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
I love all the Butters there are to make and can. Some of my favorites I got from you!! Love your recipes!
I love making my own jams and fruit butters and sauces. So much better to have home made and healthy rather than processed, overpriced items sold in food stores.
pickles are definitely my favorite food in a jar, and yet i’ve never made them. . . . i guess i need a few new recipes!
All manner of canned fruits are so wonderful – and so much better than the store bought stuff!
Marisa,
You forgot to mention the beautiful typography and graphic design. Well done!!
As for jars, I LOVE pickles and pickled beats.
I don’t know if I can pick just one favorite but probably jam & granola as they are part of my daily diet. I am excited to get new inspiration from your cookbook!
Hi there!
My favorite is JAM! and I want to learn how to can my own 🙂
I had to think awhile about what my favorite thing to can was, there are so many : ) but I would have to say that chutney is up there at the top. Of all things that are magically transformed by canning, that is the most pleasing for me. Oh, and the wonderful chive blossom vinegar recipe I found here, that is pretty special too. I’m looking forward to the inspiration you new tome will certainly provide!
I make lemon curd and apple pie jam that make my family go wild. They eat it right out of the jar.
My favorite canning is Relishes, all kinds. I already purchased Food in Jars and absorbing its contents now, but I would love to win one that I can share with others.
What a gorgeous cookbook – your blog posts are a favorite in my reader, and I would love to have this reference on hand for canning season….love strawberry/lavender jam and spicy pickles the best.
My favorite food in a jar is salsa! We grow as many tomatoes as possible, and then hit the farmer’s market to add to our supply.
right now i’d have to say my favorite food in jars is peach jam! love summer treats!
Homemade Pickles & Jams ….yummy!
preserved lemons! 🙂
Favorite food in jars is JAM. Congrats on the book. I am looking forward to getting a copy.
Homemade jam, any flavor, is my favorite food in a jar. Congrats on your cookbook!
It’s between pickles and jams. My 9 year old loves the jam and my 2 year old would live on pickles it we let him. I’ve canned rhubarb, asparagus, ramps and fiddleheads this year.
I love all things pickled but especially asparagus. Double as a delicious snack on their own and a great addition to bloody mary’s. Congrats on your book!
My favorite is probably jam, any kind. It’s what I make the most of, and eat the most of, so it must be my favorite! Congratulations on your book. I can’t wait to see a copy!
Homemade pickles or kimchi!
Raspberry jam from my own raspberry plants is the first jam I canned in jars and it is still my favorite. 🙂
Your book looks so beautiful. I love to can so many things, my mom taught me to make jams and jellies, which I love to make-I make a mean peach ginger jam and am currently working on a mango version! And I lived in a co-op where I learned to can tomatoes and salsa and pickles, and while I don’t love canning tomatoes as much, I do love eating canned tomatoes.
I am a country girl and was raised on food in jars! LOL I LOVE green beans the best! A close second would be my blackberry jam and pickles! Everything even looks better in jars!
I would love to win your book! Thanks for the opportunity.
My favorite food in a jar is my mom’s bread and butter pickles. Love them!
Your book looks lovely – I’ll definitely be acquiring a copy!
I like jam, but I’m even more partial to fruit butters – last year I made a plum butter with really tart plums that was absolutely divine. That said, I also use jars for leftovers, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s a pretty good thing to have in jars too.
If I don’t win, I have a copy sitting in my amazon shopping cart right now. If I had to pick just one, I’d go with my beloved peaches in syrup: truly, the most perfect snack in the world. All you need is a spoon.
My favorite food in jars is probably pickled okra. I’m not sure if it’s the okra so much as the memories of my great-grandfather bringing it over for me and my grandmother to put up when I lived with her in the first year of my son’s life. The taste of those crunchy, salty things was the taste of that first summer for me.
Almost 400 comments!? While it would be nice to win this book, I still plan on buying it. I loved this site since the first time I stumbled across it. It is my go-to site for canning inspiration.
As far as my favorite food in jars? Pickles! I love pickled vegetables, especially cucumber pickles. Dilly beans and pickled asparagus (trying for the first time this year) are a close second.
Congratulations again on the book, Marisa
I love jam! Im making my first batch of the season today. Excited to pull out the canner and jars and get busy!
All the food in jars is wonderful, but I think my very favorite must be peaches. Last year, the peaches I used yielded golden orbs in a rosy-pink syrup. Not quite sure how I managed that (the peaches themselves? organic sugar? both? no clue.) Either way, they were delightful to behold and decadent to eat. And winning a copy of Food in Jars would be equally delightful!
I have two favorite food in jars…..crushed tomatoes and venison stock. I use both of them so often in my cooking that they really don’t last long on the shelf.
Though I love making jam, I must confess that my favorite canned food is Elberta peaches. No matter what time of year they remind me of summer, my grandmother and her delicious peach cobbler in each and every bite. I have already bought your cookbook, but I would love to win a copy to give to my Mom!
My favorite is my Hood Strawberry and Lavendar Jam…absolutely delicious!!!
I’ve got some Piccalilli brewing, it’s my favorite way to get rid of green beans.
Looks amazing! I want one! (and I might buy one for myself if I don’t win…;)
I think a favorite might be lemon curd (for whipping up a quick tart on occasion). 🙂
My ultimate favorite food in jars is jam. Good ole’ humble apricot jam, strawberry jam, blueberry jam. It is such a delicate sweet treat that bursts with flavor. And I don’t think anything compares to opening a jar of strawberry jam in the middle of winter and tasting the summer in that jar!
Bravo on your new book ~ it looks gorgeous.
I am addicted to the sliced jalapenos that I canned last summer. I am putting them in/on everything lately!
I think canned peaches are my favorite – at least that’s what I hoarded the most this year. My husband would say canned tomatoes, my 5 year old would vote for canned pears and my parents would choose pickles. All that said, what I make most is jam!
This is so exciting! It looks like a gorgeous book.
I love canned fruit- whether its fruit in syrup or jams and jellies.
My ULTIMATE food in jars is always going to be pickles. I’ve been loving on some super spicy habanero spiced ones recently. I also do love tomatoes, so jarred tomatoes are delicious as well 🙂
I love all food in jars that one can make themselves, but my husband LOVES pickles and we go thru way too many. I have never made enough to last one winter season. Maybe this year I will buy more pickling cukes. My favorite way is to use a no vinegar recipe that is quick and easy. Hubby likes fermented food. Maybe there is one in your book that will become a fave.
I have a soft spot in my heart for my grandma’s beet pickles (grown in her backyard!) but haven’t adventured down the path of pickling yet (not a big pickle eater…) Maybe this year!
I think my favorite food in jars are fruit butters. I started with plum, but have fallen especially in love with pear. And even though I can’t can it, pumpkin butter is always a favorite. I like how versatile the butters are and how little extra sweetening is required. Lately I’ve enjoyed stirring a tablespoon into my Greek yogurt for my morning snack.
My favorite food in a jar is homemade fig jam. I’m also excited to start making my own pickles.
My peach chutney….which reminds me that I should pull out another jar of it!
I am just getting into preserving, but I love making jams. And I just got started with a csa so I’m planning on freezing a lot of greens and other veggies for winter!! Can’t wait to check out the book!
I love Grandma’s freezer strawberry jam. YUM.
Have to go with jam – love me some jam!
Pickles. Definitely pickles.
definitely jam. my favorites to come out of last summer were pear ginger and a first attempt at tomato jam.
I eat everything out of jars! I use them like tupperware. Coffee, smoothies, leftovers, you name it.
Raspberry jam from berries in my garden…mmmmmm!
Jam. But I’m looking to expand my repertoire!
Jams were the first things I ever canned, and are still my favorites, even as I’ve branched out and gotten more adventurous. I’ve been following your blog for ages, and I’m so thrilled that you’ve gone from a relatively small following, to a successful website and book and other projects! Many kudos to you – I’ve enjoyed following your journey!
Pickled beets!
I think, maybe, pears is my favorite food in jars. Or salsa. Diced tomatoes get used the most often so maybe those. That’s a harder question than I first thought. 🙂
The best thing I ever canned was a peach and jalapeno jam using peppers I grew in my window sill. I was frankly doubtful of the recipe, but it was wonderfully sweet and spicy, and it had a great peach-meaty texture. I will be doing my best to replicate it once my jalapeno plants start fruiting and the peaches come in again this year!
The strawberry jam my sis-in-law makes from her grandmother’s recipe — I think I gained 5 pounds in a week last time she shared! Congrats on the book 🙂
Jam. I put in in so much, especially plain yogurt or on oatmeal. Yum =)
Strawberry jam for sure. Not so much for me, but for my increasing number of nephews and nieces that love my jam. Love your blog.
Marmalade of any fruit combos…fun to make and great to share…
I love to have homemade chicken stock always on hand. My husband says I may be a little obsessive about it.
Proud to say your cookbook is on the cookbook pile and dog-eared already! Congrats on the completion of a huge undertaking!
I love ANYTHING in jars! Jars are cool…
I have a lot of favorites, but I make jam the most and store bought jam just can not compare to the home made stuff.
I like pickles and relishes – have never made any myself, but am anxious to learn how.
Congratulations! The book looks absolutely beautiful. I would love to have a copy 🙂
My favorite food in a jar has to be cherries.
My grandmother always had quarts of them in her root cellar, and when we were at her house and were asked what we wanted for dessert (there was nearly always cake, cookies and ice cream available), all of us cousins always asked for her cherries!
I have been big on nut butters lately 🙂
I’m a relative newbie to canning so my favorite thing to can so far is jam/preserves. Just enough of a challenge to give me the occasional failure but when it works, it’s so good. I love pickles made by other people, though. I have many fond memories of buying handmade pickles from the farmers market in college with my best friend.
It’s all about the pickles. I LOVE them. Thanks for the chance to win!
Hard to pick just one, but if I have to – hot peppers!
I love canning all kinds of things. Some of my favorite things are salsa, chicken noodle soup and lingonberry jam. Your book looks so wonderful. You are very creative and that makes canning exciting.
I like the look of fruit or garden salads in a jar. Or yogurt. Although my vanilla rhubarb jam made with your recipe looks really nice too!
Anything sweet and fruity! Jelly, jam, syrup … yum! Love the blog and would love to have the cookbook! Thanks for the inspiration, Marisa. 🙂
I am looking forward to this book! I can in all categories, but this year I am really into marmalade. Yesterday I canned Cowboy Candy, pickled jalapenos is a sweet syrup. Last week I made mango chutney. I’ll be canning some hot sauce in a few days. Good luck with the book!
I am so in love with your book. It sits on my table right next to my chair in the living room. I thumb through it and place sticky notes on the recipes I plan on trying this summer. The first one with be Strawberry Jam with Vanilla…I have everything ready to go and this recipe tops my summer bucket list. Having a second book would allow me to give it to my sister for Christmas this year, she is a foodie as well.
It would have to be jelly, so easy to make, and use.
I’m a pickle sort of gal. Pickled peppers are my favorite.
Love your blog! I’m making raspberry jam today using your recipe. Your cookbook looks beautiful.
I love jams and playing around with the flavors. My other half can’t get enough salsa. My mother was a huge canner, we never bought canned goods at the store. But, sadly she never passed it on to me and I’m now just trying teach myself.
So far, it’s a toss up between black bean and corn salsa AND Blueberry Jam! Yummo.
Excited for you.
Emily
Hard decision! Love the pickles…strawberry jam….apple butter…..pear jam…..pickled jalapenos…..pickles! Love the pickles.
my favorite kind of food in jars is pickles. no hesitation — pickles! congrats on the book.
My favorite jarred food that I’ve made myself was some blueberry marmalade I made last year—so good that I wouldn’t let my husband eat any (he’s only so-so on blueberries). I love to buy jarred chutney and India-style pickles. I wish I had more recipes for them!
Jams are by far my favorite canned food! I would love to be able to make my own so as to not have all the added sugars.
My five year old would say jelly, my father-in-law would say pickles, my mother would say salsa, if I had to choose, I would say apricots.
There’s nothing like opening your pantry and being able to choose something you have put up yourself
Peach preserves. Peaches are only tolerable, i.e. amazing, for such a short season that only yummy preserves can capture that rare taste of summer.
Every new batch of jam gets the comment, “oh, now this is your BEST one yet!”
Mmm…so many. I’m going to go with what I’m eating my way thru now from last summer–blueberry jam!
So many things to choose from… If I’m making it I would have to go with salsa or apple sauce although I do get a huge jar of fresh honey from my Uncle for Christmas. It’s generally gone after a week because I make huge batches of granola out of it.
Spiced plum spoon fruit has to be my favourite food in a jar, but gooseberry jam and sour cherries in syrup are tied for a close second (really, how are we meant to pick just one?!).
Jalapeño jelly!
My grandma’s salsa!
My favorite kind of food in jars is jam!
Hard to say – I am a recent convert to canning. I’ve been making jam for a few years now but I would only make small-batch jams that we could easily use up – but last night was my first time canning using a water bath! Success!!!!!
My favorite food to can would be salsa.
Tough decision! Do I really need to pick one? Oh, all right…. last year I made a totally awesome cinnamon fig preserves (no added pectin) that makes me swoon when I add it to plain, nonfat Greek yogurt with walnuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. If my hubby was answering, he’d say the bread and butter pickles I made two years ago with lemon cucumbers (no garden last year) or any of the jams I make. He’s very diplomatic like that!
My favorite is Cowboy Candy! Great on burgers, brats, sandwiches, cheese and crackers or just out of the jar. I can’t get enough of them!