Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving

I ordered the book pictured (the 2004 edition) and instead received the 2006 edition which is not what I wanted.

This book has a good all around introduction to canning, freezing and dehydrating and contains a lot of good recipes. It begins with a thorough introduction to canning principles and methods, equipment, processing and storage, and food types. From there the chapters clearly define the type of food(high/low acid)and recipes(jams, pickles, special diet, etc). Each chapter starts with information on ingredients, techniques, and equiptment needed. The text is an easy read without getting too technical and to the point. The recipes that follow are in alphabetical order and easy to follow.The recipes are pretty basic; for instance, there are 22 jam recipes from 3-7 ingredients including apricot, elderberry, kiwi, peach,raspberry, tomato. No fancy designer blends here. Other topics with recipes include juice, jelly, meat, seafoods, veggies, condiments, salsas, low sugar/salt, leathers, jerky. There are not a lot of pictures but the featured illustrations are clear and comprehensive. At the end of the book is a section called 'Problem Solver', glossary, and index. This is a great book for a beginner as it covers the basics of the different type of preserving and its a great collection of favorites for any home preservers library. Highly recommended!

I just started this wonderful world of canning and preserving and as I surfed the internet for information everyone kept saying that the Ball Blue Book was "THE" best source for canning info. I ordered it and I understand why it is such an important resource. It has excellent, up-to-date information about canning and includes explanations of why you have to follow the steps exactly. It has a trouble shooting section and has beautiful pictures and illustrations. It's not a very thick book but it's chock-full of recipes for everything from berries to fruits and vegetables. It includes jams, jellies, sauces, salsa and preserves. It has a section for people with special diets and my diabetic father-in-law really liked and appreciated the reduced-sugar recipe for strawberry jam. The only flop of a recipe I tried to make was a pineapple jam recipe that did not call for pectin - I was stirring for a very long time.... Just a quick note that I learned AFTER: pineapple contains a natural enzyme that prevents it from jelling... : ) Otherwise, I would highly recommend this book for both beginner and experienced canners.

I have been canning for over 20 years, and without a doubt, this book provides the best instruction on how to can properly. This is important if you want to successfully can, and enjoy the food you can. First: you are provided with numerous methods on how to can, water bath and pressure cooker for instance. Second: you are provided with chart of what type of processing works best for which type of food (main ingredient in your canning). Third: you are provided with a chart on how long to process each type of food, and better still, they have not forgotten that people are not at the same elevation across the country. As someone who started canning in Iowa and then moved to Colorado, this book makes all the difference. Fourth: you are provided with clear, easy to follow recipes (many of these have been around for generations). Fifth: the final products taste good! I gladly share the canned products with friends and family. Many items end up as birthday or Christmas presents. Whether you are a novice, experienced, or somewhere in between to canning, this is a must have book.

A must-have book if you want to can, freeze, make jam, applesauce, pickles, etc., whether you have an expensive pressure canner or a simple large pot. My grandmother had a copy of this book when I was a child. The recipes are simple and tested by generations. The instructions are clear and use standard kitchen supplies. There is also a nice section that explains how water bath canning works and how to do it right. With this book and a nearby pick-your-own farm (I find them at www.pickyourown.org) you can get the fruit inexpensively then make your own jam, preserves, applesauce, etc without chemicals or preservatives.