Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving

As a first time canner, I needed a guide that I could trust. This book helped a great deal.

I am happy I bought this book it has alot of useful information concerning altitudes times and temps for jarring a huge selection of specialty food items. It also has quite a nice selection of recipes. I recommend this book to anyone interested in jarring food products.

I am thoroughly impressed with the layout, "how-to" canning guide and all the additional information provided to both the beginner and learned home canner. A real necessity to your kitchen and 'natural' food preparation process.

A few years ago I came across the first edition of USDA's "Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving" in a second-hand bookshop. At the time I had zero experience with canning or preserving -- both of which seemed, to me, to be akin to alchemy. The USDA's guide contained all the information I need to get started, and answered many of my questions about the process, the 'science' and my options (such as added pectin vs. no added pectin in jams). I recently acquired this edition of the USDA's guide. It has all the strengths of the first guide, with a few changes to better suit most modern kitchens. Most notably is the listing of measurements using cups and spoons; as opposed to the weight measurements used in the first book. The USDA's guide also provides objective, practical information about selecting jars, canners, storage, ingredients etc. I now have a few books with fancy, tasty canning recipes, but I always use the USDA's Guide as reference . . .especially when purchasing equipment or creating my own recipes.