The River Cottage farm, established by British food personality Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to promote high-quality, seasonal, and sustainable food, has inspired a television series, restaurants and classes, and a hit series of books. In this new addition to the award-winning collection, River Cottage master preserver Pam Corbin helps you transform the abundance of your garden (and your friends’ and neighbors’ gardens) into everything from simple Strawberry Jam to scrumptious new combinations like Honeyed Hazelnuts, Nasturtium “Capers,” Onion Marmalade, Spiced Brandy Plums, Elixir of Sage, plus a pantryful of other jams, jellies, butters, curds, pickles, chutneys, cordials, liqueurs, vinegars, and sauces.
The River Cottage Preserves Handbook
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Fall into Cooking Featured Recipe from Pam Corbin's The River Cottage Preserves Handbook: Apple Lemon Curd 
Fruit curds are so simple and quick to make. Quintessential and quite the doyenne of the curd clan, lemon curd is unquestionably the all time favourite of these soft, creamy concoctions but I also love this smooth velvety apple curd. It's a marvelous way to use up windfall apples and so during the autumn I like to prepare a good quantity of apple puree and freeze it in 10 ounce portions. I can then easily knock up a batch when the apple season has long gone. --Pam Corbin
Makes 4 8 ounce jars
Ingredients
1 pound Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 unwaxed lemons (you need 7 tablespoons strained juice)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons beaten eggs (4 or 5 large eggs)
Put the chopped apples into a pan with 7 tablespoons of water and the lemon zest. Cook gently until soft and fluffy, then either beat to a purée with a wooden spoon or run through a food mill.
Put the lemon juice, butter, sugar, and apple purée into a double boiler or heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. As soon as the butter has melted and the mixture is hot and glossy, pour in the eggs through a sieve, then whisk with a balloon whisk. If the fruit purée is too hot when the beaten egg is added, the egg will curdle. One way to guard against this is to check the temperature of the purée with a candy thermometer – it should be no higher than 130° to 140°F when the egg is added. If your curd does curdle, take the pan off the heat and whisk vigorously until smooth.
Stir the mixture over low heat, scraping down the sides of the bowl every few minutes, until thick and creamy. This will take 9 to 10 minutes; the temperature should reach 180° to 183°F on a candy thermometer. Immediately pour into warm, sterilized jars and seal. Use within 1 month. Once opened, keep in the fridge.
Variations
To make gooseberry curd, replace the apples with gooseberries. If you’d like a traditional, pure lemon curd, leave out the apples, increase the lemon juice to 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 to 5 lemons) and add the grated zest of 2 or 3 more lemons.
Review
“For a touch of the homemade every day, try the River Cottage handbooks.”
—Everyday Food, Favorite New Cookbooks, December 2010
“Be prepared to make space on your cookbook shelf for these practical, passionate guides. . . . Corbin demystifies the preserving process in this authoritative, and beautiful, book.”
—Oregonian, 8/3/10
“A canning and preserving book for the home cook who likely wouldn't call themselves the ‘canning’ type. . . . Infinitely more engaging than your average American canning book, such as Better Homes & Gardens You Can Can!"
—LA Weekly, 6/28/10
"If you think of the best in homemade jams and preservers and the pleasure in eating your own produce, then you are ready for this book."
—Super Chef blog, 6/22/10
“These compact yet comprehensive hardcover volumes, part of a series written by experts in the River Cottage fold, inspire and instruct with their English charm, deploying a chatty hand-holding that nudges you through the process. The head River Cottage baker, Daniel Stevens, who put together THE RIVER COTTAGE BREAD HANDBOOK spends over 40 pages on mastering the basic loaf. His kneading explanation was so clear I didn’t need to constantly refer to the photos; and it taught me some new tricks. . . .This wide-ranging book inspires exploration, and not just because I’ll soon be able to slather my warm Scottish oatcakes, roti and even bagels with my own jam, thanks to THE RIVER COTTAGE PRESERVES HANDBOOK. Here Pam Corbin, who runs the Preserving Days at River Cottage, explains the fundamentals of jam, jelly, chutney, cordials, pickles, sauces and more in a demystifying manner. . . . Recipes for hearty ale chutney, spring rhubarb relish and Hugh’s prizewinning raspberry fridge jam are within delicious reach.”
