Jam On: The Craft of Canning Fruit [Hardcover]

Laena McCarthy (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 2, 2012

Fresh, hip cookbook takes jamming out of grandma’s kitchen and into the 21st century

In Jam On, New York’s “Jam Queen” Laena McCarthy shares her love of making inventive handmade jam with delicious recipes and canning techniques. Her down-to-earth approach and unique, easy method allows even the novice cook to make fresh and exciting jam. The recipes in Jam On use less sugar, making the jams not only healthier, but more intensely flavorful than your average fruit concoction. With step-by-step instructions and four-color photographs throughout, McCarthy guides readers through the canning process and offers inventive herb and spice combinations for a range of signature jams.

Recipes include:
• Grapefruit & Smoked Salt Marmalade
• Strawberry Balsamic Jam
• Easy Like Sunday Morning Blueberry Preserves
• Tiny Strawberry Preserves with Thai Basil
• Rhubarb Hibiscus Jam
• Spiced Beer Jelly
• Hot Fireman’s Pear Jam
• Lime & Pandan Marmalade
• and much more

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Anarchy in a Jar could also be called "community in a jar". This book is Laena McCarthy’s story, and recipes, but it is really about you. It's about your community and the stories you can tell using the ingredients you find. Each recipe is simple, easy to follow and, most importantly, easy to adapt to make your own. The result is jams of glamorous color, and flavor that goes on for miles.”

—Jeni Britton Bauer, author of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

“Laena is a true insider on the art of good cooking, and her homegrown jam recipes are a revelation. She captures the essence of fresh ingredients in a jar like no one else!”
—Cathy Erway, founder of Not Eating Out in New York and author of The Art of Eating In

"I never thought a McCarthy would solve the problem of having peanut butter but no jam. I think I'll fix myself a sandwich with this book now BLAP BLAP BLAP!"

—Eddie Huang, chef and owner of BaoHaus

“In Laena McCarthy’s hands, chaos is sweet.”

—Tasting Table

About the Author

Laena McCarthy is the founder and owner of Anarchy in a Jar, an artisanal jam and preserves company. Her jams are sold at Williams-Sonoma, Dean & DeLuca, Whole Foods in New York, and other specialty stores. She has been featured in The New York Times Style Section, The New Yorker, seriouseats.com, and various other blogs. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Michael Harlan Turkell, once an aspiring chef, now food photographer captures the inner-workings of the culinary world for his James Beard Foundation Awards nominated "BACK OF THE HOUSE" project.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Studio (August 2, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670026174
• ISBN-13: 978-0670026173
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Fruits

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Treat! August 10, 2012

By shelfishness

Format:Hardcover

I was honestly giddy as I read this book! Jam On by Laena McCarthy is a treasure trove of recipes that is absolutely perfect for this time of year with all of the berries ripe for the picking.

McCarthy does a wonderful job of making jam, preserves, and even syrups, approachable and exciting. Her featured stories (including her journey to becoming a jam queen) are intriguing, but her recipes are even genuinely fascinating. With enticing flavors like watermelon and lemongrass jelly, spiced beer jelly, sour cherry preserves, and Meyer lemon marmalade, Jam On is a contemporary cook's dream. There are exotic flavors like blackberry and lavender jam, and good old standbys like wild blueberry jam. With thorough descriptions and step-by-step photos on how to make jams and jellies, this book is as fun for first-time jam makers as it is for preserving pros. Plus, there is an entire section dedicated to all of the ideal pairings for the homemade jams and jellies featured in the book. Recipes like Laena's Ginger Scones, Anarchy Marmalade Manhattan, and Panpepato Honey and Spice Cake, make this book more than just a jam and jelly cookbook. If you are looking for freezer jams, this isn't the guide for you, but if you are hoping to expand your repertoire of jam options, this is ideal. Jam On is a delight with a great assortment of the preserved, pickled, and just plain delicious!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for seasoned canners December 2, 2012

