Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
by Judi Kingry, Lauren Devine
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Book Reviews of Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Book Review: Saints Preserve Us!
Summary: 5 Stars
It was my lucky day when happenstance led me to this exciting new book.
There are more than 400 recipes within, basic ones for new home canners and sophisticated recipes for more experienced canners and those newbies with sophisticated palates. New preservers and experienced canners alike will appreciate the section (with lots of illustrations) titled "The Art and Science of Home Food Preservation."
The authors and their supporting cast know their stuff and impart that knowledge with clear language and instructions as well as helpful tips in sidebars for nearly every recipe, whether a special use for the preserved product or tips for selecting the best produce and ingredients for the recipe. They've answered the call for "ethnic" recipes and provide recipes the likes of harissa, 14 salsas, and five different chili sauce recipes as well as regional specialties like okra pickles. Among the eighteen chutney recipes, there's sure to be at least one blue ribbon winner for ambitious State and County Fair competitors around the country.
While the first 378 pages are dedicated to recipes processed in a boiling water bath, there is also a small section about pressure processing for vegetables and combination foods like beef stew and chili.
There are not many photos; I don't mind that. Those photos that are included are taste-tempting and colorful - I'm pretty sure I can taste that Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce just looking at the picture of it.
As a prize-winning Fair competitor for more than 25 years, I am really excited about this book and look forward to trying some of its innovative recipes for my family and my friends. I salute the authors and thank them for the newest addition to my preserving library. Saints preserve us!
Barb Schaller
Burnsville, Minnesota
2004 Minnesota State Fair "Prestigious Processor of the Pantry"
Book Review: Good if you only want to process by boiling water bath
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the first year I canned. I bought this along with the USDA publication on home canning. I have made a lot of jellies and jams from this book and my family loves them. I made salsa as well, and it was very good.
There are two things I didn't care for - if I was more interested in pressure canning, I would have been very disappointed. There is very little in this book for pressure canning. Second, I agree with other reviewers who have commented that the yields are far off. They are not only far off - they are ridiculously far off. I consistantly run 2-3 and sometimes 4 jars short of what the recipe claims I should have using the amount of ingredients the recipe says to use. This is very frustrating when you the recipe says you should have 10 8 oz jars of jam and you have 5. I understand what I did wrong with the tomato salsa recipe - strain your tomatoes AFTER you skin and quarter them, that way you have more tomatoes and probably more salsa. I haven't figured out why the yields for the jams are so low.
Many people note that they the Ball book much better than the USDA Guide because the Guide is confusing, and I can see why they would say that. If you want REALLY EASY to understand canning recipes, look for the user manuals that came with the pressure canners back in the 1950s (when the writers thought all women were dumber than a box of hammers - you can probably find them on E-Bay). They are very easy to follow, and some have yield charts, i.e., if you have x amount of tomatoes you will get y number of jars. I have an Old National No. 7 canner - the forerunner of Presto - with wooden handles that is probably 60-70 years old - its manual (The Modern Guide to Home Preserving) was extremely helpful and practical.
Book Review: Great book, no matter your skill level
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this book about three weeks ago, having never canned or preserved, and I was completely impressed. Using the recipes inside, I've made pickled ocra, green beans, brandied cherries, sweet asparagus, and the hands down best pickle relish I've ever had in my life. It has hundreds of recipes, and they are all wonderful. If you're into fruit preserves or jams, sweet or dill pickles, slasas, relishes, chutneys, condiments, you name it, there are dozens of recipes of each type of food. I'll be tackling some home made wine and cranberry mustard next week. The first batches of pickles I made were with utensils I already had on hand. All you need is the mason jars if you have a well stocked kitchen. I've sense bought some bottle clamps to get the jars out of the hot water, but that's about it.
Here are the pros:
*) Thorough discussion of the steps of preserving.
*) Discussion on foodborne illness and how to kill it through preserving.
*) A look at high acid versus low acid canning.
*) A handy guide of produce weight and volume (for example, one pound of cherries equals 2 1/2 cups of cherries, so you know exactly what to get at the store).
*) Amazing, easy recipes for all levels of skill and tastes.
*) Dozens of variations on recipes (not just one type of cucumber pickle, but several!)
Buy this book if you're thinking of starting or even an old time pro. It's great fun, and it can produce pickles, ketchups, and preserves where you controll all the ingredients (and can even go organic!).
Book Review: Basic and Solid
Summary: 4 Stars
I canned some when I was a boy with my mom in Montana, and knew how the process basically worked, so when I started canning for Christmas gifts, I had a good sense of what to do. This book added to my knowledge and helped me understand the principals of canning, and gave me lots of great ideas for gifts. So far I have tried the recipes for dill and sweet pickles, strawberry jam, peach jam, apple pie in a jar, and some others. The jam recipes have a ton of sugar in them, and I have reduced the sugar by a cup and it still works. Sometimes they don't set, and I have not figured out why, but I think it has to do with dissolving the pectin before heating it to boiling point. It is sort of a trial and error process with canning jams and jellies. But this book has lots of troubleshooting tips that I like The tips enabled me to solve some of my issues with the recipes. I added boysenberries and raspberries to the strawberry jam to make a three berry jam that was out of this world! The Bread and Butter chunks have too much tumeric in them I think.
It is a great beginner book, but it would help to have a little experience before you dive in. You don't need all of the professional canning materials to do this, you can use a big soup pot from your kitchen and tongs to pull out the hot jars. That works well.
Book Review: Buyer Beware!
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased this book as an early birthday present to myself. My family just had bought me my first pressure canner and I was excited to get started!! I have been canning and making jams & preserves for over three years. I was very excited to see a spaghetti sauce recipe! Well I got my 30 lb. (yes I did say 30!) and followed the recipe exactly. Now I had made sauce before and was required to cook it for nearly two hours to thicken it, but this recipe had a total cooking time of 15 minutes. I figured hey, maybe it might be okay......WRONG!! The sauce which was allegedly supposed to fill nine jars could have filled 22 jars!! Thankfully I knew to cook it down more! Horrible!! Also I made the brandied apple rings, that too was incorrect, I should have used at least 6lb. of apples not the 4 that they had suggested. What came of it was six jars with too much syrup! Very, Very disappointed! Do NOT waste your money on this book!