Cookbooks: The Preservatory

August 23, 2017

Want a book with truly unique preserve recipes, along with good ideas to use them up? Then make sure to get a copy of The Preservatory!

Back in late June, I spent a day in New York at the summer Fancy Food Show. While there, I met Lee Murphy. She’s the owner and head jam maker at Vista D’Oro Farms and Winery in British Columbia and the author of The Preservatory, a lovely new preserves cookbook that was published this spring.

This gorgeous, hard cover book contains 80 recipes. Forty preserves and another 40 dishes, drinks, and baked goods that you can make with the contents of those glowing jars. The contents are organized by season, which is a structure I always appreciate.

I am so intrigued by the various preserves in this book. I’ve written a whole lot of recipes for jams, chutneys, butters, and spreads in my day and there are things in these pages that I’d never, ever thought of attempting. Three that particularly catch my attention are Sweet Corn with Espelette and Chardonnay (page 65), Spicy Sweet Charred Onion and Figs (page 86), and Olive with Orange and Lemon.

These recipes are all highly acidified with both lemon and apple juice and are given instruction for processing in a boiling water bath canner (though inexplicably, she gives a range of times for the boiling water bath). Still, that onion and fig jam speaks to me. I’m going to try and get my hands on some figs this week.

As far as the recipes designed to use up your preserves, there’s so much I want to make. I’ve bookmarked a number of them, and have my eye on the Savory Dutch Baby (page 130) for this weekend.

Bottom line on this book is that it contains some really interesting, creative recipes, unlike anything I’ve seen before. If you’re looking to bring some new inspiration into your homemade pantry, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

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2 thoughts on "Cookbooks: The Preservatory"

  • Fabulous. I love a book that not only gives you recipes for jams but also how to use them. That’s why I bought the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook #2.

    I used your amazon link so I hope you get something for it.

  • Loved the recipe on the Sweet Cherry Meyer Lemon Marmalade. I can’t wait to try it. I just put up a few jars of my seasonal favorite – Tomato Jam.

    Thanks so very much.