—NY Times Book Review, Summer Reading Issue, Cookbook Roundup, 6/6/10
“Pam’s approach is . . . encouraging and adventurous. In this inspiring book she will show you the ropes and then give you the reins. I’m absolutely sure you will enjoy the ride.”
—Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, from the Introduction
—Everyday Food, Favorite New Cookbooks, December 2010
“Be prepared to make space on your cookbook shelf for these practical, passionate guides. . . . Corbin demystifies the preserving process in this authoritative, and beautiful, book.”
—Oregonian, 8/3/10
“A canning and preserving book for the home cook who likely wouldn't call themselves the ‘canning’ type. . . . Infinitely more engaging than your average American canning book, such as Better Homes & Gardens You Can Can!"
—LA Weekly, 6/28/10
"If you think of the best in homemade jams and preservers and the pleasure in eating your own produce, then you are ready for this book."
—Super Chef blog, 6/22/10
“These compact yet comprehensive hardcover volumes, part of a series written by experts in the River Cottage fold, inspire and instruct with their English charm, deploying a chatty hand-holding that nudges you through the process. The head River Cottage baker, Daniel Stevens, who put together THE RIVER COTTAGE BREAD HANDBOOK spends over 40 pages on mastering the basic loaf. His kneading explanation was so clear I didn’t need to constantly refer to the photos; and it taught me some new tricks. . . .This wide-ranging book inspires exploration, and not just because I’ll soon be able to slather my warm Scottish oatcakes, roti and even bagels with my own jam, thanks to THE RIVER COTTAGE PRESERVES HANDBOOK. Here Pam Corbin, who runs the Preserving Days at River Cottage, explains the fundamentals of jam, jelly, chutney, cordials, pickles, sauces and more in a demystifying manner. . . . Recipes for hearty ale chutney, spring rhubarb relish and Hugh’s prizewinning raspberry fridge jam are within delicious reach.”
—NY Times Book Review, Summer Reading Issue, Cookbook Roundup, 6/6/10
“Pam’s approach is . . . encouraging and adventurous. In this inspiring book she will show you the ropes and then give you the reins. I’m absolutely sure you will enjoy the ride.”
—Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, from the Introduction
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By AngelaMc
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book itself is fine with some interesting recipies -- HOWEVER -- if you are also considering buying the second book on preserves from River Cottage (ie River Cottage Handbook No 2 - Preserves), please be aware that the content is pretty much identical (ie same recipies, photos and layout). Wish I had known this before I bought both books -- could have saved some money.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a great book for some basic recipes. I am a novice "canner" and this is not a begginer book. The layout is nice and I will be trying several of the recipes. If you want to be inspired to explore and think outside of simple cherry, raspberry, and strawberry jam, this is an excellent book.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By A. Gerber
Format:Hardcover
A friend of mine gave me this book as a gift, and just from flipping through, the recipes look intriguing and make me want to get into the kitchen. I've only made one of the recipes from this book (the chili pepper jelly) and I'm kind of disappointed. On the one hand, the jelly tastes fantastic and was easy to make. However, I think there might be an error in the recipe as it only calls for 2 tsp of pectin. All of the other jelly recipes I've looked at call for a minimum of 2 oz of pectin when using the equivalent amount of sugar. It would certainly explain why my jelly didn't set properly, despite the fact that I followed the instructions precisely and checked with a thermometer. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt that this is just an unfortunate typo and will try out some of the other intriguing recipes. Now I also have to find a use for 4 half-pints of runny jalapeno jelly!
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Charming, informative, but curious how usable for an American canner
November 15, 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've only just received this book, so this review is a bit premature, but I thought I would get down my first impressions now, and update later.
I must admit this was a complete impulse buy, rather unusual for me who usually likes to make sure I really really would use a cookbook before adding it to my overflowing collection. However, something about the pictures promised inspiration, and as I've already canned (but by no means an expert), I was intrigued by some of the unusual recipes. Looking through this book one afternoon, I found much that makes this book look promising: there is an engaging author with a nice voice permeating the text, there is some good solid explanation that I think will serve beginners and intermediate canners alike, and there are lovely lovely photos that just make you want to start canning immediately.
