Backyard Farming: Home Harvesting: Canning and Curing, Pickling and Preserving Vegetables, Fruits and Meats

by Kim Pezza

Backyard Home Harvesting is the ideal resource for the new farmer looking to make the most of his produce by preserving it for the future! Providing a comprehensive guide for preparing and preserving your hard-earned harvest, this book ensures that your backyard farm will feed you all year long!

Backyard Home Harvesting is the perfect guide for beginners looking to extend the benefits of their homestead's produce. Covering every topic from selecting and maintaining the resources needed to properly preserve your food, to the various methods of preserving and how they are done, to recipes and ideas for making the best use of your preserved bounty, Backyard Home Harvesting includes all that you need to know to get the most out of your home harvest. Including time-tested tips and tricks used by expert farmers, this invaluable resource is a must-have for anyone looking to enjoy the fruits of their labor year round!

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO GET STARTED. Addressing all the important areas, from selecting the ideal method for your crop, to knowing when and why to preserve, to how long each method preserves your food for, Backyard Home Harvesting is the all-in-one guide for the first-time farmer at harvest time.

EASY TO FOLLOW, EASY TO UNDERSTAND . Written in simple, informative language, complete with numerous illustrations of proper techniques and preserving set-ups, Backyard Home Harvesting is written with new farmers in mind.

A GUIDE THAT EVERY BACKYARD FARMER CAN USE . Whether your backyard farm raises livestock or grows crops, there is a method in this book to greatly extend your enjoyment of your harvest! From canning, to smoking; from freezing to drying, the benefits of preserving are obvious! No farmer wants to have to throw away their hard work, and Backyard Home Harvesting is the perfect guide to ensuring that no part of the harvest is wasted!

The Backyard Farming series offers easy-to-use guides to help first-time farmers and homesteaders experience the satisfaction that comes from producing their own
food. Rural areas with acres of land, suburban neighborhoods with small backyards, or urban environments with limited space--no matter what your situation, these books are tailored to your unique needs and resources. Each volume in this series is dedicated to a particular topic in backyard farming, whether you're planning to grow food for your family or for sale at your local farmers market. Featuring simple instructions and helpful illustrations, the Backyard Farming series empowers you and your family to enjoy the freshest ingredients possible--direct from your own backyard!

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening, Food, Cooking

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Loren · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of useless jabber only to find out it doesnt even cover pressure canning. How can this be a book on canning then?

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an introduction to preserving. The history of different methods was interesting but the book has only a handful of recipes and as a result disappointing.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am grateful to Hatherleigh Press in sending me Backyard Farming: Home Harvesting by Kim Pezza in exchange for a review on goodreads and on my blog, www.differentkindofliving.wordpress.com. Home Harvesting is one book in her Backyard Farming series. Others include Raising Chickens, Raising Goats, and Keeping Honey Bees, all of which I am eager to one day read as well. Pezza begins Home Harvesting by giving the history of food preservation. Fermentation and drying were some of the first methods used during ancient times. Now, in more recent times, people continue to preserve foods through those mentioned above and also others such as canning, freezing, curing, and smoking. Pezza then proceeds to help the reader determine which methods of preservation would be best for them to try based upon their resources, equipment, and what they want to preserve. She does into great detail for each method, including supplies needed, instructions of preserving, and how to and how long to store the preserved food afterwards. The last section of the book includes helpful recipes for various preservation methods.
I was surprised to learn about how certain preservation techniques came about. Who knew that Napoleon Bonaparte had an influence in the development of canning? I certainly did not! Apart from the history of certain preservation methods, I pretty much knew everything that was mentioned in Home Harvesting, having already preserved homegrown and store bought food via canning, freezing, fermenting, or dehydrating. Pezza herself said that this book is for beginners, and therefore is the perfect book for someone who is just getting started on a garden or someone who wants to preserve food in many ways (as opposed to just storing it in the freezer).

[Maryjo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am very glad I read this book! It gave me so many ideas that I am excited to try out!! Unfortunately, I read this book in the middle of winter (January) and now I have to wait until spring to start my garden. However, some techniques are useful year-round such as freezing. I also want to look into getting a dehydrator. Fun! Fun! Fun! The only downside to this book is that it is a very basic introduction and for each method you will need to do further reading before beginning.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book through the First Reads giveaway program on Goodreads.

I entered this giveaway for my brother and his wife. They were hoping to do a bunch of canning and all that fun stuff. I hoped this book would help them. So far, he hasn't said anything overly negative about the book, so we will go with 3 stars.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.

It is a good beginner's primer on home harvesting, canning, preserving, etc. I think the use of color pictures would have helped, as I'm still not convinced that the black & white picture of "pumpkin puree" on page 15 isn't shaved ice. Overall a good primer, if a little boring.

[Tamara]

More of a "how-to". Almost no recipes.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed for all compost lovers.

[OvercommuniKate · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is very short and doesn't have enough information for even as short as it is; e.g. what temperature to dehydrate, what are pickling spices, etc.