Customer Reviews

How to Store Your Garden Produce

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Piers Warren starts off with basic instructions for storage methods: clamping (storing large quantities of roots outside) and other methods of dry storage, freezing, drying (from oven to dehydrator), vacuum-packing, salting, bottling/canning, pickling, relishes & sauces, jams & jellies, and fermenting. This volume isn't meant as a full-blown wine-making or jam-making resource, so these are only the most basic instructions.

The rest of the book covers individual types of produce in alphabetical order. Since the focus of this book is supporting yourself on your own produce, Warren discusses some topics you might not expect. For instance, how best to harvest a vegetable so as to encourage further harvest throughout the season. He discusses varieties that will have longer harvest times, or that will produce during different times of the year. He talks about how some plants can be started at different times so as to result in a longer harvest period as well.

One potentially useful feature is the section of recommended varieties. For example, the apples section lists out two good varieties of cooking apples, a crab apple, and a handful of eating apples, noting which ones keep particularly well or work best for wine-making or the like. However, in some cases this won't be as useful outside of Britain (the book was written & published in Britain but is also being distributed in other countries). For instance, I don't recognize many of the apple or tomato varieties. However, I do recognize a number of the carrot and chard varieties. It just depends on whether a particular type is available & grows well where you are.

The one other small potential snag is a couple of terminology issues. Most of them aren't a big deal (what US readers call canning, Brits call bottling, but the author notes this). One or two types of produce might be listed under a name unfamiliar to you (plenty of people have heard eggplants called aubergines, but not everyone in the US knows them by that term). Don't let this deter you from buying this book if you're in the US, however---the information is incredibly useful, and in most cases there are enough informative notes included that you can substitute varieties as appropriate or easily figure out the terminology differences. Also, all measurements for recipes and such are given in both metric and English measurements.

If you want to become more self-sufficient, or you just want to make better and less wasteful use of your garden produce, I definitely recommend this book.

This unusual book saves so much time trawling through all my old gardening books looking for storage techniques for various vegetables and fruit. I use it a lot and have also given it to friends as presents and they are very pleased too! Highly recommended.

I havn't read all of the book yet, but it looks very helpful. I did find one problem though. In the section about canning your food in jars, it mentions using the oven. This process for canning is not safe according to the USDA. It does not heat the food hot enough to kill the bacteria. If you want to can your produce, I recommend visiting the USDA website for up to date recipies and information on safely preserving your food via canning.

I LOVE this book!! It is the perfect sized reference book, not to lengthy, but complete in my opinion. The book itself is also a good hand held size which makes it easy to keep tucked close.
It's so simple to use, alphabetically I can search for just what I'm looking for, say celery (yes, it can be preserved!), or for how long something, say bell peppers, should be blanched prior to freezing. Just what I need to know without added fluff/filler.
This was just what I NEEDED!!

If your crisper or garden contains veggies and fruits that rot before you can use them, this little book can save your produce and your wallet money! In the first part of the book you'll find basic storage tips, ways to freeze foods, drying techniques, vacuum-packing strategies, salting, bottling, and recipes for pickling, relishes, jams, jellies, fruit butters, cheeses and more.

The second part of the book talks about each vegetable and fruit individually with advice for storage. For instance celery can be left in the ground until needed (past the first frost). The harvested stalks will keep fresh in the refrigerator for days. To keep the celery beyond when it would go bad, the author gives tips for freezing (for stews etc) and then gives a recipe for celery soup.

Grapes, on the other hand, can be dried, frozen, or used for juice. The author provides recipes for grape jam, ketchup (yes ketchup), and wine.

The recipes for the various fruits and vegetables are varied and most of them appear to be easy to make. I've used the ones for cucumber pickles, applesauce, and the leek and potato soup among others.

This is a great little reference book if you are serious about saving your produce from the garbage disposal!

This book is so basic as to be useless and provides inaccurate and dangerous information. It lists the oven method as a legitimate canning technique, which is known to be dangerous. Just google "oven method canning" and look at the links. The fact that the author/editor/publisher couldn't be bothered to do even this makes me doubt all the other information in this book. A complete waste of my money.

I picked up this book despite the conflict in reviews, and I'm glad I did. First, let me say that it would probably work best as a reference; if I attempted cucumber jam or grape ketchup for instance (meaning, tried to make stuff a bit on the unusual side), I'd reference this book for the basics, and then look up something more detailed online.

The first part consists of methods for preserving food and does so with basic information (freezing, canning, drying, etc.). It is not a tomb, full of laborious reading and unnecessarily packed with details. If one method strikes your fancy, look them up individually for more info.

The great thing about the book was that I was able to breeze through it, get an idea of something, and know I can come back to it when the season arrives. Instead of sifting through mindless information online, I can reference this book to learn that cucumbers and squashes might get mushy and mealy if frozen, for instance, and so I might pickle them instead. Everything is in alphabetical order, easy to flip through and find (love the little illustrations!), and the author provides the common American names for fruits and vegetables (aubergines=eggplants, swedes=rutabgas). My only critique is that I could do without the colored illustrations in the center - they impede on my "flipping through" the book!

The only downside, for which I gave it 4 stars, is that the British terms (and even wording) might throw the typical American reader off. It forces you to slow down and read more carefully, rather than skim through. It took me a few reads to understand that removing the "stones" meant removing the seeds. Aside from a few of those details, it still has a wealth of information in a small package.

P.S. The fabulous intro appealed to the "survivalist" in me, and I felt that I was very much on the same page as the author. I liked the emphasis and gentle encouragement to grow organically and eat locally. As a sign that the publisher is on board with this movement, the book is printed on recycled paper with soy inks. After my own heart!

This is an excellent book for those who are homesteading. It tells you how many different ways to preserve your garden produce and orchards. Everything from canning to freezing to in-ground storage, for a better yield. The book also explains the best way for each different yield, from carrots in sand to pickled beets to blanching and freezing greens.

I am impressed by this author's knowledge. This book will be with my most used books.

This book is well made with glossy photos for the hobbyist home gardener. For more industrious gardeners and preserving enthusiasts, I would recommend Root Cellaring. It is a more comprehensive book on food storage of all kinds with temperature, humidity, and length of storage suggestions.

pretty thourough and easy readable format that helps oneself figure how it is each differing food should be kept. Covers most of any type you'd ever need! Soon to be a reference used at harvest!