The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest: 150 Recipes for Freezing, Canning, Drying and Pickling Fruits and Vegetables [Paperback]

Carol W. Costenbader (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2002

Learn how to preserve the season's bounty in this classic primer on drying, freezing, canning, and pickling techniques. You'll learn everything you need to know to stock your pantry with fruits, vegetables, herbs, meats, vinegars, pickles, chutneys, and seasonings. Carol Costenbader presents more than 150 simple, step-by-step recipes for delicious creations such as Green Chile Salsa, Tomato Leather, Spiced Pear Butter, Peach Pie Filling, Eggplant Caviar, Blueberry Marmalade, Yellow Tomato Jam, Cranberry-Lime Curd, Preserved Lemons, Chicken Liver Pate, and much more.

 

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Save a summer day---in batches

With The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest, even the busiest folks can create a well-stocked pantry of fruits, vegetables, flavored vinegars, pickles, chutneys, and seasonings. Step-by-step illustrated instructions, informative charts, and a host of delicious recipes make this an indispensable kitchen reference for cooks of all levels. The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest covers the handling and managing of produce fresh from the market or garden, including:

Canning: Containers and equipment, safety, and appropriate foods
Drying: Equipment, appropriate foods, drying times, and storage methods
Freezing: Containers, wrappings, and dry- and wet-pack methods
Pickling: Canning, freezing, and refrigerating; equipment and containers
Preserving: Canning and freezing jams, jellies, and preserves
Cold Storage: Root cellars, storage methods, and produce preparation
Gift Giving: Creative packaging, gift baskets, and more

About the Author

Food writer Carol Costenbader has cooked and preserved homegrown fruits, herbs, and vegetables for more than 35 years. Besides The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest, her books include Storey's Well-Stocked Pantry Series: Mustards, Ketchups & Vinegars and Preserving Fruits & Vegetables. Second in command of the family vegetable garden and a volunteer cook at Christian Ministries Homeless Shelter, Carol is founder of The Health Adventure and Friends of the Health Adventure, a good health teaching facility. Carol and her family divide their time between central Florida and the mountains of North Carolina.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC; Revised edition (August 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580174582
• ISBN-13: 978-1580174589
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 0.9 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Fruits
  • #87 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Vegetables & Vegetarian > Vegetables
  • #89 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Canning & Preserving

More About the Author

Food writer Carol Costenbader has cooked and preserved homegrown fruits, herbs, and vegetables for more than 35 years. Besides The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest, her books include Storey's Well-Stocked Pantry Series: Mustards, Ketchups & Vinegars and Preserving Fruits & Vegetables. Second in command of the family vegetable garden and a volunteer cook at Christian Ministries Homeless Shelter, Carol is founder of The Health Adventure and Friends of the Health Adventure, a good health teaching facility. Carol and her family divide their time between central Florida and the mountains of North Carolina.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT RESOURCE May 7, 2003

By Jill Kolzow

Format:Paperback

Being a beginner canner, I have picked up many canning books, this is an excellent book. The book is organized well, and has great tips in each section. It offers information on all types of preserving and storing, from the canning to root cellering, it has been an extremly helpfull book. I know it is a reference I will use forever. Also includes many great recipes.I suggest this for anyone who is interested in canning.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars yummy jerky August 31, 2004

By Sonja Wieck

Format:Paperback

I love the fact that this book covers canning (pressure and water bath) drying, and root cellaring all in equal detail. I have been searching for a good jerky marinade for about 6 months now with many flops inbetween. This book delivers. I LOVE the marinade for beef jerky in it. I have also made the peach jam, very tasty. It was interesting to read about creating a root cellar, and got me thinking into how I can incorporate that method of preservation into my lifestyle. Very good book!

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Preserving Food! August 30, 2007

By P. Morris

Format:Paperback

I just bought this book today, and made the tomato sauce freezer recipe with all of the tomatoes from my garden. Let me tell you, the tomato sauce is so delicious, it could pass for a yummy tomato soup. There are other many delicious-sounding recipes in this book that I am eager to try, and I know I will definitely get my money's worth from it.

I love that the author is just as concerned as I am with what goes into her food. Too many commercially canned foods are loaded with tons of sodium, high fructose corn syrup, and other unpronouncable ingredients. If you are health-conscious and want to serve your family only the best, high-quality preserved food, this book is for you.

Also, I do not agree with the author in not doubling the recipes. Some of the recipes are so small, and there is no way I will not double them to save time. I have made very large batches of jams and jellies for years without any problems, and cannot understand why the author would state not to do so. I also don't agree with the author in not changing the ratio of sugar in the jams and jellies recipes. Most recipes for jams and jellies contain way too much sugar, and I have had no problems halving the sugars in my jams and jellies as long as I have enough fruit pectin added to compensate. If you don't mind tons of sugar in your jams and jellies, then this shouldn't be a concern.

Overall, this book is excellent, and is one of the best canning and preserving sources I have read. I believe beginners as well as advanced canners would find this book very helpful, if not, at least the delicious recipes will be a great addition!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not essential September 14, 2009

By Nadja Robot

Format:Paperback

I've started building a pretty good library of canning books. Some have amazing information, some have essential safety tips, some have both. I bat my eyelashes at those ones and take them off the shelf more often than the others. This book doesn't really have either. The information is hard to find due to awkward indexing and the recipes are a bit lackluster. I've used the book as reference for canning times and scanned the recipes but I don't know if I've ever made a straight recipe from this book. It's not the worst preserving book out there but it's certainly not the best.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for everyone January 28, 2007

By S. Hopper

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest" is a refreshingly concise how-to for beginners and experts alike. Great illustrations for the directionally-challenged, lots of useful charts. Those include charts for processing times in water bath AND pressure cookers, quantities of produce needed per quart jar, sugar substitutes, etc. Then, there are the simple recipes for fancy foods. This book is a great leasure read or a satisfying quick reference tool, surely a wonderful gift for anyone who enjoys working with food.

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars missing details July 7, 2003

By J. Blake

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was a little disappointed with this book. I got much more out of an old, old, old canning book I picked up at a garage sale. You'll miss a lot of important details and trouble shooting if your are just starting out canning/jam making and this is your only reference.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest January 15, 2004

By gladys de obregon

Format:Paperback

I have been canning and pickling for about 25 years. I bought this book a month ago and was pleasantly surprised that there could still be a book that could start in me the tickling and energy to start immediately and try all the preparations in the book. Along with Canning by Sue Deeming, they are the best books in Canning and Pickling I have encountered.
The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest has many advantages. It has a lot of recipes. Not only how to can in water and a little salt, but delicious recipes. Each page is so well organized, that it becomes so easy to follow the steps. The variety is unique. The Freezing and Drying Chapters are not dry and frozen, but very alive with opportunities of relishing in scrumptious food delights. More surprises: each recipe has a Nutrition Chart at the bottom of the page. What more can one ask for?

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A-OK July 27, 2006

By John R. Woodson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a good book for the beginner with a lot of fine details. I have enjoyed reading the book and using a couple of the receipes but I find it a very close copy of the Ball Bluebook of Home Canning, etc. In fact, many of the receipes are quoted from the Blue Book. It is one I will use many times again though.