Recent Reads: The Beginner's Guide to Canning by Diane Devereaux

Source: From Callisto Publishers Club and Rockridge Press in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review. 

The Beginner's Guide to Canning: 90 Easy Recipes to Can, Savor, and Gift by Diane Devereaux
Publisher: Rockridge Press
Publication Date:  May 5, 2020

 

Format:  Paperback

Rating:









Goodreads Synopsis: 

The can-do guide to water bath and pressure canning for beginners
For many people, canning conjures memories of cozy kitchens filled with fresh flavors. Whether you’re picking up this time-honored tradition again or just starting out, The Beginner’s Guide to Canning teaches you everything you need to know about water bath and pressure canning, with plenty of recipes for jams, pickles, vegetables, soups, and more.

This beginner’s guide starts your canning journey with an easy primer laying out all the essential information about pressure and water bath canning. In the first chapter, you’ll find several easy, sure-fire hits, like Low-Sugar Berry Jam and Dilly Beans, including step-by-step illustrations. From there, try your new skills with any of the 90 comforting classics and new twists that are sure to tickle your taste buds. 

The Beginner’s Guide to Canning includes:

• Safe & practical―Explore the nuts and bolts of canning, including a look at the necessary equipment, ingredients, and fundamental rules of safe canning. 
• Savor the seasons―With dozens of delicious, easy-to-follow recipes, you can preserve seasonal flavors to enjoy all year round, like Apple-Peach Butter and Simple Spaghetti Sauce. 
• Spread the love―A whole chapter is dedicated to delicious, giftable treats, like Rhubarb Chardonnay Jam, Raspberry-Chocolate Ice Cream Topping, and Pepper Jelly.

Can you preserve it? Yes, you can with The Beginner’s Guide to Canning. 

Review: 

Please note this is a read-only review. I have not tried any of the recipes at this time. 

At first glance, this is a great starting point for canning beginners. The first chapter is an overview of the the history of canning, and the various types of tools and techniques that can be used with a focus on both water bath and pressure canning. In the following chapters there are 90 recipes to use these new skills trying.

The recipes are divided pretty evenly with about half for water bath canning and the other half of pressure canning, I would say that it probably leans more heavily on the water bath technique. I have in the past tried water bath canning and it has worked very well. It is a less scary type of canning, I think personally. Pressure canners freak me out a bit. 

Some of the beginning recipes include images to assist with how to fill and seal up jars, however many of the illustration are confined to that first information chapter. Other images in the book are the Chapter header pages with photos of pickled and canned goodies. As much as I really like these images, I always love to see an image of the recipe I am trying to see if it looks the same, and this book does not have that.

What I did like was the fill time it takes for each recipe, which is broken down into prep, cook, and processing time, then the total so you know how long you are looking at. Canning can be a long and tedious process and timing means a lot for some things, so it is great that this is here on each recipe. They also include the yield number in pints, half-pints and quarts so you know what jars you will need. 

Overall this seems like a great beginners book, it has a lot of great information all in one place so you don't have to scour the depths of the internet for something you might need - which is what I did when I started. 

I really cannot wait to try some of these recipes, but don't have the time to right now (sadly).