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Complete Canning Guide: Freezing, Preserving, Drying
The must-have guide to the best of preserving, from canning and pickling, to fermenting, freezing, and drying; complete with hundreds of farm-fresh recipes
This is the book for everyone who wants to preserve food—from novice to pro—with step-by-step explanations of techniques, ranging from the basics of canning to freezing, drying, fermenting, and pickling. Readers can preserve a range of produce including fruits, vegetables, herbs—anything in season can be “put by” to enjoy later. Included are techniques and recipes for jams and jellies, conserves and fruit butters, condiments, dried treats like fruit leathers and veggie chips, and freezer recipes. Also find recipes for pickles, sauerkraut, relishes, soups—even syrups. And when the tomatoes ripen all at once, check out a chapter on smart ways to preserve them.
With the basics covered, the book then moves to inventive recipes such as Honey-Lavender Peaches and Caramel Apple Jam. The experts at Better Homes and Gardens even cover lower-sugar jelly and jam options as well as no-pectin jams. Complete with printed labels to personalize jars, this book takes readers easily from produce to preserved food.
This is the book for everyone who wants to preserve food—from novice to pro—with step-by-step explanations of techniques, ranging from the basics of canning to freezing, drying, fermenting, and pickling. Readers can preserve a range of produce including fruits, vegetables, herbs—anything in season can be “put by” to enjoy later. Included are techniques and recipes for jams and jellies, conserves and fruit butters, condiments, dried treats like fruit leathers and veggie chips, and freezer recipes. Also find recipes for pickles, sauerkraut, relishes, soups—even syrups. And when the tomatoes ripen all at once, check out a chapter on smart ways to preserve them.
With the basics covered, the book then moves to inventive recipes such as Honey-Lavender Peaches and Caramel Apple Jam. The experts at Better Homes and Gardens even cover lower-sugar jelly and jam options as well as no-pectin jams. Complete with printed labels to personalize jars, this book takes readers easily from produce to preserved food.
484 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2015
36 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Better Homes and Gardens
2,047 books286 followersBetter Homes and Gardens is the fourth best selling magazine in the United States. Better Homes and Gardens focuses on interests regarding homes, cooking, gardening, crafts, healthy living, decorating, and entertaining. The magazine is published 12 times per year by the Meredith Corporation. It was founded in 1922 by Edwin Meredith, who had previously been the United States Secretary of Agriculture under Woodrow Wilson.
Better Homes and Gardens is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.
Better Homes and Gardens is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 11, 2017
This is the best canning guide I have read yet. I love that the pages are in a binder and can be removed and snapped back in when finished. I love all the dividers and sections which helps to look up recipes in a jiffy. There are common recipes and many original recipes as well. The basics of canning and rules for canning are also included. A great book for a beginner or novice. Love it!
November 15, 2017
A real surprise!
I was really amazed by this book. It has oodles of recipes that I haven’t seen elsewhere. Often canning books are more of the same but this has some great new ones and great instructions. A welcome addition even if you have tons of canning books as I do.
I was really amazed by this book. It has oodles of recipes that I haven’t seen elsewhere. Often canning books are more of the same but this has some great new ones and great instructions. A welcome addition even if you have tons of canning books as I do.
March 1, 2018
For the cook and the harvester/gardener
What's not to like? Packed with ideas and practical applications. I appreciate the wide ranging food preservation and preparation information. I had neighbors wondering why I grow currants and gooseberries. Now I have something in writing to show them why these berries are worth growing and how to use them.
What's not to like? Packed with ideas and practical applications. I appreciate the wide ranging food preservation and preparation information. I had neighbors wondering why I grow currants and gooseberries. Now I have something in writing to show them why these berries are worth growing and how to use them.
October 26, 2022
I think this has become one of my favorite preserving books. So many amazing recipes as well as different ways to preserve. There are instructions for freezing, dehydrating, pressure canning and water bath canning.
March 31, 2020
Loved all the different recipes easy to follow directions and a lot of helpful hints
September 28, 2021
Canned several things out of this , very happy with it.
