Mcclellan's Food in Jars series may be of interest to you.
posted by knile at 5:10 PM on February 20, 2021 [7 favorites]

Ball Complete Book of Home Canning is like the Joy of Cooking for canning. The woman who runs the Food in Jars blog has a book too It’s a nice complement to the Ball book, offering some more modern options and focused on smaller batches (6 jars, not 24).
posted by radiomayonnaise at 5:15 PM on February 20, 2021 [5 favorites]

Seconding Food In Jars!

Foolproof Preserving by America's Test Kitchen and Canning for a New Generation are both good.
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:51 PM on February 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

If you’re ok with books on putting food by more broadly, Sandor Katz’s The Art of Fermentation may be of interest.
posted by hollyholly at 5:58 PM on February 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have used Saving the Season for several seasons now and it's a really good canning book; it's super inspirational and full of good/unusual recipes.
posted by niicholas at 9:18 PM on February 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

So Easy To Preserve for the conservative US style approach. For alternative approaches, Pam Corbin, Sandor Katz, Usha Prabakaran.
posted by zamboni at 9:23 PM on February 20, 2021

My sister in law got me Kylee Newton's The Modern Preserver a few years ago and it's got some fun recipes, plus it's very beautifully laid out and illustrated. Since I'm not sure how tested the recipe safety is I only use it for fairly short term canning rather than anything I want to keep for months on a shelf.
posted by cpatterson at 10:33 PM on February 20, 2021

Nthing Food in Jars - But I would say go ahead and check her blog. I think her cookbooks are still worth it, but you can try some and see what she's all about.

And honestly, Better Homes and Gardens has some really fantastic canning recipes. And some of them are really fun and creative. (Did a really good pomegranate juice & prosecco jelly as Christmas gifts one year) I think BH&G is an underrated recipe resource.

The Ball book is classic, but it's just too much for me, I need stuff in smaller batches like Food in Jars.
posted by Caravantea at 6:16 AM on February 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

For jam/jelly/marmalade recipes, I love the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook. For canning technique/time, National Center for Home Food Preservation.
posted by agentofselection at 10:31 AM on February 21, 2021