The Food in Jars Cookbook + Giveaway

May 24, 2012(updated on December 16, 2023)

So often over the life of this blog, I’ve written about beautiful cookbooks. These posts are fun for me to write because I love any excuse to sit awhile with a new cookery volume and explore what it has to offer. Many of you take the time to write me an email or leave a comment, to tell me how useful you find these cookbook pieces, because they give you a chance to peek inside a book in a way that’s different from the experience on Amazon.

rear cover

Today’s cookbook feature is a particularly unique joy, because this time, I’m sharing my own book. Now, I realize that I’ve been talking about this book for many, many weeks now. Thing is, for all that excited chatter, I haven’t taken much of a chance to tell you what you’ll find when you open the cover and why it might be a good canning book for you.

dedication

To my mind, the book is a tangible embodiment of this website. It brings together the most popular recipes from the archives as well as a number of new recipes you’ve never seen before. All the previously-published recipes were retested and rewritten before being included in the manuscript to ensure that they were the best versions of themselves. Many were also scaled down to yield just three or four pints, to keep with the small batch theme.

canning intro

It includes detailed canning instructions (with helpful instructional pictures!), tips on how to determine whether your jam has reached its set point, a guide for adjusting processing time for altitude and all the best safety practices.

blueberry butter

The recipes are sorted by genre, so that all the pickles are in one chapter, jellies in another and so on. Within each section, the recipes are arranged by season, so that each spring, you can start at the beginning of the jam chapter and then work your way through to the end.

boozy peaches

The book is also full of really gorgeous images. Truly, my jars have never looked better. The photography was done by Steve Legato, at his Philadelphia studio, and it was such a pleasure to watch him work. Also, I made all the canned goods pictured, so you can trust that your finished products should look pretty darn close to what you see.

cinnamon vanilla butter

Another way I tried to keep the book tied closely to this site is that it’s not just about canning. Towards the back of the book, you’ll find sections devoted to nut butters, granolas, bread and scone mixes in jars and even flavored salts. There’s also information about how to best freeze different fruits and vegetables, and some details on pressure canning low acid foods.

rhubarb syrup

Finally, the reason I think so many of you will like the book is that it’s me. It’s my voice, the same one you read here day after day. I’m always working to write about food preservation in a way that conveys the fact that it’s a joy, not a chore. That feeling ribbons throughout the book. I love joining so many of you in your kitchens through this blog and I hope I’ll get to do the same through the book.

Thanks to my kind publicist at Running Press, I have three copies of the Food in Jars (the cookbook) to give away to Food in Jars (the blog) readers. Here’s what to do:

  1. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post and share your favorite kind of food in jars. Jam? Jelly? Pickles? Chutney? Canned peaches? Granola? Iced coffee? There is no wrong answer.
  2. Comments will close at 11:59 pm eastern time on Sunday, May 27, 2012. Winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) and will be posted to the blog on Monday, May 28, 2012.
  3. Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian readers.
  4. One entry/comment per person, please.

If you can’t bear to wait and see if you win the giveaway, you can always order a copy by clicking here: Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round.

Disclosure: I wrote this book. Running Press is providing three copies at no cost to me for this giveaway. 

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1,407 thoughts on "The Food in Jars Cookbook + Giveaway"

  • i am only a beginner in preserving
    as for putting food in jars, as a child of a farming family on the prairies, there was plenty of
    canning
    my all time favourite: pickled beets

  • My favorite food in jars? Pickles! Honestly though, that’s a really tough question. One thing is for sure, though. My favorite jarred foods come from recipes on your blog.

  • My canning is limited because I live in the desert. The most economical things I can is Beans, I also can chicken and pork for convenience of quick meals, and occasionally I make a jam or butter.

  • Pickles! Carrot pickles currently, but truly, any type! (I may just be obsessed with vinegar) and congrats on the book, again!

  • My husbands grandma’s Strswberry Rhubarb Jam. It’s great on toast, in yogurt or oatmeal, in vanilla ice cream, or straight out of a jar. She just past away at a young age of 88, and I’m now the family’s source of it. RIP Dolly!

