These days, it takes a lot for a canning book to delight me. After all, I’ve spent the better part of the last decade totally immersed in jamming, pickling, and preserving. I sometimes even begin to think that perhaps I’ve seen every trick and flavor combination there is. And then a book like The Modern Preserver drops out of the sky and into my mailbox, and I am charmed.
Written by Kylee Newton, an artisan jam maker from New Zealand and now based in London, The Modern Preserver offers up a familiar and fresh array of jams, pickles, compotes, jellies, cordials, and more. The design is clean, the photography is gorgeous, and the voice of the book is reliable and welcoming.
It opens with a short introduction that details Kylee’s background, and then offers a bit of information about her ethos as a preserver. From there, she talks about the rules of preserving. Do know that this section is far briefer than it would be in an American book. I’ll dig a little more into that in a moment.
Following the intro, we get into the recipes. The first section contains Relishes, Chutneys, and Sauces. Next up is Pickles, Fermentations, and Vinegars; followed by Jams, Jellies, and Compotes; and Curds, Candies, and Fruit Cheeses. Bringing up the rear of the book are the Syrups, Cordials, and Alcohol.
I have bookmarked a goodly number of recipes in this book, and every time I open it, I find something else that I’d like to make, or at the very least, use as inspiration for a related preserve (Blackberry Relish! How had I never thought to make that?!)
My only quibble with this book is that there’s no acknowledgement that best practices for preserving vary depending on where you are in the world. Here in the US, it’s standard practice that we use jars designed for canning (not recycled jars from store-bought preserves). We use two piece lids and we make sure that the flat lids are new each time we can. And finally, we run everything we make through a boiling water bath. None of this is in the book (I’m a little bit surprised that the US publisher didn’t make them at least add an appendix referencing the different standards).
All that said, I will still be preserving from this book. I’m just going to make sure that I bring along my food science knowledge and general understanding of canning. Everything will be packed into appropriate jars and will get a trip through the canning pot (to determine timing, I’ll reference recipes with similar ingredients and densities).
Disclosure: The Countryman Press sent me the copy you see pictured above for photography and review purposes at no cost to me. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
For dealing with the CSA bounty – The vegetarian flavor bible.
Both online sources BuzzFeed and Dinner At The Zoo!!! Lots of quick, healthy and one-pot dinners :)))
“The Complete Book of Pickles and Relishes” has been quite the inspiration for preserving lately. For dinner, it’s all the greens I’ve got in the fridge and garden that keep inspiring me to try new things with them.
I just bought Naturally Sweet Food in Jars because my granddaughter really doesn’t tolerate sugar. I’ve also used my well worn copies of Putting Food By and Stocking Up for 40+ years.
Gotta say Food In Jars is my go-to, but I’ve branched out to others such as The Home Preservation Bible, Put ‘Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton and of course the Ball Book of Canning and the Ball Blue Book! All great volumes that I turn to. And some great internet sources as well!
For canning recipes, Food in Jars for sure. For cooking, I like Mel Joulwan’s site for Well Fed.
I get some good ideas from Heidi Swanson and her 101cookbooks.com blog and her books, Super Natural Cooking. Also, we have an amazing farmer’s market in Takoma Park Maryland on Sundays – wide array of farmers selling all kinds of fruits in season, breads, cheeses, eggs, meat and even pickles and sauerkraut. I try to cook and can with whatever is freshest that week. I also have a small organic garden and that inspires me too. Right now, the peas are ready. Nothing like fresh peas in a salad. Or a recent recipe I saw for a fresh pea and ricotta breakfast tart. Yummm.
This book looks fascinating – I agree – recipes I have never seen before. Lovely.
Definitely Food in Jars. The spicy tomato jam and all the rhubarb recipes get rave reviews from all who try them!
I love food in jars for inspiration in canning. Unfortunately I do t have the time and energy to experiment a lot with recipes for daily dinner. Hope that will change soon! At least I make time for canning though!
I’ve been enjoying The Homemade Kitchen by Alana Chernila and most recently used a wonderful recipe for rhubarb curd (http://www.laraferroni.com/2010/04/22/rhubarb-bars/).
The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook!!!
My inspiration this year has come from your blog, Food in Jars. I love being able to make small batches so I can have a lot of different flavor with out committing a lot of time on any given day. I made oven roasted apricot butter last weekend and am in love with the technique. I plan on trying it this weekend using figs from our tree.
Ball Blue Book and various websites, such as your site.
Hi – I’m enjoying Anna Thomas’ new book: Vegan Vegetarian Omnivore. Great recipes that are well-written and adaptable. Thanks for introducing us to this new resource for canning & jamming.
My favorite preserving recipes lately have been the tomato jam and spiced pear jam recipes that I found via you! I love these two, they always have a great reaction when I serve them to friends.
For dinner lately I’ve been making a lot of variations on Buddha bowls – I guess I was inspired by Pinch of Yum!
Pinterest provides a variety from lots of sources.
Would love to have this book as I love preserving and I am always looking for blackberry recipes,also she is a fellow New Zealander,would love to support her
Dinner tonight was courtesy of Smitten Kitchen (chicken gyro salad). I’m also a Simple Bites fan (Amy’s granola gets made pretty much every week), and like The Kitchn now and then. I find new places in your weekly round-up from around the web, and of course, Food in Jars is always inspiring.
