Pickles & Preserves

I collect preserving and canning books and have been looking for this one ever since I stumed across it 15 uears ago and didn't have the name. This book has unique recipes in it that you won't fin in other books as well as favorite standbys. The food writing that goes with each recipe makes the book worth owning. The warm stories are enjoyable and if you have a bit of experience (1-2yr) with canning, you should feel confident in using this book.

I think this is a terrific book, but as one can tell from the negative review, it is not for a new cook, or for someone who needs to have things spelled out to be comfortable. My mom (86) has had this book since the '50's and has had lots of fun trying things like conserve of roses, stringbean pickles,figs in wine jelly, guava paste,dewberry jelly, lots of wonderful tomato pickles and so on as well as more familiar things. It is a book of recipes, for sure. Most of them handed down from Southern cooks. In fact, there are very informative and explicit general instructions about preserving and pickling in the front of the book. While I am not such an experienced "preserver' myself and have struggled with instructions such as "Cucumbers that have been brined by long fermentation" as an ingredient in "Sour Pickles" for example, I have also enjoyed finding her instructions on how to make them elsewhere in the book.I think it is a matter of structure, more than anything that we are not used to. Most jams, jellies and preserves follow basic principles with just a little tweaking depending on the ingredients or the result wanted. This book is organized like that. I have found the instructions work very well for me. It is not the only preserving book in the world and is not really meant to be, but it is really marvelous in covering a wide range of possibilities. And it is a wonderful way of holding on to some traditions that are slipping through our grasp as well as our imaginations as things are made more simple and spelled out. As we have come to trust ourselves less and are more interested in product over process. I think what is important is to think about what kind of a cook you are, or want to be. The book was written at a time when people grew up more familiar with these procedures than we are today. People were perhaps also a bit more used to learning by doing than having everything spelled out for them. I don't mean this as a criticism of those of us who want to be perfect the first time out, just a warning, that this book is more casual than that and therefore is probably not the book for you.........unless, of course, you want to jump into the enormous pickling vat and mess around! I recommend this book highly because it is very interesting to put oneself back in the kitchens of those who really did need and enjoy preserving their food. There are some new-to-most-of-us ideas and also, if one uses the book in the right spirit, one can really enjoy the process as well as the results!