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The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Delicious Recipes to Use Year-Round
The easiest and safest methods for making delectable preserves in small batches -- all year long.
"Takes the pressure off cooks who don't have much time... but still want to savor the season's bounty."
-Chicago Tribune (Review of the prior edition)
The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving takes the guesswork out of home preserving. Both beginners and pros can make the most of fresh fruits and vegetables when these are readily available and inexpensive. Because these recipes require a minimum of time and fuss, home cooks will enjoy creating the preserves almost as much as everyone will enjoy tasting them.
Included are both traditional and new recipes. Detailed instructions provide the safest and latest processing methods. Some recipes are suitable for microwaves. A brand new chapter features freezer preserving as an alternative to the traditional methods. The more than 300 enticing recipes include:
Jams, jellies and low-sugar spreads Conserves, butters and curds Pickles, relishes and chutneys Salsas, mustards and marinades Flavored oils Dessert sauces, syrups and liqueurs.With delectable recipes and professional tips, The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving is the ideal guide for anyone who craves home-made preserves but doesn't want to spend all day in the kitchen.
(20010521)408 pages, Paperback
First published March 16, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
January 25, 2011
I love being a beginner preserver, and this book has been great so far. Some of the recipes have left me guessing, but with experience, I think that I'll get the hang of it a little better. I made the Maple Honey Butter without incident. I love that everything is in a small batch! This is perfect for my little kitchen, and my modest amount of time.
September 1, 2021
Not impressed. Only 2 recipes of interest to me.
1) Favorite Strawberry Jam
It uses a different approach, takes about 38 hours to make, and does not use pectin.
2) Homemade Apple Pectin
Use it in place of commercial pectin.
1) Favorite Strawberry Jam
It uses a different approach, takes about 38 hours to make, and does not use pectin.
2) Homemade Apple Pectin
Use it in place of commercial pectin.
October 7, 2012
Terrific book, covering jams, jellies, marmalades, conserves, pickles, chutneys, salsa, flavored oils and vinegars... whew! True to the title, all are geared for small batches, so you don't need a bounteous harvest from the garden or orchard. It's possible to make lovely preserves of all sorts even if you rely on produce and ingredients from the farmer's market, grocery produce or gifts from friends. Most of the recipes, and all that I've done to date, use a water-bath rather than a pressure cooker, so no special equipment is needed.
I've had this checked out from the library twice now, and have littered little Post-It markers throughout the book! Maybe it's time to order my very own copy.
If you want to get into making some lovely preserves for gifts or for your pantry, I think this is a good place to start.
I've had this checked out from the library twice now, and have littered little Post-It markers throughout the book! Maybe it's time to order my very own copy.
If you want to get into making some lovely preserves for gifts or for your pantry, I think this is a good place to start.
August 12, 2013
I'm a little in love with this book, which covers jams, jellies, marmalades, conserves, pickles, chutneys, salsa, flavored oils and vinegars (the latter two I'll never make). By far this one is my favorite canning cookbook I've read so far, ever.
It focuses on small batch water bath canning - exactly what I'm looking to do. Make small batches of food, using ingredients mainly from my garden, with maybe a couple of things added (like peppers, because my garden right now is just not producing peppers). Another reviewer mentioned the book had a "vintage" feel to it - the recipes, that is, not the book itself - which is probably why I like the recipes so much.
There are a lot of freezer / fridge "canning" in here, but the name of the book is small batch preserving, not small batch canning, so it's to be expected that there's a variety of prserving methods included.
It focuses on small batch water bath canning - exactly what I'm looking to do. Make small batches of food, using ingredients mainly from my garden, with maybe a couple of things added (like peppers, because my garden right now is just not producing peppers). Another reviewer mentioned the book had a "vintage" feel to it - the recipes, that is, not the book itself - which is probably why I like the recipes so much.
There are a lot of freezer / fridge "canning" in here, but the name of the book is small batch preserving, not small batch canning, so it's to be expected that there's a variety of prserving methods included.
January 25, 2018
A useful book, and I'm thankful for something that doesn't ask for an entire bushel of produce! Unfortunately, what I needed was a Lemon Curd recipe. This has one, but it's for the microwave...which I don't have. Bummer, really, but I did copy out several other recipes to try.
November 15, 2012
I'm enjoying this book tremendously. It's giving me all sorts of ideas for canning and even for winter projects. My plan for winter now includes making my very own mustard! Fun.
They are very toe-the-line in the book when it comes to all the new-fangled canning rules - I'll stick to the old ways, thanks. But in today's foam-padded world I guess that's the way all the books are going to be. What I really need is a canning/preserving book written about 50 years ago, when the people writing the books actually canned themselves, ha ha.
I just enjoy reading this book, dreaming. It's almost like reading a travel book.
They are very toe-the-line in the book when it comes to all the new-fangled canning rules - I'll stick to the old ways, thanks. But in today's foam-padded world I guess that's the way all the books are going to be. What I really need is a canning/preserving book written about 50 years ago, when the people writing the books actually canned themselves, ha ha.
I just enjoy reading this book, dreaming. It's almost like reading a travel book.
October 8, 2008
This book has some of the best recipes for canning that I have ever tasted! I loved that these were for small batches, they only made a few pints of the recipe instead of like tons of it. The pickles are great, loved the blueberry jam recipes, loved the apple butter, the salsa and pasta sauces are fantastic. This is one great book.
January 5, 2010
I love this book! The instructions are great and easy to follow for someone who has never canned a thing. There is a fabulous variety and I'm planning to do lots and lots of canning with our backyard garden stuff this year! It's a small garden, so this is perfect for those little batches and better yet, I won't be "stuck" in the kitchen all day!