July 4, 2022
Lots of recipes, but not a lot that interest me
September 6, 2025
I'm in love with this book
October 14, 2015
This past summer I started a new hobby that would quickly become an obsession. Canning. For years I had wanted to can but was always afraid to for safety reasons. Then, at the beginning of last summer I visited family in Arizona and was in awe of my sisters' and cousins' canned food stashes. I mentioned my fear to a cousin and she reassured me and said I should start with high-acid foods and educate myself about high-altitude adjustments. And that is exactly what I did when I got home.
A couple months into my new obsession, another cousin sent me the Better Homes and Gardens: Complete Canning Guide. I will be reviewing this cookbook for today's post.
Better Homes and Gardens: Complete Canning Guide is a spiral-bound, loose leaf cookbook that is divided into 16 chapters. The cookbook includes chapters on canning basics, equip-ment to use, the typical fruits and vegetables, as well as the jams and jellies that are typically found in canning books. It also has chapters on preserving by drying, freezing and fermentation. The index cross-references recipes. For example, the Carrot Cake Preserves can be found under "carrot" and "preserves", making it very easy to find recipes of interest.
Throughout the cookbook, ingredients are listed in the order that they will be used in the cooking instructions. The instructions are relatively easy to follow; although, the print could be larger and broken down even further into smaller steps. This would avoid a reader accidentally missing a step. For example the following instruction from the Tart Cherry-Coffee Preserves on page 358 could be further broken down.
1. In a small saucepan bring cherry juice to boiling. Add coffee beans; cover pan and remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving juice. Discard coffee beans.
Of course, this might be something that doesn't bother other people with better vision than myself. There is a lot of information squeezed into this already large cookbook. And this is not going to stop me from trying the recipes.
One great feature of this cookbook is that there are footnotes throughout that educate the reader. The footnotes include more detailed information about specialty ingredients,and techniques used during recipes, as well as canning, drying and freezing tips.
At the beginning of the cookbook is a chapter that discusses the basics of preservation. Different methods of preservation are introduced. In this section of the cookbook addresses how high-acid and low-acid foods need to be canned or preserved in different ways for safety, including which types of canners are appropriate for each canning situation.
Throughout the cookbook there are full page color photos of a good portion of the recipes, while others have small photo inserts.
Two recipes I tested were the Peach Jam (238) and the Carrot Cake Preserve (366). One of the best features of this cookbook is that multiple flavor alterations are included with many of the recipes and the Peach Jam is one of them. The flavor alteration I chose was the Sweet Basil-Peach Jam and it was delicious. I picked fresh basil from my potted plant in my kitchen. There is only a hint of the basil flavor, but it surprisingly pairs amazingly with peach. To date this is the best jam I have ever made. I am already having requests for more from people that I gifted this jam to. My one regret is that I only made two batches of this before peach season ended. Next year this will be one of my first peach recipes.
The Carrot Cake Preserve recipe turned out delicious. I would not have thought that carrots could make such a delicious spread, but they do! I would say it ended up a little bit too sweet for my taste, but the fact that I had three pieces of toast with this jam yesterday says that it wasn't. I do have a bit of a sugar addiction, but that is another post for another time. In my mind I expected the carrots to break down more in the boiling process, but it is a preserve after all. The shredded carrots do give the preserve a slightly crunchy texture. Next time I might try blending them in the food processor to give it a more jam like consistency. And yes, I will be making this one again — as is, and with some experimentation as well. I am inspired to create a Moroccan carrot jam, thanks to my cousin who sent me his creation not long ago.
All in all I recommend this cookbook. There are countless numbers of recipes that I will be trying. As mentioned before I do wish the print was larger or that directions were further divided to avoid missing a step, but this cookbook excels in creativity with flavor combinations. This is a cookbook for both beginners and seasoned cooks alike.
www.creativityintheclouds.wordpress.com
A couple months into my new obsession, another cousin sent me the Better Homes and Gardens: Complete Canning Guide. I will be reviewing this cookbook for today's post.
