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.
Today’s cookbook feature is a particularly unique joy, because this time, I’m sharing my own book
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
- 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.
- 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.
- Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian readers.
- 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
My favorite food in jars is jam!! Followed by a good salsa, perhaps.
I just started canning last summer thanks to Food in Jars, I still have lots to learn but I loved being able to use my own tomatoes in sauces and soups all summer. Dilly beans were good too, and apple sauce!
I meant winter! Canned in summer, used in winter 🙂
I love making canned peaches and also rhubarb jam, but the thing I do most is use my empty jars for taking iced tea or any drink to my knitting group!
I make jam in the summer when the berries are abundant and then give it away as Christmas gifts. People always love it and there is almost no better reminder of summer in the depths of winter.
My favorite food in jars to look at are jams and granola. But my absolute, can’t do without, staple is tomatoes! I love your site and look forward to getting your book. It would be great to win the drawing, but I’ll get it either way…
Preserved beets (not the ones you find in the grocery store drowning in vinegar.)
My favorite type of food in jars is a close tie between jam and salsa. I love them both so much. 🙂
The images in the book are indeed glorious! I am particularly interested in the idea of canning small batches as I’m new and want to learn to do good food well rather than large quantities that may not be so great. I am also looking forward to the nut butters and other recipes, as I have made a commitment to buy no over-processed foods. I do love my iced coffee, too!
Thanks — either way, I’ll get this book.
Cheryl
Anything my mom cans! … have always wanted to learn to do it myself. Am thinking this blog will be my inspiration & tutor! 🙂
Jam, jam, and more jam. Any flavor, any time. Yum.
I’d love this book just for the photos alone! My favorite food in jars is definitely jam. When it’s the dead of winter and I open a jar of homemade blueberry jam, it’s like a little bit of summer in every bite. Of course, I have yet to venture beyond jams in my canning exploits, so my options for choosing a favorite are pretty limited. Of the jams, blueberry is my favorite, but strawberry-cranberry is right next to it!
Chutney! I will eat allllllll of the chutney!
Congrats!! I would say strawberry jam!
Pickled beets are my favorite for their earthy but bright taste and deep deep color!
Love bread and butter pickles. Finally got brave and learned to can last year. Can’t wait for veggies for pickling and fruits for jams.
Our favorite is jam/preserves…
vanilla pear jam! jammi-yumminess!
So far, my favorite is pear sauce with vanilla bean-I’m hoarding my last jar! I have wonderful memories of raspberry freezer jam that my Mom would make when I was a child. It was always in jars, but she never canned it. I would sneak spoonfuls straight from the freezer. Now that she is gone, canning helps me feel closer to her!
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve already ordered my copy of your book (yay!), but I’d love to give a copy to a canning friend! Best wishes for your book!
I love the strawberry jam! It has been a hit all winter.
Pickles. Definitely Pickles. And Jam.
I love to make and eat jams! But I also long to preserve other fruits and vegetables in other ways and have been looking for a book – this looks like the one for me!
Jam! Rhubarb raspberry jam (which we make) and plum-bay-vanilla jam (which is the best jam gift I’ve gotten).
i love raspberry jam! Absolute favorite and last year I was able to take it full circle from growing to canning to eating it in the dead of winter! love it!
Blue berry jam that I’ve made from wild Maine blueberries, picked on an island in a lake.
Yum! Thanks for the giveaway.
I am new to canning, so I definitely need some instruction! But one of my greatest “canning” memories is of my grandma’s canned peaches. I want to be able to make them for my own family!
Yay, giveaway–thanks for the opportunity! My favorite food in a jar is pickles, preferably of the garlic dill variety. Of course, practically any other non-sweet pickle is in the running too!
Canned peaches, just like my Mom used to make.
Thanks for a chance!
Favorite? Depends on the season. I just made a strawberry balsamic jam that is SO good. I adore pickles but have never made them. Perhaps that should be the next thing I tackle?
I love jam, but pickles move faster, ha!
Hard to pick an all-time favorite, but Grapefruit Jam is my current love.
Canned pears. I loved canned pears from the time I was a small child. We have two old Bartlett pear trees that have a huge crop every August and we are still enjoying last years harvest every week.
pickled beets or dilly beans! i can’t choose
I think I love jams and sauces the most! But I need to do some more branching out and then we’ll see!
Canned pears. I loved canned pears from the time I was a small child. We have two old Bartlett pear trees that have a huge crop every August and we are still enjoying last years harvest every week.
Strawberry preserves. Yum!
My favorite foods in jars are salsa, apricot jam & caramel sauce-not all at once, however! I would love to win your book. Thanks for offering it to us.
Spicy dill pickles!
Pickles love me some pickles. we did 30lbs of pickles last year.
I can’t wait to make something with all the fresh rhubarb in season now! Like rhubarb jam, but classic strawberry jam would have to be my favourite
Congratulations! The cookbook looks absolutely beautiful. While I put virtually everything in jars these days (I recently counted 21 in my fridge), there’s nothing like popping open a jar of yummy fruit jam in the middle of a long Vermont winter.
I started canning with jams, so that is my favorite. But after canning for a few years, I’m now proud to add pickles, relishes, bbq sauce, and mustard to the list. I can skip right by most of the condiment aisle!
Cranberry jelly…I finished our last jar last week. Or ketchup…I’ve been without for about a month. Or pickles with tumeric…I’ve got about 3 slices left. All so delicious!
Congrats on the book! I’ll be getting a copy even if I don’t win 🙂 My favorite is canned tomatoes. There so practical and tasty.
Oh my, it’s a tossup between iced coffee, green smoothies, and peach jam! I can’t wait to see the book, and it would be even better to win it. 🙂
Jam Jam Jam Jam Jam Jam
Blueberry Jam. Tomato Jam. Peach Blackberry Jam. Rhubarb Jam. Strawberry Jam. Carrot Jam?
When I started canning last year I thought it would be all about jam, but I made chutney on a whim. Best decision ever. I’ve had hostess gifts all year, and an excuse to try tons of new cheeses!
Canned tomatoes! So versatile, and in winter wayyyyy better than whatever else you can find in the supermarket.
I have to admit, pickles are my favorite. My uncle’s father made the best Bread and Butter pickles, and one day I am going to do my best to recreate the pickle that brought me on board to more flavors than just sweet.
My favorite is strawberry jam
My husband has been very picky about jam, only eating the kind in blue plastic container so I just assumed he would never eat my homemade jam. He LOVES my strawberry jam and has been counting down the days until we can go pick strawberries! Since I live outside of Portland I feel a kinship to you and your blog and can’t wait to meet you in June at Powells!