Cookbooks: Put ’em Up Fruit

April 9, 2013(updated on April 24, 2023)
Put 'em Up Fruit cover

Oh friends, I am very excited to share this book with you! It’s Sherri Brooks Vinton’s newest work and I have a feeling you are going to love it. Called Put ’em Up! Fruit, it is filled with recipes on how to preserve fruit and then use up those preserves. If you’ve ever wondered what to do with your jams or chutneys once you’ve made them, this is the book for you.

Put 'em Up Fruit spine

I have long recommended Sherri’s first book (Put ‘Em Up) to people looking for a comprehensive canning book and I’m happy to find that this new edition is equally useful. The first 40 pages of the book are devoted to setting canners up for success.

There are tips on kinds of fruit that work best for preserving, a definition of terms, detailed information on pectin, a primer on achieving set for jams and, of course, everything you need to know about safely canning your food.

Put 'em Up Fruit introduction

From there, Sherri moves her readers into the recipes. These are organized alphabetically by kind of fruit (it starts with apples and ends with tomatoes). Within each section, there are both recipes for preserves using that fruit and recipes that help you use up that preserve.

This means that the recipe for Classic Cherry Jam is nestled up against a matching one for Sautéed Duck Breast with Cherry Reduction and the Dried Apricots (done in the oven) are paired with Wild Rice Salad that features dried fruit.

Put 'em Up Fruit cherry ancho chili jam

I’m looking forward to cherry season, so that I can make the Cherry Ancho Chile Jam and the Pulled Pork Tacos that feature that preserve! Sherri has made several videos to go along with this book. They’re fun, because you get a chance to see her make a preserve and then use it right in a recipe. There’s also one there that features the basics of boiling water bath canning, which is certain to be useful to some of you

Put 'em Up Fruit back cover
Disclosure: Storey Publishing provided a review copy at no charge to me. I was not paid to run this post or say nice things about this book, I just happen to think it’s pretty darn great. 

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591 thoughts on "Cookbooks: Put ’em Up Fruit"

  • i love making small batches of the not-usual preserves, salsas, etc. my favorite way to use them is anyway that my son will eat them. he is a man who likes his preserves straight up, so he is my challenge. yuck yuck! i am always needing inspiration on how to use preserves. please help me

  • I love my original Put em Up book, and am looking forward to the Fruit version! I love pickled figs on pot roast. Yum!

  • My favorite way to use fruit preserves (especially homemade) is simply: atop a slice of bread with goat cheese.

  • I use my homemade sugar free applesauce and applebutter in place in butter in my sweet breads and pancakes to save on calories and fat.

  • Oh yay, I really liked Put ‘Em Up. Most of the time I am boring about my preserves – strawberry rhubarb jam on toast or yogurt or ice cream, etc. – but my husband really likes our homemade applesauce used to cook pork chops.

  • a spoonful of jam with tint frosting naturally, and the raspberry we used this weekend gave the standard buttercream a huge flavor boost.

  • My very first attempt at Meyer lemon marmalade did not come out as great as I had hoped. It was quite thick, not great for a spread. So, instead of tossing it out, I now add a 1/4 cup to my cream scone batter and make Meyer lemon scones that are incredibly moist and flavorful.

  • LOVED her first book. My favorite way to eat preserves (other than on toast or biscuits or yogurt) is to use them to make a glaze for roasted meats!

  • After a very LARGE failed batch of sour cherry jam, which essentially was cherries in syrup that failed to gel at all, I baked the cherries into an upside down cake and used the remaining syrup for DIY sodas.

  • So many great ideas have been shared. My family loves to eat raspberry preserves with out seeds in a chicken dish that everyone wants seconds.

  • I don’t have just one favorite way to use preserved fruit, but one that I do often with a variety of fruit is to dehydrate them! Fruit leather or just dried fruit chips are a tasty, healthy snack. The only problem is that I eat them too quickly and by the time the dark days of winter are at their peak, all the treats are gone!

  • Wow! I loved her first book, and can’t wait to check out this one! My favorite way to use up jam is to make a glaze for chicken thighs- using a lot of marmalade for this now.

  • I love to make Tomato Jam! I use it like ketchup in any recipe. I also use my Spiced Peach Jam in my muffin recipe. Fill the batter half way up add a T. cover with batter and bake.
    Both Jams also make a great dressing for a spring salad.

  • My favorite way to use jam is on homemade bread for breakfast, but a close second is using it to sweeten a mug of tea.

  • My fave way to use my fruit preserves is in yogurt.

    I have to say, I only have two canning books – yours and Sherri’s first Put ’em Up book – and I love them both.

    Ok, three. I have the Ball Blue book as well.

  • Nothing beats homemade peach or strawberry jam on a fresh piece of crusty bread that’s been slathered first with cold, salted butter!

  • On homemade bread! I cannot wait to peach season this year, need to make twice as much peach jam this year than last. Also yummy on icecream

  • Large bowl. 3/4 to 1 Cup of plain fat free Greek yogurt. Cut up fruit ( strawberries and bananas, etc.). Handful of walnuts or crunchy cereal ( fiber one, cheerios, rice chex, etc).
    Big tablespoon of jam ( current favorite is pineapple – jalapeno). Stir.

