Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods : A Cookbook

by Eugenia Bone

A collection of 30 small batch preserving recipes and 90 recipes in which to use the preserved goods for anyone who's ever headed to their local farmers' market reciting the mantra "I will not overbuy" but has lumbered home with bags overflowing with delicious summer strawberries, zucchini blossoms, and tomatoes, or autumn apples, pears, and cauliflower. Preserving recipes like Marinated Baby Artichokes are followed by recipes for dishes like Marinated Artichoke and Ricotta Pie and Sausages with Marinated Baby Artichokes; a Three-Citrus Marmelade recipe is followed by recipes for Chicken Wings Baked with Three-Citrus Marmelade, Shrmp with Three-Citrus Marmelade and Lime, and Crepes with Three-Citrus Marmelade, and so on. In this book, Eugenia Bone, a New Yorker whose Italian father was forever canning everything from olives to tuna, describes the art of preserving in an accessible way. Though she covers traditional water bath and pressure canning in detail, she also shares simpler methods that allow you to preserve foods using low-tech options like oil-preserving, curing, and freezing. Bone clearly explains each technique so that you can rest assured your food is stable and safe. With Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods, you will never again have a night when you open your cupboard or refrigerator and lament that there's "nothing to eat!" Instead, you'll be whipping up the seasons' best meals all year long.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Food Preservation, Adult, Reference

364 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 12, 2009

About the author

Eugenia Bone, a veteran food writer who has published in many national magazines and newspapers, is also a cookbook author. She has contributed to many cookbooks and a few literary journals, been nominated for a variety of food writing awards and participated in radio, interactive and online interviews, in addition to appearing multiple times on television. Eugenia teaches and lectures about food preservation. She lives in New York City and Crawford, Colo.

Reviews

[Meryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as the technical processes--what's safe and what isn't, what bacteria can grow at what environments, and what temperatures the nasties are killed at--this book is a freaking bible. The recipes didn't appeal to me as much though.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of really good recipes.

[Alaina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can extensively and I’m always looking for new recipes. I don’t want to make any of these.

[Nicole Pries · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good enough book, given the subject, but definitely written by a foodie for other foodies. Way fancier fare than we are used to in this household lol.
How to preserve tomatoes and onions? Absolutely yes.
How to preserve fresh tuna, figs, meyer lemons, olives, artichokes, gravlax, and pork belly? And how to use said preserves to make recipes using pheasant, sole, skate wing and SWORDFISH?? Not exactly ingredients I can get in rural Canada lol.
But enjoy if you are a foodie and live in a big city or on a coast with a fish market lol.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't even remember where I heard about Well-Preserved anymore. I seem to have neglected to note that information when I added it to my Goodreads reading list. What I do know is that with the Farmer's Market starting to fill out, and the garden at Mom and Dad's house planted, it seemed like it might be time to read the book about small-batch canning and preserving.

The book begins with a short introduction and a description of each of the methods that author Eugenia Bone uses to preserve foods in the recipes that follow. (Which are: Water bath canning, pickling, pressure canning, freezing, preserving in oil, and curing and smoking.) These descriptions also include answers to common questions about each method. If you have any prior knowledge of food preservation, there's probably not a lot of new information for you in this section. If you're new to it, though, these simple explanations should help you get a good feel for how everything works. After running through the methods, Bone moves on to recipes. These are divided by ingredient (fruits, veggies, etc.) rather than by method. A few "master recipes" are given in each section, each one followed by three or four recipes which use the preserved product as an ingredient. (So, you have the master recipe for canned tomatoes for example, and then recipes for marinara sauce, tomato soup, and a beef dish that uses tomatoes.)

I can't decide how I feel about the organization of the book. I do like the grouping of a master recipe with several "suggested-use" type recipes. It's one thing to think that something like marinated bell peppers sounds good, and another to know what to do with it once you've got it. I think it's very helpful to provide such suggestions. I'm not sure, though, how I feel about the way the sections are divided up. On the one hand, it does make sense because the focus here is on seasonal food. In the sense of finding a recipe for the foods that you have on hand -- well, of course you want it grouped by ingredient type. On the other hand, though, the different methods of preserving require different equipment, and it's a little bit annoying to have to sift through to figure out what recipes I've got the equipment to make. I feel like the index in the back would have allowed for quick access to recipes by ingredient, whereas it doesn't at all allow for locating recipes by method. (If you look up a method, the index lists information about that method, but doesn't specify which recipes use it.) I suspect that grouping them by method might also have resulted in a more even spread of recipes across the various methods, whereas now there seems to be a heavy emphasis on water bath canning but not as much on freezing. Since freezing is the easiest way for me to put up foods, I'm a little disappointed by that.