Sometimes a book is grand enough just for the pictures it contains. 😉
The Ball Blue Book is still my go-to for just about everything. Over the years, yes, I’ve learned a lot about how to vary things from “standard,” but most often I go to the BBB to get started.
I go through my mom’s old recipe binders to find inspiration of retro dishes.
Punk Domestics, Food in Jars and a variety of Web sites. Always looking for new and interesting combinations
Foolproof Preserving by America’s Test Kitchen – had a lovely strawberry-rhubarb small batch recipe. YUM! can’t have too many jam/jelly/preserving resources!
My favorite recipe inspiration source used to be Tastespotting, but lately very few posts have been made, so I’ve been relying on Smitten Kitchen.
I have been using Food 52 and both “Food in Jars “book. I also go to bloggers post and get inspiration from there. This looks like a cool book to have.
I have been using Pinterest a lot lately but sometimes find that the recipes don’t end up as pictured. This book looks great and I bet all of the recipes have been tested.
Although the summer heat index is going to put my sourdough bread making on hold for a couple months, of late I’ve been having a lot of fun on The Fresh Loaf. So many talented and inventive bakers! I’ve learned so much from them and been inspired to learn from my own creative trials. I’m turning now to channel my need to tinker with preserving fruits and vegetables through fermentation and water bath canning.
I have been using my Grandmother’s collection of recipe cards and hand written books that was just given to me by my mother. It is amazing!
Your website and books inspire me! I also received “Salt Sugar Smoke” by Diana Henry as a gift That has some interesting recipes.
Food52 has caught my eye several times in the last few weeks.
I’m not trying to be a suck-up here but I bought Food in Jars the summer before last and I just love your recipes. Other than that I use Food 52 a lot and surf for recipes…
Just a comment about using recycled jars.
I have been using both commercial canning jars and recycled jars for decades and have had no particular problem with hot water bath canning using either type of jars. I probably won’t use recycled jars for pressure canning, if and when I ever get into that, which hasn’t happened yet.
Lately, I’ve been collecting the 12 oz jars that Marie’s salad dressings come in. These are great jars, very thick glass, and of a style that is not available in commercial canning jars.
If anyone feels hesitant about using recycled jars, I invite you to peruse the jars available at Fillmore Container. Sure, they have the common commercial canning jars. They also sell the exact same kinds of jars that I get for free, having recycled them from grocery store purchases.
Lately, I’ve been using All Recipes for inspiration. I like the review section where people comment on how they have tweaked the recipe to make it even better.
It’;s strawberry season in Michigan so I’ve made Food in Jars strawberry rhubarb butter and Mountain Mamas strawberry rhubarb jam. Both so good. Love the strawberry rhubarb combo. But the strawberry apricot jam you just posted looks enticing!
I’m looking for some inspiration right now 🙂
Edon Waycott’s Preserving the Taste is always one of my first go-to’s.
Loving the new Ball Canning book!
Lately I’ve been using my Practical Paleo cookbook by Diane Sanfilippo. Looking forward to checking your newest canning book using alternatives to sugar.
Hello, Marissa. I attended your jam demonstration in Chicago last week. I am totally new to canning. Your recommendations from your book Preserving by the Pint were wonderful! The blueberry maple, strawberry honey, and raspberry habanero were all amazing! Your recipes are foolproof (even for a newbie like me)! Thank you!
Inspiration these days comes from punk domestics and Pinterest and old cookbooks.
I love to search All recipes, Food in Jar line of books and the Put em up books too. This one looks wonderful!
While I haven’t made any of the recipes yet due to my own lack of time, recently Renee Erickson’s gorgeous cookbook, A Boat, A Whale, and a Walrus has been serious culinary inspiration to me. The photographs and her sense about food inspire me to really invest myself in the kitchen, and just seeing the cloth cover somehow makes me get up and try something new in the kitchen with whatever short amount of time I have.
I love to look at the old cookbooks my Grandmom gave me. But I love looking threw new cookbooks borrowed from the library.
Recently dug out my Nigella Lawson cookbooks and Fresh Every Day by Sara Foster and another goodie – At Blanchards Table – thanks for the giveaway
I love the King Arthur books and website, and Food in Jars for preserving recipes.
Herbs from my new herb garden are my inpiration. They find their way into everything I cook.
Smitten Kitchen is my go to blog for figuring out what to make for dinner – love her one pot dishes especially in the summer when I also have canning plans!
For everyday cooking (and looking for inspiration to do something for dinner) I always turn to Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. But I also just received Naturally Sweet Food in Jars from Amazon and I am excited about using that for “fun” stuff. Right now I have rhubarb coming out of my ears so this weekend I am trying out all of the different rhubarb recipes in Food in Jars and Naturally Sweet Food in Jars.
Looks like a good summer read!
For canning recipes, Food in Jars is my go-to source! (perfect flavours, trustworthy recipes, and concise instructions). Lately, I’ve been on the hunt for dessert recipes that incorporate herbs, I find the combination lively and fresh in the warmer months! That search has taken me to all kinds of interesting blogs and a pile of library books which provide much inspiration!
Lots of places – from old cookbooks and family recipes to modern websites (punk domestics is great).