One thing I did notice, in looking through some of the recipes, was the very regional quality of their ingredients. Brambleberries and other fruits and nuts from the British Isles are called for in many of the recipes; and while I enjoy learning about these flavors and ingredients not readily available in my northern California area, I wondered if this might make the book a little more useful in the armchair than the kitchen. However, there appears to be plenty of recipes that showcase flavors and ingredients that I am familiar with, so it will be more accurate to discuss usability after I've tried a few of those.
Until I actually get in the kitchen though, this book is still delighting me, allowing me a little peek into the kitchen of an expert canner in England. It also makes me very curious to check out the other River Cottage cookbooks that I've heard so much about but have yet to investigate.
I must admit this was a complete impulse buy, rather unusual for me who usually likes to make sure I really really would use a cookbook before adding it to my overflowing collection. However, something about the pictures promised inspiration, and as I've already canned (but by no means an expert), I was intrigued by some of the unusual recipes. Looking through this book one afternoon, I found much that makes this book look promising: there is an engaging author with a nice voice permeating the text, there is some good solid explanation that I think will serve beginners and intermediate canners alike, and there are lovely lovely photos that just make you want to start canning immediately.
One thing I did notice, in looking through some of the recipes, was the very regional quality of their ingredients. Brambleberries and other fruits and nuts from the British Isles are called for in many of the recipes; and while I enjoy learning about these flavors and ingredients not readily available in my northern California area, I wondered if this might make the book a little more useful in the armchair than the kitchen. However, there appears to be plenty of recipes that showcase flavors and ingredients that I am familiar with, so it will be more accurate to discuss usability after I've tried a few of those.
Until I actually get in the kitchen though, this book is still delighting me, allowing me a little peek into the kitchen of an expert canner in England. It also makes me very curious to check out the other River Cottage cookbooks that I've heard so much about but have yet to investigate.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Ashley Ann
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have this book for a year now and I have tried many recipes. I like it because it uses a lot of ingredients local to the River Cottage. It is very interesting, but I would not recommend this book for a beginner. The author assumes the reader is familiar with preserving. The canning process does not include water bath processing for the jams. The recipes are still usable but I used Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving (2009 Revision) to determine processing times.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a great book, but...... It is EXACTLY the same as the River Cottage Handbook NO.2!!! One might (mistakenly) think that an original book and then a No.2 would have different recipes. If you have one or the other, you definitely don't need them both! Otherwise, this is one of my favorite preserving books. Much different that my Ball Complete canning, or any of the 8 or so other canning books I have. Very English and wonderful!
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Thanks to Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall fro promoting this great book. All recipes I've tried work exactly to recipe. Some exciting and different possibilities to try also. Easy read and easy reference. Will keep by my side in the kitchen. Get's my 5 stars *****
By S. Faust
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a novice when it comes to jams/ jellies, so a friend recommended this book to me, and am so glad she did. It is very comprehensible, and an easy read with good directions on how to make them. Really good recipes too.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
ingredients not easy to obtain
Although the techniques are useful its not as relevant to Australian produce as I had hoped. Many of the ingredients are not obtainable, I was disappointed overall and gave the... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Michaela Van Der Stoep
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sassy Cook
The book arrived in great shape and arrived in a timely fashion. It was packaged well. I shall enjoy making a lot of things from it.
Published 8 months ago by Sherri
4.0 out of 5 stars
useful for beginner and experienced canners
The basic canning rules plus info on preserving fruit that is not always available unless you grow it yourself, at least where I live. Read more
Published 8 months ago by reimerosa
4.0 out of 5 stars
The River Cottage Preserves Handbook
This is a treasure trove of creative ideas for making all kinds of jams, jellies, pickles & preserves. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Beatrice A. Ojakangas
5.0 out of 5 stars
The River Cottage Preserves Handbook
I purchased this book for my son's birthday. Both he and his wife do preserving and they like to make different types of jams. Read more
Published on May 20, 2011 by Lynda
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