The Jamlady Cookbook

The Jamlady Cookbook not only has amazing recipies, but is informative, educational and fun to read. The author dissolves the myth that making preserves need be a laborious, day long task. Even the busiest of people could make a terrific jam using any of the Jamlady's small batch recipies. Her formula to create a proper seal in the canning jar is a "must read." Try the Jamlady's recipe for Blueberry Almond Preserves--fantastic!!

The Jamlady Coobook is a special, reference cookbook. This cookbook is interesting to a cook, but also interesting to the non-cook, someone who likes to read about food history, new techniques of cooking, and horticulture. The lovely photography by Jim Smith makes you want to get busy and cook some "jams" or bake with them. This cookbook is full of all sorts of information from allied fields of knowledge--history, chemistry, philosophy, and more. The Jamlady Cookbook also defines jellies, jams, preserves, butters, marmalades, and spread. Do you know the difference? The Words to the Wise, on page 19, is a must read. Jamlady's short-cut notation system makes recording recipes on note cards easy and sets up a method for passing along recipes --so everyone will know exactly how long to process the canned batch. The solo word, SEAL, just doesn't tell enough and that's what's in most books, or nothing at all. Jamlady also explains, on page 29, how pectin actually works and why you need sugar with regular pectin. I especially enjoyed seeing how jars were sealed in 1899 and enjoyed the quotes from early books on canning. One of the early methods for extracting juice actually used cellulose tissues! Of special note is Jamlady's Original Tango Jam recipe for making jam with mangoes and blueberries using a Champion juicing machine. As Jamlady says "This recipe is a perfect example of 'having the recipe, but not being able to make the jam.'" This is only one of several instances where Jamlady manipulates the variable of what part of the fruit is used or the ratios of the fruits used to affect the color of the end product. Jamlady's Original Tango Jam is red, not blue. Variations (created by manipulating the number of times the blueberries are run through the juicing machine or the ratio of one fruit to the other)can be blue and not red.

The Jamlady Cookbook is a very thorough reference guide for canners, gardeners, chefs and new cooks. It provides mouth-watering photographs, hundreds of recipes for jams, preserves, jellies, and many other homemade products. The author, Beverly Ellen Schoonmaker Alfeld, was raised by parents who ran a commercial greenhouse. Later, as an adult, she received her Bachelor's Degree as well as two Master's degrees. She completed training through the Food and Drug Administration. Using her teaching skills, being an educator for over 23 years, she has dedicated her life to educating home cooks on how to can safely. This is her first book. This book is so nice. There are over 400 recipes, color photographs deliciously displayed, and a lot of information. The book is very easy-to-read; the recipes are easy-to-understand and a wonderful book for anyone, especially gardeners who are looking for new ideas to can their bounty! Some of the information you will find in this book are: processing methods and trouble shooting; definitions of jams, jellies, preserves, butters, marmalades, conserves, spreads and chutneys; recipes for jams, jellies and preserves, including sugar free versions; a recipe section on how to bake with your new "jams"; many butter recipes; and an excellent appendix showing the pH of foods and measurements. Some of the wonderful recipes you will find in this lovely book are: Wine Jelly, Orange Marmalade, Hot Mango Jam, Pumpkin Butter, Cherry Vanilla Preserves, and Red Pepper Marmalade. I was so impressed with the unusual recipes and tantalizing combinations! I plan to try the Cantaloupe Conserve next. The Jamlady has her own website. There you can purchase some of her creations. She offers recipes, and locations to find her if you would like to purchase her products in person. She even gives her email address if you have any questions. Some of the products you can purchase through her site are; Hot Crocodile Chutney, Strawberry Butter, and Jalapeno Pepper Jelly. This cookbook is well worth the price of $35.00. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Having this book inspired my creativity and made me want to try all the recipes. In fact, after getting this book, I plan to buy it as Christmas gifts this year, and start a small garden next year so I can try more recipes with my own produce!

I've done a fair amount of canning over the years, and I know that it's not easy to get detailed information about processing canned goods, or definitions for the differences between jellies, jams, marmalades, preserves and chutneys. Not the case in this book. It's the most thorough treatment of the subject that I've ever seen. More importantly, it's fun and entertaining reading. I'm just talking about the first two chapters here. Getting into the recipes in the rest of the book was the real treat. The jellies, jams and preserves section includes recipes for all the fruits and vegetables that you've ever heard of being used in spreads. And then there are the unusual things. I've looked for Chokecherry recipes before, and didn't find even one. This book has four. There's a whole section on recipes for Ground Cherries, or Chinese Lanterns, and another on using Cacti. There's a separate chapter for Brambles and Other Unusual Plants which includes recipes for things I've never heard of but would now like to try. There are also some recipes for real treats, like guava paste, and her grandmother's thumbprint cookies. I want to go out and buy bushels of things to put in jars. I'm thrilled with this book and grateful to Mrs. Alfeld for having gone to the trouble to have written it. It's informative, fun to read, and has some beautiful color food photos, as well.

I met the "jamlady" (Bev) several years ago when she was compiling notes for a book she was writing. When I found out that her book was finally published, I had to buy it to see the fruit of her labor or, more precisely, of her devotion. I must say that I was amazed at the results. Not only is it filled with beautiful color photographs on acid free paper but it is a virtual omnibus of information including literally hundreds of recipes, scientific notations, processing techniques, and a knockout section on liqueurs. This excellent book can be used not only to make Jams and etc, but also as a history of preserving, as a bartenders guide, as a scientific reference book, or even as a college textbook. My congratulations on a book well done! G.E.Vicory