  • I have not had many first-hand experiences with canning yet, but I was happy to receive my sister’s strawberry vanilla jam, made with seascape berries picked near her home in northern California – yum!

  • I love to make herb syrups when they come in season. So refreshing with sparkling water or in a cocktail!

  • Cranberry ginger chutney – I made a few jars of this right before Thanksgiving and each subsequent taste brings back all the love and warmth of the holidays.

  • We started canning last year and are so into making jam and its cousins. We had a really proud moment last year when we created Peach-Jalapeno jam on a whim and it turned out to be our favorite all season. I really want to get pickles and canned fruit into my repetoir this year, and your beautiful book looks amazing for all of these things and more!

  • I love jam and pickles (not together, though!). And I really love those hot chocolate in a jar gifts where the ingredients are stacked on top of each other in the jar.

  • Pickled beets! I would LOVE a copy of your book – when I timidly began putting food in jars about a year ago, I stumbled upon your site and found a wealth of ideas and inspiration that has made me love this delicious art!

  • I already have a copy of your book, but I want to win one for my mother. We always had tons of fruit every year that went to waste because she didn’t know how to preserve it or give it away fast enough. Sadly, two of her best plum trees died this year due to my sister’s husband’s overzealous pruning of them, and now I am scheduled to take a class with you in stone fruit chutneys! I tend to like the sour things in jars myself (like pickles or umeboshi), but with your book I will venture into many different kinds of foods. I’m so excited for your class and looking forward to lots of experimenting in the kitchen this summer.

  • I made a couple of 8oz jars of Banana Vanilla Rum Butter from the “Put Em Up” book, and I kid you not, I’ve never tasted anything closer to heaven than a piece of toast slathered in peanut butter and this canned goodness! Can’t wait to start canning again. It’s been a long winter…

  • I do love jam, but my absolute favourite thing to put in jar (and to take out) is applesauce. So comforting, so yummy!

  • Jams and jellies because they can be sweet or savory. The sky is the limit for flavor combinations.

  • I love jam. I cant wait to get your book. The most loved recipe in my house if you vanilla pear

  • I have to be honest, I can’t believe that anyone here is entering this contest. Doesn’t everyone already have a copy? Mine showed up here in Alaska last week and it really is beautiful.

  • My favorite food in jars are actually supplies – I love the look of flours, sugars, popcorn, nutra-yeast, coffee beans, etc in jars in my cupboard. It feels good to see them all so clearly and often inspires me to open one up and see what happens (usually a big mess). 🙂

  • BOOZE! Liquors of all kinds. Hells Yes!

    Congrats on your book. Seriously, if I don’t win this drawing, ok whatever, because I will go buy it.

    Of course, if I do win, I should say I will still buy it for someone else as a gift. 😉

  • pickles!! pickles pickles pickles. I could eat pickled ANYTHING all day long. I’ve been eyeing your book for awhile and can’t wait to see more!

  • My favorite is anything fermented: kimchee, sauerkraut, asparagus, sour pickles, etc. They get better the longer they spend in the jar!

  • Fave jar is homemade strawberry jam, hands down!
    Though to be honest: any homemade jam makes me happy ^_^

  • When I was young, my father canned his own fresh-caught tuna in olive oil. The stuff in the cans will simply never compare to my memories of that tuna-in-jars!

  • when I was young, we bought these gigantic bottles of peaches in light syrup. Each bottle contained maybe 10 whole peaches– no one knows where to get them again 🙁

  • “let the ice melt” margaritas in mason jars… made with homemade triple sec made in WECK jars!

  • I’ve only canned strawberry jam so far and I was so pleased with it! So for now, jams are my favorite 🙂

  • Without a doubt, strawberry jam is my favorite. I made it with my grandma every summer when I was a kid.

  • Pears. I think pears are my favorite food in jars. But maybe applesauce. Jam? Pear butter? Nope- it’s green beans. Definitely green beans are my very favorite food in jars!!