The recipes seem interesting, but some will obviously be more useful than others. For instance, preserving scallops and tuna is not likely to be as important for those of us who live in the Midwest, away from the caught-hours-ago seafood markets of the coast. The recipes for preserving citrus are interesting and sound delicious, but without citrus groves nearby they don't have the draw for me that recipes using fresh local produce do. And of course not everything will appeal to everyone anyway; I've got little interest in asparagus, local or not. That's a danger of any cookbook, though -- you can't please everyone all of the time. There are also some very good-looking recipes included as well, such as Stewed Onions with Marjoram or Apricot Amaretto Jam. My only real complaint about the recipes, though, is that some don't seem to fit the stated purpose of the cookbook. Many of the preserved-in-oil and cured recipes look delicious, but can only be kept for a few days, which hardly seems like preserving. And while I appreciate that six pints of pickled cauliflower (for example) is a small batch to someone who's grown tons of it in their backyard, I feel like it might be pushing the boundaries of "small batch" for someone like me who's just grabbing some local produce at the market to see if she can make something yummy with it. Six pints of stewed onions that start out as 24 cups raw (24 cups!) and will only keep for a month in the freezer definitely is.

All in all, I'm definitely glad I read it, and I definitely recommend it. Bone's writing style makes for a friendly and easy introduction to preserving, and whatever my issues with the recipes and the selection or arrangement thereof, there's a lot of good food here. There are several I'll be trying in the coming months as produce cycles through growing and harvest seasons. Yes, including the onions, though I'll scale that down. (This isn't recommended with water bath canned recipes because it may affect the pH, which affects how safe it is to rely on water bath canning, but as the onions are frozen I think I'll be OK.) It's inspired me to try my hand at preserving again, and whatever the other issues I might have with it, that sort of inspiration is always a good thing.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. A lot of great information on the proper way to preserve food, on bacteria, and different ways to preserve. But there were very few recipes for the actual preserving, none of which I will try. And then recipes to use what you preserved, which I also won't try. Not what I expected.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The early part of Well-Preserved is a great beginner's introduction to canning. Eugenia Bone (a name that screams either "home canning expert" or "Hogwarts herbology professor") rightly surmises that many home cooks are intimidated by canning due to the risk of food poisoning, especially botulism. Bone confidently puts those fears to rest and explains food safety REALLY well, in a way that's simple enough to understand without feeling dumbed down.

Bone goes through several types of food preservation (water bath canning, pressure canning, freezing, storing in oil, and curing/smoking). She explains how and why each method works, which types of food to use each method on, and best practices for each, not just for food safety, but for flavor. The main takeaway is that the bacteria that causes botulism can't survive in an acidic environment so pretty much anything made with fruit is safe to water bath can, and tomatoes and other vegetables are safe if sufficient acid is added. Botulism-causing bacteria and other bacteria or mold spores are all killed if the steps are followed correctly. After reading, I feel more confident, like maybe water bath canning would be doable and fun!

Foods with low acid are another story, but Bone's explanations are great there too. She explains how to pressure can, cure and smoke meats and fish, and store some items in oil in the fridge (this is the shortest term storage with some recipes being preserved safely for only about 10 days). I'm not ready to go there yet because buying a pressure cooker (what if it EXPLODES???) and/or smoker (what if I BURN MY HOUSE DOWN making ARTISANAL BACON??????????), and learning how to use them, is too much right now. But if I ever did feel ready, I would probably refer back to this book for some of her tips. All types of food preservation, from water bath canning to the more complicated pressure canning and curing and smoking, are things I would rather trust to an expert resource like Bone than a random doomsday prepper's blog or something.

Now, for the actual recipes. I think they would be easy to follow thanks to Bone's clear and thoughtful writing style. Each recipe for a canned or otherwise preserved food is followed by 3 recipes for dishes you can make with that item. I liked that idea in theory, because if you're a beginner at canning, you're also probably not going to know what to do with all of that beautifully canned food right away. For each preserved food, there is a description of the taste, the rationale for how to preserve (excellent so that you know up front what method will be involved), and often the resource for the recipe's inspiration. I appreciated that, although I wished there had been a master list of "further reading" or sources at the end! A list of equipment and ingredient resources also would have been super helpful. They are sprinkled throughout the recipes but not gathered in one place, which is a shame.

