Well Preserved: A Jam Making Hymnal [Paperback]

Joan Hassol (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 1998

"This book is about my relationship with jam, my soul, music, and the world in which I live. When I make jam I slow down, my actions become rhythmical, my thinking clear. The repetitive motions of washing, stirring, pouring, and labeling allow me the space to think about my life -- what it means to be starting over and how I can embrace this stage of my life with vitality and joy."

With warmth and love, Joan Hassol takes us on an evocative journey through raspberry patches, in search of beach plums, down memory's lane, and ultimately to her bed-and-breakfast on Cape Cod, where her jam business, Well Preserved, is in full operation. In over seventy easy-to-prepare recipes -- none of which requires special equipment -- she reveals how to create such goodies as blueberry, wild cherry, and concord grape jams, five-fruit marmalade, pear with frangelico jam, and green tomato chutney, as well as breads, muffins, and cakes to complement the preserves or to serve on their own.

Well Preserved is a jam-making hymnal, a vibrant celebration of nature's rich bounty, as much about the soul as cooking.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The subtitle for Joan Hassol's Well Preserved reads, "A Jam-making Hymnal." This is aptly so, since the book is much more than a cookbook. Hassol wants to impart more than the simple knowledge of how to make jams; she wants the reader to understand them. Hassol's own jam business, Well Preserved, was an outgrowth of her lifelong passion for the fruits of her native New England, and what she has learned in life and business is collected in this volume. As a result, the approach is personal--full of great opinions, good advice, and, incidentally, wonderful jam recipes. As in anything with nature and fruit, the approach must be seasonal. The book is divided by season and includes the chutneys and marmalades of winter along with the jams of spring and summer, followed naturally by a section on breads and muffins on which to spread your new creations. Flowing throughout the book are Hassol's reflections on the bounties of the land and the people who have made the journey with her. Hassol is reminiscent of another well-known New England food writer, John Thorne, and for her, food represents a path to the soul--cooking is simply the vehicle that gets you there. Well Preserved is as much a personal story as a cookbook, yet the appeal is universal. She understands that to make something as simple as jam requires an understanding of nature and its seasons. It would not be an exaggeration to say the book is disguised as a metaphor for life--with some really great recipes. --Mark O. Howerton

From Library Journal

Hassol, who has a small jam-making business on Cape Cod, writes evocatively about her life there: her friends and family, the guests at her bed-and-breakfast, and the business she started several years ago. She provides 70 recipes for delicious small-batch jams and jellies, along with some breads and muffins to go with them, grouped into chapters with titles like "Nonnie and the Elderberries" and "Chasing the Wild Cranberry." Ziedrich, who might be called a pickle fanatic, offers a detailed and informative guide to pickles of all sorts, including kimchi and others from Asia, chutneys and salsas, and "freezer pickles," along with traditional favorites like Half-Sours by the Quart. She writes readably and knowledgeably about a variety of topics, and her varied and unusual recipes should tempt readers into trying at least a pickle or two, or more. Anyone interested in preserving will welcome both of these books, which are recommended for most collections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (June 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684839210
• ISBN-13: 978-0684839219
• Product Dimensions: 0.2 x 5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,345,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Generally, a joy, December 6, 2000

By 

J. N. Roberts (Falls Church, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Well Preserved: A Jam Making Hymnal (Paperback)

I first saw one of Ms. Hassol's recipes in the New York Times and made it immediately - it was the peach ginger marmalade. It was so successful, I immediately bought the book. Most of her combinations are quite inspired - although there are too many that rely on ginger - that I was inspired to try some of my own new concoctions. However, I agree with other reviewers that the 1.5 packets of pectin she recommends is too much. One is usually fine. Also, her sugar content is quite high. Comparing her recipes with others, they seem to be 1 and sometimes 2 cups too much. This results in the jam being so sweet that it hides the fruit flavors. I've cut back on both of these with great success.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best jam/jelly book I've used, July 16, 2003

By 

Sarah Lally Brown (Woodinville, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Well Preserved: A Jam Making Hymnal (Paperback)

The best grape jam I've made. The best strawberry jam I've made. The best pear ginger jam I've made. I can keep going. This book has simple short lists of ingredients, lucid and basic instructions, and enough unique jam varieties to please any cook.

Her prose style invites reading and re-reading of the recipes, to the point where you make the jam with the ingredients in mind but actually *pay attention* to the cooking process. I have learned to watch the consistency change...thick and quiescent, then simmering, then boiling, then the beautiful last metamorphosis where everything gets crystal clear and you know the jam is done.

If you have never made jam before, this is a perfect book to start with. It's a warm intimate manual rather than a sterile cookbook. However, as other reviews have pointed out, I would suggest watching your sugar and pectin amounts. Hassol can be a bit...overzealous with those ingredients. But hey, one batch really isn't all that big and if you goof it up you will learn for the next batch. Try with something simple like grape jam, with such a short cheap list of ingredients that you can afford to lose a batch or two. I've also found that making notes in the margins is a great way to remember what you wanted to change for the next time.

Unfortunately Hassol passed away a few years ago, so this is her only book. I wish there had been more.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A follow up to "Are you sure, Joan?", October 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Well Preserved: A Jam Making Hymnal (Paperback)

By mistake, I only had 1 packet of pectin for a recipe that called for 1.5 packets. (The strawberry with triple sec recipe.) The recipe jelled beautifully. I think 1.5 packets is a mistake! Only use 1, and it will turn out great.