    Sit down at kitchen table, eat slowly while reading favorite canning book.

  • In a grilled cheese sandwich. Tomato jam, various chutneys, orange plucot butter, even marmalade. It just depends on the cheese and your mood. (But never a processed cheese “food”.)

  • I like to use jams in homemade salad dressings–so much more interesting than plain old oil and vinegar.

  • I like to make jam cakes or crostatas – sometimes mixing the ends of several jars of jam. It’s always a treat.

  • I love them just on toast or an english muffin. I forget to use them on other things, but they would be so good on a sandwich.

  • I liked her first book and have adapted a few of her wonderful recipes to my own tastes. I especially appreciate preserving books that include recipes for using the preserves, and I would love a copy of this one to be inspired by.

  • When not using preserves as a cake filling, I like to make a sweet & sour sauce for meat(less) balls using either apricot or peach.

  • I love to use a nice chunky jam in my overnight oatmeal – adds just the right amount of sweetness 🙂

  • As a glaze, always. Or to perk up a salad dressing. So many awesome ways. I can’t wait to get my hands on this book.

  • Probably not very creative, but I love using my jam in pb&j for my kids (they don’t know what store bought jam is!) and in fruit and yogurt parfaits with homemade granola…yummy!

    Heather

  • I love using my spicy tomato jam on a slow cooked beef roast, it is always my most requested dinner!

  • I love to make pimento cheese and put a heaping amount of strawberry preserves in the center of the bowl. Wonderful.

  • A well mad fruit preserve is delicious on anything, my favorite way is just simply on toast with pastured-cultured butter!

  • I like to make a chunky puree with the fruit. Then use it as a dip for hot waffle sticks instead of sugary syrups. For a tasty difference, add some of the puree to the waffle batter before baking. Kids love it.

  • I love Put ‘Em Up, so I’m very much looking forward to this new book! I found a great little tea cake that has you dollop jam on top before baking — very yummy!

  • simple as it is I love using up tomato jam on biscuits paired with roasted chicken. yum! loved her first book, excited for this one, too.

  • With anything involving cheese…preferably grilled cheese in deep winter. Put ‘Em Up is my go-to canning book. The Fruit version would be a great addition!

  • This book looks amazing! I’m always on the lookout for something new to can. I’ve got my fingers crossed for this one. We live in the middle of the city and have slowly, within reason, transformed our property into the urban homestead of the block.

  • i’ve just recently discovered canning fruit (i’d been stuck on pickled veggies), so my experience has been limited to apple butter and apple jelly, and used both to give as gifts and spread the rest on toast. basic but YUM. i think it’s clear i could use the guidance and innovation in this book!

  • I use last summer’s fruit butters almost daily on my breakfast: in greek yogurt, on toast etc., but its also fantastic as a glaze on chicken or pork!

  • One of my husband’s favorites uses your recipe for Strawberry Vanilla jam. We take a 1/2 pint jar of the jam and mix it with 4 cups of plain greek yogurt and a few tablespoons of homemade vanilla and then freeze it in the ice cream maker. Delicious and so fresh tasting.

  • No recipe needed-My husband & I just love fruit preserves on lightly toasted bread-borning answer, but really tasty and yummy!

  • This book looks so good! I like to use my preserves for pancake & waffle topping. I’m not a big syrup person, so the vanilla pear jam is awesome spread on top as is the blueberry butter!

  • My new quick and easy way to use my preserves is as a vinaigrette dressing. I thin out some jam with balsamic vin and a little olive oil and it’s delicious on any salad. A little sweet and a little tangy and better than the store bought stuff.

  • Oh, you mean people do other things than eat them straight out of the jar with a clean spoon? Well, in that case, I’d say I like to use bits in salad dressings and sauces or drizzle on baked goods.

  • I love using my apricot preserves as a base for asian sauces. I make an awesome sweet and sour stir fry.

  • My go to granola recipe is a spin off of a granola recipe you did here using fruit butter or sauce and I make it almost weekly with applesauce for my husbands breakfasts!

  • Oh this would be a great gift. Always looking for new ways to use my canned goods. Most often I put my jams in Kolaches turning them into a great breakfast treat or a savory take it to go snack.

  • Raspberry oat bars… sigh!

    I also love using fruit preserves in pavlovas. Using preserves makes this such a simple yet spiffy dessert!

  • My basic arsenal for using up my preserves right now is: stir them into yogurt, spread them on toast, shake them into cocktails, or eat them with a spoon. Clearly I could learn a lot from this book!

  • I love using preserves in a fruit tart, usually with a layer of cream custard underneath. Uses a whole 8 oz jar, and is great for pot lucks.

  • I always add a spoonful of whatever preserves are kicking around in the refrigerator to homemade vinaigrettes. Fig jam is especially nice with balsamic vinegar, yum!

    Thanks for the giveaway; I loved Sherri’s first book!

  • I’ve been topping home made vanilla bean ice cream with pear vanilla agri-dolce. Something different that adds an interesting taste.