Customer Reviews

Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I love that author Karen Solomon considers her new cookbook, Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it, to be a handbook for kitchen food crafting. I often lament the fact that I'm not crafty in the traditional sense. Knitting gives me anxiety, painting makes me angry, and God forbid I try to sew anything, but I certainly know how to use my KitchenAid mixer and with this book as a guide I may yet find my very own alternative craft niche in the world.

While paging through the cozily styled recipes in this book I found myself hard pressed to find a project that I didn't want to try. Homemade Apple Butter - bring it on! Pickled Green Beans - when does the farmer's market open?! And if I have two weeks to spare I can even make my own bacon. Perhaps the item I'm most excited to try my hand at is Strawberry Jam. I'm honestly not sure if I can contain my excitement until June when the strawberries will be at their peak of juiciness in New England.

All of the recipes have thorough and thoughtful instructions. This cookbook will absolutely not disappoint and would make a wonderful gift.

How can you not love a cookbook that includes recipes for bacon ("the king of all fried meats"), kimchee (the "pungent Korean condiment" that "makes every dish taste better"), Limoncello (the predecessor of the Lemon Drop and its dirty cousin, the Sledgehammer), and smoked trout ("one of the easiest and fastest to smoke at home"). I've never before had a cookbook that compelled me to try EVERY RECIPE. The instructions are clear and clearly well tested, the dishes are invariably enticing, and the photographs had me running to the grocery store to buy some required ingredients. Plus, the author tells you how to store each creation, which is extremely useful. I'm looking forward to trying each recipe--from things I've always taken for granted (butter, mustard, mayonnaise) to marshmallows, pickled green beans, and peanut butter cups (the photo on the back of the book is dreamy).

As a total newcomer to the world of food preservation, I wasn't sure that I was up for the task -- isn't it complicated? After reading this beautiful and well-written book, I found that the answer is definitely "no."

In fact, the accessible style and fun recipes practically beg to be tried. The homemade pop tarts recipe is incredible (really, calling them pop tarts didn't do them justice: they were delicious little hand-held pastries), and the pickles were easy and way better than store-bought. I tried the kimchi recipe as well, which was beautifully spicy and pungent. I've not made the bacon yet, it takes a while, but the thought of home-cured porky goodness sounds great.

This book would probably make a great gift for foodies new to the world of canning, pickling, and curing but would also appeal to those interested in DIY crafts and retro kitchen arts.

I did realize when I bought this book that there were only 75 recipes, but I don't think I really took in exactly how slight that was going to make the book overall. Jam it? There are only 4 recipes. Pickle it? There are 6 (and that's if you count the one where you stuff already-cured olives). Cure it? About 2, depending on how strict you want to be with the definition of "cure." Despite my disappointment with the scope of the book, how perishable some of the items are, and the inclusion of some basics like mayonnaise and tomato sauce that I must already have in a dozen cookbooks, there are individual recipes I am eager to try (and that is the other reason you really should find a copy of this book someplace and flip through it, even if you decide to purchase it from Amazon -- there may be a recipe in the book that would sound so spectacular to you that it completely justifies the cost). In the hot weather right now, I think I'll probably try some of the popsicle recipes first, which look original and tasty.

Received this fun book as a Christmas gift and couldn't wait to try all the delicious recipes. So far, we've experimented with sesame, poppy seed, and onion crackers, fried potato chips, beef jerky, chive and black pepper yogurt cheese, apple fruit leather, graham crackers, and senior mints, all of which turned out fabulously and far better than imagined. Can't wait to try more! Recipes were clear and precise and easy enough for beginners. Perfect food projects for a rainy (or snowy) day, and very rewarding indeed. We highly recommend!

Given everything we have learned about processed foods, I can't believe we are just now getting a cookbook with recipes for mustard and ketchup. Why buy crackers at the store which are laden with preservatives, when you can easily make them at home with a few pantry staples? I could not be happier with this book and can't wait to delight my friends and family with their homemade gifts. This book is interesting, creative and inspiring.

This book is right on target with what I wanted it to be. It has simple recipes for all sorts of homey little treats that are otherwise scattered throughout my cookbook collection. Want to make marshmallows, gravlax pasta,etc.?, this is your book. The only possible criticism is that it's a little bit light. For instance, you could make the ginger beer carbonated if you added a little yeast. You can also make sugar free ice cream by putting frozen fruits in a high powered blender, etc. How about impossible pies (look it up). The correct way to think of this book, though, is to regard it as introductory. If you like any of this stuff and I'm sure you will, you can expand your knowledge dramatically and for free through Google.

Have you ever wanted to make things that you generally buy pre-packaged, full of chemicals, sugar, and just plain overpriced? This cookbook is definitely a kitchen adventure. From mayonnaise to peanut butter cups, bacon to limoncello, it has a little bit of everything that you'd never think to make on your own!

I have about 70 cookbooks in my collection and this is the first one that I immediately made 4 recipes from - graham crackers, peanut butter cups, marshmallows, and pasta - all things that I had never made before and all four turned out beautifully! I am never going to buy marshmallows in a bag again! The instructions are easy to follow, the pictures are beautiful, and most recipes aren't written to take a lifetime in the kitchen (which is important for me with a husband and baby at home). I've already recommended it to my "serious" cook friends - this is not a cookbook for a novice or someone who doesn't know their way around the kitchen. But if you love to cook, this one is for you!

I am an avid collector and user of hundreds of cookbooks. I already make jam and such things, but this book filled a void in my collection. Having a few recipes on pickling, canning, etc. certainly inspires your own variations.

One critical element that this book includes that most of my others do not - what to do with all of your little homemade condiments and fresh cheese. I can certainly come up with my own ideas, but it's refreshing to find an author that includes items from the book in the other recipes within the book. You can take as many steps as you like and use the finished product or morph it into something even bigger. I also never thought of making my own butter with the added bonus of buttermilk, which doesn't exist in my part of the world. Kudos to Karen Solomon!

Great book, with easy to follow recipes. I've made the ginger beer and am already getting requests for repeats this summer.