Pickles to Relish (Hardcover)

~ Beverly Alfeld (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

More than just a cookbook, this encyclopedic guide seeks to teach methods of applying the many concepts of cooking to our everyday lives. From pickles and relishes to chutneys and sauces, the process of food preservation is thoroughly demonstrated.

Educating each person on how to safely preserve their own foodstuffs at home is the foundation of "Pickles to Relish." Using this model, hundreds of easy-to-follow recipes, techniques, and tips for the home canner are presented. Also featured are in-depth explanations on how home-preservation can offer economic, social, and health benefits.

Its ease of use and wide array of information lends itself to a broad audience. From novice to professional chef, this guide is designed for use by anyone. Recipes that teach how to make pickles in plastic baggies for a single serving are alongside recipes with detailed pH instructions for the more difficult applications.

From the Inside Flap

"This cookbook puts a dazzling array of foods often thought of as mere condiments front and center, within reach of even those home cooks with basic skills, limited time, and access to simple ingredients." --%iMcHenry County Woman Newspaper%r Specifically designed for ease of use, this informative manual presents a variety of delectibly homemade pickles, chutneys, sauces, and relishes. Recipes such as the mouth-watering Hot Indian Apple Chutney and Honey Sweet Eggplant Nuggets are amongst need-to-know instructions. Valuable tips and tricks every preserver should know are also found throughout the book. Learning to use the pickling processes documented, the reader learns that food preservation has greatly impacted human survival by extending the shelf life of the foods we eat. This idea is explored through a wide array of subjects, such as chemistry, history, and horticulture. Each chapter contains discussions of various methods of processing, including the popular rolling-water bath and low-temperature pasteurization. Also offered are easy-to-follow definitions and comparisons of various preservative techniques such as pickling, fermenting, and agro-processing. Information covering the all-important aspects of pH levels in foods and how to measure them is also incorporated into this well-written and researched encyclopedic guide. [BACK FLAP] Beverly Ellen Schoonmaker Alfeld is a scientist, chef, artist, and ethnobotanist who has completed the school of instruction in food processing prescribed by the Food and Drug Administration. She writes a regular column for %iFruit and Gardener Magazine.%r Alfeld has more than two decades of experience in elementary, high-school, university, and junior-college classrooms. She is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the founder of the Donald L. Schoonmaker Scholarship Fund. She also works as an advocate for special-needs children. Alfeld is the author of %b%iThe Jamlady Cookbook,%r also published by Pelican.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing (April 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589804899
• ISBN-13: 978-1589804890
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #766,808 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for everyone in this amazing book!, July 21, 2008

By	tigerfriday - See all my reviews

Pickles to Relish
If you are an adult or a kid or ever eaten a pickle or wanted a relish, chutney, etc. to add zest to your food and enhance your life, don't waste any time in reading this multi-faceted book. As the author Beverly Ellen Schoonmaker Alfeld notes, "not all the recipes are canning recipes." You can also refrigerate and freeze the many tasty delights. What could be better than a "pickled green walnut on a filet mignon", to "Hot Crocodile Chutney" or "Hot Beekeepr's Relish to zip up your life, health and make you feel good! You'll get insight to a better way of life if you read this book and adopt some of the "Jam Lady's sage advice on everything from one's lifestyle to instructing your kids to give them a more meaningful existence on how and where our food comes from! You will be instructed on how to make a simple pickle, relish, chutney, sauce and a whole lot more. You will be given the history of many foods. There is valuable data included throughout the book. There is verything from the pH of foods, instructions on proper labeling, listings of stores, pickle events, proper canning techniques, safeguards, and how you can modify a recipe like corn relish and make it "extra hot to "not so hot". Information is given about the myriad of sweetners that can be selected for the recipes. There are recipes that don't need any sweetener for people that are intolerant. There is extensive information throughout the book in the form of pictures,charts and appendixes. I highly recommend the "Jam Lady's PICKLES To RELISH book. You will be enriched.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious fun, May 18, 2008

By	Tim Romney (Florida) - See all my reviews

I bought this book because I love pickles. Now I sure I will start to love relishes and chutney just as much. This book is so much fun, you want to put it down and run into the kitchen and start cooking. I am not much of a chef, but this book is so easy to understand, I am sure I will make some great foods for my family and friends. Many thanks to the author, this is a fabulous book.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book to Relish, October 6, 2008

By	Polly Esther - See all my reviews

When I read the play on words in the title of Pickles to Relish I suspected that this was not a dull canning book. I was sure of it when I saw the striking cover photo with the most beautiful array of pickles I've ever seen! No basic Farm Extension Service canning guide here; no, this book overflows with creative ideas and recipes. There are, of course, the standards such as bread and butter pickles, kosher dills, and sweet pickle relish; but then there are instructions for pickled nuts, pickled bananas (Who knew you could do that?), pickled eggs, pickled mushrooms with shrimp, as well as a variety of chutneys and relishes.

Author Beverly Ellen Schoonmaker Alfeld includes historical and scientific notes about pickled food as well as complete how-to instructions. Furthermore, she has put the crucial text in bold print so that a reader in a hurry can go through the book and read only what is highlighted or a reader with more time can read the details of the entire text. Even though there are color photographs every few pages, I found myself wishing there were more. They are not needed for clarity of the recipes, but they do show just how scrumptious the pickles and relishes can look.

One aspect of this book that I particularly liked was the way Alfeld occasionally suggests ways to use pickles other than the obvious relish tray. For example, fill endive leaves with red pepper relish, lobster meat, basil, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Make a dip by topping sour cream with a fruity tomato chutney. Or use a pickled kumquat to garnish a flute of champagne.

Interesting, fun, and instructive. I relish Pickles to Relish.