The book is organized into sections for fruits, vegetables, meats, etc. I do think it may have been better to organize based on the method of preservation used in the recipe instead, although by default most of the fruits are water bath canned and most of the meats are cured and smoked. It was a little jarring (GET IT??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA) to go from the first section, organized by preservation method, to the recipes, organized by food type.

The recipes themselves didn't hit home for me. There is some type of class or food preference barrier I couldn't quite get over. I think this book would be PERFECT for experienced adventurous home chefs with a lot of spare time, an expansive budget to try new things, and a very particular palette. For me, I think what I need is the canning book engineered towards those of us who grew up on Capri Sun, Cheez Whiz, and chicken nuggets.

There were a lot of things I would consider "basic" canning that I would want to start with as a beginner, that were absent from this book: berry jams, peaches in syrup, apple butter, baby dill pickles, bread and butter pickles. It bothered me that there wasn't a single recipe for pickled cucumbers even though there are recipes for pickled cauliflower, zucchini, sauerkraut, and even a zucchini flower sauce. I wouldn't consider myself a picky eater by any stretch, but some of these recipes gave me pause, and I longed for something simple like a raspberry jam or peach preserve. To be fair, Bone makes it pretty clear up front that those aren't her preferences, and there are plenty of more general, excellent canning resources out there, many of which are referenced in the book.

Now, a few of the recipes did interest me: the cherries in wine, apricot amaretto jam, strawberry balsamic jam, and 3 citrus marmalade all sounded pretty good. I have a sweet tooth (clearly) and those ones intrigued me. Although, I would probably spread them on some toast or, if I'm feeling fancy, with cheese and crackers; not make "cherry dessert soup with mascarpone" (although I would try the panna cotta with the balsamic jam, mmmmm). The canned tomatoes sounded pretty essential and basic, something everyone who cans should have in their arsenal, and if I ever were to try smoking bacon, I would give Bone's recipe a try for sure.

But most of the recipes had me completely lost. Some of the ingredients called for (not for the things you can, but for the things you make with the stuff you canned): soft-shell crab, skate (had to look up whether that was a bird or a fish (it's a fish)), pheasant, quail, and a LOT of duck and veal. Unless you hunt or are in with someone who hunts; fish, or are in with someone who fishes; farm, or are in with someone who farms, a lot of these ingredients are just going to be inaccessible or, if they are available, pretty freaking costly, especially the duck and veal. I hit a roadblock of either unfamiliarity, inaccessibility, cost, or all three, with almost every recipe in the book. One of the preserving recipes is "gravlax"; if you had asked me before reading this book, I would have told you that's the flying dog thing from the Neverending Story (turns out his name is Falkor, which sounds nothing like Gravlax, but I'm going to stand by saying that Gravlax sounds like the name of a flying dog dragon thing or an evil king, not cured salmon!).

I feel troubled giving this book 3 stars because really, it's not you, it's me, book. I have basic tastes and I find sourcing and cooking with new-to-me ingredients overwhelming. At the same time, I have trouble thinking that most home cooks or beginning canners are going to find more than a couple of these recipes workable.

[Nova · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a book for beginning canners, this was fairly good. It gave a lot of information on the how's and why's of both water bath and pressure canning as well as touching on some other methods of preserving such as dehydrating and fermenting although it doesn't go into the same amount of detail with those.

It was helpful in decreasing my fear of botulism and other home-canning mishaps by explaining in simple easy steps what can be done to keep the bacteria from forming.

The basic canning recipes were easy to understand and I feel like I could easily follow them.

What I didn't like about this book was that it didn't have more information on other methods of home preserving aside from canning. That makes the title a little misleading and it would be better if it had the word canning somewhere in it.

Also, while I like the idea of including recipes that can be made with your home canned goods, most of these recipes were too complicated or gourmet for simple cooks like me. These types of recipes intimidate me when I'm trying new things and I think that simpler recipes for things like basic jams and jellies would motivate me to try making the recipes more.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and learned quite a bit. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about home canning as a great resource on the processes, but I would also tell them to look elsewhere for their recipes.