Better Homes and Gardens: Complete Canning Guide is a spiral-bound, loose leaf cookbook that is divided into 16 chapters. The cookbook includes chapters on canning basics, equip-ment to use, the typical fruits and vegetables, as well as the jams and jellies that are typically found in canning books. It also has chapters on preserving by drying, freezing and fermentation. The index cross-references recipes. For example, the Carrot Cake Preserves can be found under "carrot" and "preserves", making it very easy to find recipes of interest.
Throughout the cookbook, ingredients are listed in the order that they will be used in the cooking instructions. The instructions are relatively easy to follow; although, the print could be larger and broken down even further into smaller steps. This would avoid a reader accidentally missing a step. For example the following instruction from the Tart Cherry-Coffee Preserves on page 358 could be further broken down.
1. In a small saucepan bring cherry juice to boiling. Add coffee beans; cover pan and remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving juice. Discard coffee beans.
Of course, this might be something that doesn't bother other people with better vision than myself. There is a lot of information squeezed into this already large cookbook. And this is not going to stop me from trying the recipes.
One great feature of this cookbook is that there are footnotes throughout that educate the reader. The footnotes include more detailed information about specialty ingredients,and techniques used during recipes, as well as canning, drying and freezing tips.
At the beginning of the cookbook is a chapter that discusses the basics of preservation. Different methods of preservation are introduced. In this section of the cookbook addresses how high-acid and low-acid foods need to be canned or preserved in different ways for safety, including which types of canners are appropriate for each canning situation.
Throughout the cookbook there are full page color photos of a good portion of the recipes, while others have small photo inserts.
Two recipes I tested were the Peach Jam (238) and the Carrot Cake Preserve (366). One of the best features of this cookbook is that multiple flavor alterations are included with many of the recipes and the Peach Jam is one of them. The flavor alteration I chose was the Sweet Basil-Peach Jam and it was delicious. I picked fresh basil from my potted plant in my kitchen. There is only a hint of the basil flavor, but it surprisingly pairs amazingly with peach. To date this is the best jam I have ever made. I am already having requests for more from people that I gifted this jam to. My one regret is that I only made two batches of this before peach season ended. Next year this will be one of my first peach recipes.
The Carrot Cake Preserve recipe turned out delicious. I would not have thought that carrots could make such a delicious spread, but they do! I would say it ended up a little bit too sweet for my taste, but the fact that I had three pieces of toast with this jam yesterday says that it wasn't. I do have a bit of a sugar addiction, but that is another post for another time. In my mind I expected the carrots to break down more in the boiling process, but it is a preserve after all. The shredded carrots do give the preserve a slightly crunchy texture. Next time I might try blending them in the food processor to give it a more jam like consistency. And yes, I will be making this one again — as is, and with some experimentation as well. I am inspired to create a Moroccan carrot jam, thanks to my cousin who sent me his creation not long ago.
All in all I recommend this cookbook. There are countless numbers of recipes that I will be trying. As mentioned before I do wish the print was larger or that directions were further divided to avoid missing a step, but this cookbook excels in creativity with flavor combinations. This is a cookbook for both beginners and seasoned cooks alike.
www.creativityintheclouds.wordpress.com
March 5, 2017
Well, yes, if you like food at all. I love this book. My only complaint is that I wish it had about a third more recipes included. However, this is a great, decently expansive guide for beginners to all the various types and varieties of home canning. From fruits, to veggies, to pastes, jams and marmalade, this is a great beginner tool. I want to make spiced apple rings and pickled beets. This book is a celebration of food, nothing else, pure and simple!
May 27, 2015
Staple of mine during 'canning season'. Easy to modify recipes and instructions are thorough and clear. A definite go to book.
December 30, 2016
Lots of good reference information and great recipes!
August 2, 2015
What can I say but BH&G! Broken down into good sections. Pictures and easy to follow recipes.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews