The Preserving Answer Book: Expert Tips, Techniques, and Best Methods for Preserving All Your Favorite Foods

by Sherri Brooks Vinton

Overview

In this comprehensive guide, expert author Sherri Brooks Vinton answers the home preserver’s most commonly asked questions about every aspect of food preservation, from refrigeration and freezing to canning, drying, and fermenting all kinds of fruits and vegetables. She also offers tips and techniques for setting up your kitchen, choosing the preserving process that best suits your needs, making equipment and ingredient substitutions, and much more. Whether you’re new to preserving or just looking to refresh your memory at the start of the season, whether you want to know the difference between jam and jelly or which varieties of tomatoes are best for canning, you’ll find the information and confidence you need with this kitchen companion in hand. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635864205
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Sherri Brooks Vinton is the author of Put ’em Up!, Put ’em Up! Fruit, and The Preserving Answer Book. Vinton began her food career on the back of a motorcycle. A cross-country ride brought her face-to-face with the negative impacts of industrial agriculture and compelled her to begin a quest for food raised with integrity. Since then, her books, appearances, and hands-on workshops have taught countless eaters how to find, cook, and preserve local, seasonal food. Whether developing content, organizing events, or consulting with clients, Vinton is always working to find her next great meal. To learn more, visit sherribrooksvinton.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Part 1 Getting Started

1 Basics 12

Why Preserve?

Safety

2 Sourcing and Storage 20

Finding Good Food

Recipe: White Peach Jam

Prolonging Produce

3 Prep Work 34

Kitchen Skills

Blanching

Peels and Pits

Recipe: Raspberry Jelly

Making the Most of It

Kitchen Tips

Part 2 Preserving Processes

4 General Canning 58

Workspace

Equipment

Jars

Process

Recipe: Bread-and-Butter Chips

Ingredients

When Something's Gone Wrong

What Not to Do

Storage

5 Boiling-Water Method 95

Basics

Setting Up

About pH and Acid

Reliable Recipes

Recipe: Pickled Okra

Filling the Jars

Loading the Cannar

Processing

Checking for a Seal

6 Pressure Canning 122

Basics

Equipment

What to Pressure Can

Recipe: Green Beans in Water

7 Refrigeration 134

Recipe: Simple Brine

Recipe: Pub Pickles

8 Freezing 140

9 Drying 148

Prepping

Recipe: Dried Cherries

Methods

Storage

10 Fermentation 160

Encouraging a Good Ferment

Recipe: Classic Fermented Sauerkraut

Equipment

Ingredients

Storage

11 Infusions 174

Recipe: Strawberry Vinegar

Part 3 Putting Your Skills to Work

12 Sweet and Savory Spreads 180

Basics

Recipe: Quick Blueberry Jam

Recipe: Pan-Roasted Chicken with Raspberry Reduction

Equipment

Pectin

Recipe: Peel-and-Pip Pectin

Sugar and Acid

Getting a Good Set

Troubleshooting

13 Pickles 207

Recipe: Pickling Spice

14 Sauces 213

Recipe: Blueberry Gastrique

15 Vegetables 217

16 Whole Fruits 221

Recipe: Pears in Honey Syrup

17 Tomatoes and Tomato Products 227

Recipe: Avalanche Sauce

Metric Conversions 238

Resources 239

Supplies and Equipment 239

Home Food Preserving Community and Information 240

Local Food Sources and Calendars 241

Index 245