[Anna Katherina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of the three books on Canning and Preserving that I picked up from my local library to begin learning about the process this month, this was easily the best of the bunch.

There's a wealth of information here that isn't covered in other books, and often fills in gaps that most books annoyingly left out. Everything is concise, and it's well formatted. No topic is paid too-little attention. It answers a lot of common beginner's questions that I had in a Q&A format, and the style of writing is friendly and easy to understand; the recipes are also interesting, and show you not only what you can make, but also how you can use them once they're made (similarly to how The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving does).

I would definitely recommend it as the main book for beginners interested in getting into Canning, once they move away from the obvious books (like Ball's Guide). Especially since it deals with small batch preservation.

[OneDayI'll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another collection of odd flavors in canning. Some are very basic, some are very complex and unusual in flavor combinations. There are several recipes for each canned item's use, though. Which is a bonus. I'm pretty adventurous with flavors, especially pickles, but I don't usually think of sauerkraut and penne pasta as plate buddies. Not unless I'm scavenging fridge items because I'm too lazy to cook lol. The recipe looks like cacio e pepe but with sauerkraut. I'm not sure regular sauerkraut would do it for me. Maybe if I added some celery seed or something to it? But I'd be willing to try it with kimchi. I think the extra heat and zing would be a perfect pair for the sweet/salty taste of the parmesan.

[Emily Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think my lack of enthusiasm for this book stems mostly from the fact that I already can a lot, so the lengthy explanations of process and safety weren't things I needed. There were two recipes I am excited to try, and I liked the recipes for using the canned products, as this is where I sometimes struggle with the whole canning thing. But some of the recipes really do look yummy- it just wasn't really a book I needed to read- I am glad I got it from the library instead of buying it.

[Jenn. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed from DC library.

I really enjoyed the layout & photos in this book. It was laid out by categories that made sense and each preserving recipe was followed up with meal recipes on how to eat what you preserved. I found this very helpful. I only ended up finding a couple recipes I want to try and I'm suspect of how safe the canning recipes are as they did not adjust time for altitude.

[Pam Joslin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great options for small batch canning plus a few recipes to wet the appetite for each. Can't wait to tackle that box of apples from Detering Orchards for spiced apple pie and huge cabbage from my CSA for sauerkraut.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good basic information on canning, but most recipes for canning are of ingredients not readily available to me, or do not interest me in preserving. The corresponding recipes using those preserves also did not interest me

[Lindsay Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, with inventive recipes - both for the actual preserves themselves and for what to do with them in cooking afterward.

[Courtney Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful information about how to preserve food, however, disappointed that there is not a lot of variety when it comes to the recipes.

[Arlian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A completely wonderful canning book! So many canning books are pretty much the same; they have the same ol' same ol' recipes. Pickled Asparagus. Pickled Beets. Stone Fruit Conserve. Chutney. etc etc. Eugenia Bone manages to have a lot of originality in this book, like Cherries in wine, Fava Bean Cream, and Zucchini Flower Sauce to name a few. Another wonderful thing about is that she includes several recipes in which to use your canned item. As a vegan, I can't eat all her recipes (pheasant with stewed onions, shrimp and preserved zucchini salad, Pork tenderloin steaks with spiced apples and thyme to name but a few) but some of them were interesting to me (Gingerbread with pear, port and thyme conserve, Fried Poblano Chiles stuffed with Succotash, Zucchini Flower Risotto, for example)

[Emily Von pfahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a preliminary rating as I have yet to attempt to make any of the preserves from the book. I typically don't review cookbooks until I have made at least one recipe, but under the circumstances I think I can get away with it. I have zero experience with canning anything. I found that the author does a great job of explaining the process and is very careful in each recipe to say which type of canning (water bath, pressure, or oil) is needed and why. Additionally, she offers further recipes for uses of the preserves. It is highly unlikely that I will ever attempt anything in the last chapter which is on curing though. I will re-evaluate this book once I've tried some of the recipes.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this was an interesting book, after reading "Tart and Sweet", it was a bit of a disappointment. Even though the title inferred it, many of the recipes couldn't actually be preserved - refrigerated, yes, but canned, no - and that's what I was really looking for. However, I did like that, after each main recipe (for example, green olive tapenade), the author provided a least two or three recipes that incorporated the result (pizza with mozzarella and tapenade). The recipes themselves sound tasty (mushroom duxelles, anyone?) - and the ones I've tried have been delicious (roasted marinated red bell peppers) - so if you're a foodie, you may want to take a look and not worry about the preserving part!