    Thank you for the giveaway Marisa! Your book looks amazing!!
    Chrissy

  • congratulations on your book! i can’t wait to read it. favorite food in a jar? gotta be apricot jam!

  • I love pie fillings in jars such as bumbleberry and blueberry. Nothing better in the middle of the winter. Delish!!!

  • I am a big fan of jarred foods of all types. As for picking a favorite, I’m going to have to go with my original love, PICKLES! As a little kid, I didn’t like the texture of jams and jellies (although that has certainly changed), but I have always loved a good pickle.

  • After a year-and-a-half long flirtation with pickles, jams, fruit preserves, and tomatoes it was finally lemon curd that ultimately turned me into a loopy canning person.

  • I have recently become obsessed with sauerkraut. And anything rhubarb. And ketchup, and salsa. Really anything that goes in jars at this point. <3

  • favourite food in jars… today it’s pickles (specifically pickled lemon); tomorrow who knows? Congratulations on the book, it looks fantastic!

  • Either jams or my grandma’s apple butter. I love experimenting with new jams but not much can beat Grammy’s apple butter recipe…I’ve just recently dived head first into canning and preserving…it would have never interested me 5 years ago, but now I’m obsessed!

  • Definitely jam. It’s so versatile. Of course it’s amazing on home baked bread., but we love it even more for cocktails!

  • It’s a tie: I love jam, apple butter, and applesauce. 🙂 I just ordered another batch of tattler lids and I’m excited to get into the kitchen to do lots of canning this summer. Last summer was my first time canning and I feel as though I have so much to learn. Keeping my fingers crossed for this gem of a book.

  • Anything that tastes like summer! Jam that reminds me of fresh berries or pickles that give my winter foods the tang of some other time of the year are both equally pleasing to me. There’s just something special about cracking open something I made months ago. All that work on one day is a gift to myself on another day.

  • Oh, pickles have got to be my favorite to eat. Jam’s my favorite to make. But I’ve also got to acknowledge the wonderfulness of a gin and tonic in a pint jar. Perfect.

    I’ve looked through the book, because I requested that my public library buy it (which everyone should do! they just might purchase it), and it’s lovely. Would love to have my very own copy.

  • I’m a big fan of fruit butters. Concentrated fruity goodness. Whether or not I win, I absolutely can’t wait to see your book!

  • Red currant jelly! The red currant I planted two years ago is full of fruit and I can’t wait!
    This looks like a gorgeous book.

  • My favourite food in jars is canned cherries. 10 years ago I got a jar of canned cherries from my grandmother, I loved them so much I couldn’t bring myself to open them. They sit in my pantry as a reminder of those summers we spent on the farm eating canned cherries with fresh cream.

  • My absolute hands down favorite thing that comes from one of my jars? Jam. All the way. Peach, strawberry, raspberry, cherry….doesn’t matter what kind. Good ole jam.

  • Oh, I really want to win your book, Marisa! I always vote for pickles because I love anything with a jolt of salt and a good pucker. But I am so interested in your other jar makings like fruit drinking vinegar and fruit syrups. Last fall I tried canning for the first time and came away with a few jars of great nectarine jam & some pickled beets. What’s next??!! I’m sure it will be good.

  • Just one favorite? Tomato anything. Or jam. Or pickles. Ah, dang it, I picked three, ha. I love all food in jars, how about that? Thank you for the inspiration!

  • Right now, my favorite food in jars is homemade vanilla flavoring (vanilla beans sitting in mid-range vodka) and homemade ginger flavoring (dried, “cracked” ginger from Penzey’s in the same mid-range vodka). I use both in my pancake and french toast recipes. I find the ginger one much less oversweet than typical ginger liqueurs, which makes it a much nicer addition to baking and cooking, and doesn’t make mixed drinks so oversweet (like mixed with pomegranate liqueur or non-alcoholic lemonade).

    But give me another month or two, and I’ll be all about the jams again!