By Amanda

Format:Hardcover

I purchased this book several months ago and it is excellent for a seasoned canner because of the interesting recipes and the recipe variations at the end of each chapter. It's okay for a beginner too, but I would probably recommend a first time canner start with the Ball Blue Book. There's a section on the basics and step-by-step instructions on canning, a section on jam and jelly, a preserves, marmalade, and chutney section, a section on fruit butters and jams using sugar alternatives, and a section on pickled fruit, syrups, and shrubs (sort of a sour vinegar syrup you can use in beverages). As you can tell, these are mostly high acid foods so if you are looking for instructions and recipes for low acid things such as vegetables, meat, beans, or soups, this isn't the book for you. If you are looking for interesting jam and jelly recipes, interesting uses for your fruit spreads, and great cheese pairings to go with your jams and jellies, this is a terrific book. I like the use of Pomona's in many of the recipes as it's my personal preference as far as commercial pectins. I've tried the beer jelly recipe and it is amazing. The green tomato chutney (awesome stirred in grits and topped with a fried egg) is another great tasting recipe. I've also tried the pickled blueberries, which turned out to be very tasty. I was very excited to make the Easy Like Sunday Morning Blueberry Preserves with frozen blueberries because it was past the season, but it didn't turn out at all like I had hoped. May have had something to do with adding sugar to frozen berries. These are the only recipes I have tried at the time of this review. I also think the Laena's Library section and sources sections have great recommendations for additional reading and for ingredient and canning supply resources. Overall an excellent resource for anyone who loves to make jam.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A forgotten art February 1, 2013

By I. Darren

Format:Hardcover

Making jam as a means of preserving fruit before it spoils is sadly not as popular as it once was. Large supermarkets selling every type of jam don't help. For many it is just not economic to spend the time cooking up a pot of jam. It is just something our mothers and grandmothers did.

Or is it? There is a bit of a resurgent interest in jam making, particularly from the younger section of society, who are engaged by the whole 'you are what you eat' movement and hold interest in artisan and home-made produce. By doing it yourself you can select the raw ingredients and make it exactly to your own tastes. Who needs possibly one-taste-fits-all supermarket jam? This book, by New York's 'Jam Queen' Laena McCarthy, might be the thing that gets you hooked and your jam cooked.

Showing that jam making need not be a form of purgatory, McCarthy takes the reader on a passion-filled journey through the world of jam. Jam can be a lot healthier than you may have thought too without compromising on taste. You need not be stuck to 'primary fruits' either that seem to dominate the supermarket shelves. The (jam) world can metaphorically be your oyster (talk about a mixed gastronomic metaphor!). Anyone can make the transformation to amateur or even professional jam maker, just look at the author. One minute she is freezing her whatnots off in Antarctica and within a few years she has a successful preserved fruit manufacturing company... jam company sounds better though!

McCarthy starts right at the beginning with the selection of ingredients and the all-important equipment. It can sound terribly complex and involved but it need not to be - just follow matters step-by-step and you'll soon be humming along, bitten by the jam bug and possibly making your own creations. In what appears to be a relatively short section, despite it being big on detail, you are dropped straight at the countless recipes that are on offer for your trial and hopeful delectation. Nervous? Don't be. The author has underlined several important things that you need to learn but as long as you are capable of boiling water and mashing a bit of fruit you have the ability of being a jam maker.

The supplied recipes themselves are quite quirky and varied in taste. Rhubarb and Hibiscus Jam is the first to pop its head out of the book and boy does it look good. Each recipe has a lot of detailed notes, assistance and tips to help you on your way. In fact it might be worth you reading all of the recipes in order to soak up this extra knowledge, even if you are not going to want to make all of them. This reviewer was particularly intrigued about a "I Eat NYC Hot Pepper Jelly" and can see that a cooking session might soon be in order.

Yet there is a lot more to this book than just jams and jellies. Another thick chapter looks at the cousin of 'Preserves, Marmalade and Chutney' and continues in a similar detailed, thought-provoking vein. A separate chapter is dedicated to sugar-free jam and fruit butter that will provide a jar or two of tastiness for those restricted by dietary or health reasons. Other forms of preservatives such as picked fruit, syrups and shrubs are similarly given the McCarthy treatment. One nice, unexpected twist is the chapter about 'pairings' where meal suggestions are given, with recipes, for some of the jams and jellies within this book. A simple, but welcome, addition that further showcases the versatility of the various preserved fruit items.

The book is rounded off by an excellent, detailed source guide and reference section. This book manages to make a possibly dour, boring, overly-traditional subject come to life with a passion, inspiring and amazing whilst deflating any assumptions in the process.