Preserving the Taste

I've checked this book out of our library half a dozen times, and finally decided to purchase a copy. It is, as other reviewers have said, simply the best book out on making your own preserves without being overwhelmed by sugar and manufactured pectin. The flavors you can achieve are unbeatable. Thank you Edon Waycott for sharing all your knowledge and expertise. The jams and marmalades have made breakfast and those late night toast and jam snacks far more interesting. If the gophers leave me a garden this year, I'll try the pickled baby beets and rasberries or papaya-mango salsa....those gophers ate the whole jalapeno chili plant in one day. Do find this book if you're a serious jam maker.

I agree with the other reviewers --- this is a great resource. With these recipes (no pectin, less sugar) my jams and jellies are pretty soft, but the flavor cannot be beat. Meyer lemon marmalade, pear ginger jam, caramelized apple with thyme... yummmy. Only disappointment was the tomato jam --- all that work and the result was just catsup. There's a typo in the Caramelized Apple recipe though (in the hardback version at least). Should be "cook, without stirring" instead of "cool, without stirring." I had never made caramel before and was mighty confused.

I can't recommend strongly enough that anyone interested in preserving track down a copy of this book. It's by far the best preserving book I've found, and it's scandalous that it's out of print. If I hadn't found this book, I might have made my apricot preserves with a recipe that called for 7 cups of sugar. Anyone who has ever tasted a ripe apricot knows it doesn't need 7 cups of sugar to taste good. The recipes here respect and value the flavor of the fruit, and they use simple, clear methods to produce soft-set, spoonable preserves. The author only uses commercial pectin when she's making something like pepper jelly that has *no* natural pectin in it. The majority of the recipes are just fruit and a small amount of sugar. She teaches you to make your own pectin from tart apples, and she calls for the homemade pectin in some of these recipes. After reading this book I feel confident to create my own preserving recipes so that I can get the flavor and texture that I like. I found this book much more unique and empowering than the other books on the subject, like Blue Ribbon Preserves.

This book's recipes are delicious! The recipes are easy to follow and very creative. The author emphasizes the need to start with high quality, in-season ingredients to get the best results. Most jam and preserves recipes call for a minimum amount of sugar, which allows the true fruit flavors to be enjoyed.