  • I can’t wait to get a copy of this book! The food I put in jars most is jam, but my favorite canning project last summer involved pears in a light vanilla syrup. Yum!

  • I have really gotten into jellies lately, but I have to say pickles will always be my number one go-to food in jars! Congrats so much on the beautiful cookbook.

  • Pickles for me as well. I have never canned but due to an abundance of Meyer lemons at our new house I made some lemon marmalade this year and I have to say, it turned out great. Looking forward to expanding my repertoire.

  • I don’t want to enter the giveaway, because my copy came in the mail yesterday! I sat down and read it cover to cover. I’m a chef at a restaurant that grows most of it’s own produce, and relies heavily on local farmers for just about everything else. We are expecting (hoping) for quite the bounty this summer, and your beautiful book was just what I needed to read to get me excited about all of the canning, pickling, and preserving I will be doing for the next several months at work. Thank you. I loved it not only for the professional inspiration, but because your personal touches reminded me of being little and doing this with my mother and grandmother, something I took for granted then, but memories that I cherish today. I can’t wait to share your book with my colleuges and loved ones!

  • My family has a long tradition of making jams, but recently I have been infusing alcohol with fruits. Where else but in Jars would I be doing this?!

  • My favourite food in jars (right now) is a yummy blackberry-lime jam I made with blackberries I picked from the yard =)

  • How fun to have your own book to give away! Congrats.

    As for me, I love me some pickles. Especially okra and asparagus pickles.

  • congratulations on the new book! it really looks fantastic…i’m sure in the event that i don’t win, i’ll be purchasing it very soon! anyhoo…my favorite food in jars, geez, so many. love my iced coffee of course, but my favorite has been the ginger quince jam i made last year.

  • I make a lot of jam – especially any kind of berry! I picked chive blossoms today to make vinegar.

  • Hmm…. This is really tough. I love just about anything I put in a jar… which is a lot! 🙂 But if I had to choose – salsa and pickles.

  • I love apple butter, and peach jam. I’d love to try that blueberry butter recipe in your book. Congrats! I look forward to reading your book!

  • Pickles are definitely my favorite food in jars. The first and only refrigerator pickles I make are your garlic dills. We loved them so much the first time I made them that I haven’t even bothered trying new recipes, I can’t wait to make more.

  • Clearly you understand what it is to be giddy about a new cookbook. I must tell you that this is my year to really develop my mad canning skillz. I am so so excited to see not only a fabulous new book dedicated to the subject, but one filled with gorgeous photos. As a photographer who loves shooting food, and a cookbook girl who needs pictures to really *love* a book, I have a feeling your book will be well-used on our little farm in my well-loved kitchen.
    Favorite canned good- I think interesting mixes of jam. I want to learn to find good combinations of things for jam. With four boys, we go through a LOT of jam!
    Crossing my fingers!
    xx

  • Dill pickles! Jam! Salsa! Frozen leftovers!

    The book looks beautiful – both the pictures and the glimpses of text. True to your voice, and clearly a labour of love! Congratulations!

  • My favorite food in jars…since before I can remember has always been green beans, fresh from the garden, strung and snapped and pressure canned with just a bit of salt.

  • Pickles, pickles, pickles! Although I love jams & sauces…I can’t get enough of pickles. Especially carrots and jalapeños.

  • I think, above all else, Applesauce is my favorite thing to come out of a jar. While I love all my jams and my baked beans are fantastic, applesauce is always what I reach for when in a meal pinch.

  • Jam, jam, jam. Your tomato jam recipe was my first venture into canning. I’ve been addicted ever sense. If it was healthy to eat tomato jam 24/7 I would.

    Thanks for doing this giveaway.

  • It has got to be pickles but to narrow it down beyond that, I am hard-pressed to pick a favourite. I really love spicy pickled carrots though.

  • Fruit butter has been the most exciting thing to put up so far, but my favorite food in jars is the oatmeal I eat out of half-pint jars every morning at work. The jars are perfect for transporting and heating up in the microwave!