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The recipes are indeed small batches - I'd certainly double them if I'm going to go to the trouble to can things. There are the usual sorts of fruit recipes and some interesting ones. Like what? Like canning tuna. Yes, fresh tuna. It sounds really good and not so hard at all.

Some of the recipes for using the preserved items are a bit too fussy for my kitchen (Baccala and marinated red bell pepper salad or Zucchini flower risotto) and some sound really good (Pork roast with apricot jam and thyme or smooth tomato soup).

The author writes in a friendly style with asides in parentheses such as 'yes, I've made this mistake' when talking about the process for bacon.

[Mishqueen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the setup--how to can a small batch of a basic food combo; then a few recipes on how to use it. She includes 6 preservation methods: water bath canning, pickling, pressure canning, packed in oil, curing/smoking, and freezing. She also explains in detail what are the "rules", and which rules she fudges on. The main drawback that I see is that it's kinda fancy food. Fancy enough that I might not be able to think of any way to use it EXCEPT for her included recipes.

(doesn't mean I won't try it, though...)

Really really reinforces my lust for a pressure canner...and now a stovetop smoker...

[Matthew Kunnari · Rating 5 out of 5]

recipes for canning in small batches. the author is a chief and she is italian-american, so the food is good. she provides three recipes for each canning recipe. a lot of the recipes are ones that she has grown up on or her father (an immigrant from italy) taught her.

i hadn't done much canning before this, but this book has opened my heart and stomach to this method of preserving/cooking. the book is informative for beginners. i've showed it to experienced canners and they've been intrigued as well.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the concept and execution of this book. The author provides the recipes for a few, more exotic canning and preserving recipes. Then she gives recipes to use the canned goods in. There were several photos (and I love good food photographs) and I am now filled with a burning desire to can my own tun. However, living in the middle of the U.S. and far from the ocean is making this difficult to fulfill.
The only thing I wish is that the author included a few more canning recipes for us.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit that this book intrigued me because it features 'small-batch' canning projects and recipes. As a single homeowner, I don't want to can 40 quarts of anything unless I know I will love--and eat--every bit before the shelf life fails. Unfortunately, I can't say any of the recipes tempt me much. That said, I liked all the tips given in the first five or so pages on water-bath canning, pressure canning, pickling, and other methods for putting up food. If I ever get truly serious about canning, I may look this book up again just for those few pages.

[jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

tomatoes. canned. september 19th, 2009. made it before the end of summer!

applesauce. canned. september 19th, 2009.

next up, sauerkraut!


tasty goodies in jars look so beautiful. this nourishing process is worthy of the work that goes into it.

this is a nice book with unique options for different methods of preservation. some are more practical than others. the instructions and guidelines are clear and ms. bone includes recipes for cooking with your creations.

[Zacksmom Okon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very well put together -- finally! I despise "preservation" books that are just user-unfriendly. Either too scientific, or just plain impractical. This one is a true gem for the "family garden". Simple science - no fluff - straight to the point coupled with practical usage from harvest to kitchen table. Highly recommended to anyone with a "family garden" who is scared to death to "can" :)

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, concise and scientific instructions on how to preserve just about any kind of food. It's not a book that one can read and absorb, though- it's a book that will need to be spread out on one's counter, getting spattered with tomato seeds and propped up on canisters. This belongs on any serious preserver's cookbook shelf.

[Wendy]

Grumpy because now I wish I had a pressure canner again. (Most things here have water-bath instructions, but the pressure canner is so much more efficient.) If I entertained more often there are a bunch of things here that I'd make, and I think there are a few I will try. Surprised that she counts things that only last for ten days as "preserved".

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wanted to try my hand at canning something more than tomatoes, so checked this book out from the library. I think the instructions are clear and well-written, the canning recipes and the recipes for dishes you can make with your canned goodies sound so yummy, I've decided to buy this book for our home library. Can't wait to try canning some of Ms. Bone's recipes this weekend...

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that Ms. Bone has not only included the recipes for canning, but also recipes for how to use the canned product. Brilliant! And the are all small batches, which is a relief. I don't fear standing in the kitchen all day working the canner.