The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Ellie Topp (Author), Margaret Howard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 2007

The easiest and safest methods for making delectable preserves in small batches -- all year long.

"Takes the pressure off cooks who don't have much time... but still want to savor the season's bounty."
-Chicago Tribune (Review of the prior edition)

The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving takes the guesswork out of home preserving. Both beginners and pros can make the most of fresh fruits and vegetables when these are readily available and inexpensive. Because these recipes require a minimum of time and fuss, home cooks will enjoy creating the preserves almost as much as everyone will enjoy tasting them.

Included are both traditional and new recipes. Detailed instructions provide the safest and latest processing methods. Some recipes are suitable for microwaves. A brand new chapter features freezer preserving as an alternative to the traditional methods. The more than 300 enticing recipes include:

• Jams, jellies and low-sugar spreads
• Conserves, butters and curds
• Pickles, relishes and chutneys
• Salsas, mustards and marinades
• Flavored oils
• Dessert sauces, syrups and liqueurs.

With delectable recipes and professional tips, The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving is the ideal guide for anyone who craves home-made preserves but doesn't want to spend all day in the kitchen.

(20010801)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Delicious Recipes, Ellie Topp (Feasts for Families) and Margaret Howard (coauthor, All Fired Up!), both home economists, explain the canning process for jellies, jams, marmalades, conserves, relishes, salsas, chutneys, pickles, dessert sauces, fruit butter, vinegars, mincemeats and curds and then reel off uses for them. Many of the delicacies this book proposes are surprisingly sophisticated (Jalape¤o Mint Jelly, Pink Peppercorn Vinegar) while others are more tongue-in-cheek: Hellfire Chutney and Mixed Japanese Pickle Sticks.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

With the fall publishing season comes a torrent of new cookbooks to take advantage of the harvest season's bumper crops. Not everyone has a root cellar or capacious larder to store large numbers of bulky canning jars. Nevertheless, even the most confined cook finds it worthwhile to put up a few cans of summer's peak fruits and vegetables. Avoiding recipes that call for quantities on the scale of pecks and bushels, Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard offer The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving. Their more than 300 different recipes yield three or four jars of jams, chutneys, conserves, and pickles. Recipes for the freezer, for candied fruit, and for low-sugar preserves round out this useful comprehensive guide sensitive to contemporary eating habits. Food fashions come and go, but interest in vegetarianism continues to attract people for a host of reasons nutritional, religious, and moral. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books; Enlarged 2nd edition (March 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554072565
• ASIN: B007R9055W
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

152 of 161 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Canning Recipes May 20, 2008

By G. Barnes

Format:Paperback

This book is a great idea but not very well executed. The recipes are smaller which is nice but I was disappointed that many of them are supposed to be stored in the refrigerator. That's leftovers NOT food preservation. There are several better books out there--The new Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving is absolutely the best and most reliable book and has many small batch recipes included. If you can find copies of Sunset Home Canning (1993), The Food Lover's Guide to Canning (1997) or Canning by Sue and Bill Deeming (1983) you will have a wealth of reliable, creative canning recipes.

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but maybe not for a beginner March 10, 2003

By L. Allen

Format:Paperback

This is an outstanding source of recipes for people who want to experiment with preserving and making their own condiments. I disagree that it's not a true "preserving" cookbook, but I will say this: if you are looking for a book with 500+ "canning" recipes this may not be your book. Also, I would caution those without a lot of preserving (or canning, for that matter) experience; the recipes work, but the cook needs to be comfortable with processing, etc. becasue the authors don't provide a lot of detailled instruction on it. It's very intimidating to work with hot jam, glass, boiling water, etc. if you've never done it before. This book provides the user with a good overview on how to process, but nothing too detailed. Also, they don't stress enough that users shouldn't alter recipes. If a recipe calls, for example, for whole strawberries, and the user slices them in half, the user will end up with more liquid than what the amount of pectin specified in the recipe will gel. So, you end up with a really good ice cream topping instead of jam! Oh well, try again!

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE THIS BOOK September 23, 2008

By A. Reader

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I checked this out from the library rather than ordering it initially because of the mixed reviews. I have loved it so much I kept renewing and finally had to order a copy because I couldn't bear to part with it. This weekend I made the blueberry spiced honey jam and it is FABULOUS! Same for the red onion relish, the jalapeno mint jelly, the pasta sauce....everything I've tried has been a hit. There's an Indonesian Satay Sauce that I'll be making as soon as my own book shows up. I haven't even gotten to the section on freezing!

Quantities are small, but it's simple to double or triple a favorite recipe. One of my favorite parts of the book is the final chapter which has recipes for using some of the more unusual items.

If you're looking for traditional canning recipes, there are probably better books out there, but if you're looking for the unusual in quantities that are manageable, this is a great book!!!

One other thing you may wish to know: all the canning recipes are for water-bath canning, so you won't be disappointed to find out that all the recipes you want to make call for a pressure canner.