March 12, 2018
Well written with over 300 recipes. Measurements are in both metric and Imperial. Written for small batch so a nice way to experiment. A detailed description of safe canning techniques is given as well.
March 5, 2017
Jams, jellies, marmalades, pickles, beet pickles, pickled garlic, and more. This is the one for small families, single people and just a dab of homemade produce set aside from one's home victory garden. Enjoy!
October 18, 2009
I love, love, love this canning book. Awesome recipes. I just wish I had more things to can. And more time. And more shelf space. And more jars. You get the idea.
October 14, 2020
It is full of good recipes. I can't wait to get started on preserving my harvest.
July 6, 2011
Great recipes for small quantities of fresh veggies. Everything from jams to marinades, pickles to flavored oils. I own this book.
July 22, 2016
I've already made several recipes and have been enormously proud of myself. Easy to follow and the results are terrific. Can't recommend it highly enough.
July 24, 2012
Fabulous. So many wonderful recipes. I borrowed it from the library and have to own a copy for myself.
Read
September 14, 2012worth re-visiting
May 2, 2013
Liked this one.
January 2, 2016
Includes vinegar, flavored oils and Asian sauces. Also the recipes are much smaller than more traditional canning books. Rating goes to 5 if I break down and buy it.
October 8, 2014
Lots of delicious-sounding recipes and clear, useful instructions.
December 1, 2014
Fantastic. The best small batch canning book I own.
March 17, 2016
Fell in love with this one! Jellies and jams. Relishes. Chutneys and Conserves. YUM.
May 12, 2016
Great book with lots of creative recipes!
June 2, 2017
got it for the 20 Peach recipes. Woohoo!
January 2, 2020
This is a quirky and useful book! The authors write like it’s the 1950s and plum sauce is exotic and hard to find, or like the 1980s and the “graphics package” on your “home computer” can print off cute labels for gift giving! Or perhaps like it’s whatever era molded dips were a thing in (ew). Regardless, I mostly found that a quaint quirk, though it did lead me to question the often odd flavour combinations the authors suggested. They also seem oddly focused on “light” versions of sour cream and cream cheese, which clearly don’t taste as good as full fat versions. Oh well, substitutions can be made!
I like how many different types of small batch preserves are offered by this book, including recipe ideas on how to use some - I wouldn’t have considered making mincemeat (which doesn’t, oddly, contain any actual MEAT) until I read the recipe at the back for mincemeat squares! Some good classics were in here like orange marmalade and a tomato marmalade that looks like my mother in law’s recipe. I’m skeptical of some of the fruit and fruit/herb flavour combos but curious to try some of the less out-there ones.
I felt that this book lost a bit in trying to be quite so comprehensive as they managed to miss a bunch of basics like uh...strawberry jam. Not that that’s a problem, I can use the recipe on my pectin packages for that! I’d also have loved some recipes for more locally available fruits and veggies.
I’d love to have a version of this book sorted by season or by fruit/vegetable/herb because now I want to make like a third of the recipes in it next years, but I will have to be strategic in what time of year to collect my produce and what to plant in my garden! Friends and family, I have a feeling next year you’ll be getting jars of home preserves as gifts...:)
I like how many different types of small batch preserves are offered by this book, including recipe ideas on how to use some - I wouldn’t have considered making mincemeat (which doesn’t, oddly, contain any actual MEAT) until I read the recipe at the back for mincemeat squares! Some good classics were in here like orange marmalade and a tomato marmalade that looks like my mother in law’s recipe. I’m skeptical of some of the fruit and fruit/herb flavour combos but curious to try some of the less out-there ones.
I felt that this book lost a bit in trying to be quite so comprehensive as they managed to miss a bunch of basics like uh...strawberry jam. Not that that’s a problem, I can use the recipe on my pectin packages for that! I’d also have loved some recipes for more locally available fruits and veggies.
I’d love to have a version of this book sorted by season or by fruit/vegetable/herb because now I want to make like a third of the recipes in it next years, but I will have to be strategic in what time of year to collect my produce and what to plant in my garden! Friends and family, I have a feeling next year you’ll be getting jars of home preserves as gifts...:)
June 8, 2023
A pretty good book if you're new to canning and (like me) aren't a huge fan of how most recipes always seem to be made for homesteaders and preppers with giant armies to feed, waiting for another 10 year war or some nonsense.
Simply written, clear, easy to understand instructions. Lovely recipes with a lot of variety and interest. Includes some information that other books don't- like the difference between Jams and Conserves, Relishes and Salsas, etc; and has a large swath of creative, unique, and interesting recipes.
I don't know if I would recommend it as THE beginner book the get started with (that honor may actually go to Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods by Eugenia Bone). But it's definitely a great secondary book supplement for the beginner to use alongside a primary source, so fill in some interesting gaps I found missing in most others I read, that I appreciated having filled for me.
Simply written, clear, easy to understand instructions. Lovely recipes with a lot of variety and interest. Includes some information that other books don't- like the difference between Jams and Conserves, Relishes and Salsas, etc; and has a large swath of creative, unique, and interesting recipes.
I don't know if I would recommend it as THE beginner book the get started with (that honor may actually go to Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods by Eugenia Bone). But it's definitely a great secondary book supplement for the beginner to use alongside a primary source, so fill in some interesting gaps I found missing in most others I read, that I appreciated having filled for me.
December 27, 2022
I think 2.5 stars for me. I really liked the idea of smaller batches. Unfortunately, I can’t see myself ever making most of these recipes.
There are 93 pages on jams, jellies, conserves, butters, and curds. I don’t eat enough of those two weren’t even a half batch of even one recipe.
there are 94 pages on condiments: pickles, relishes, salsas, chutneys, and various sauces. Other than the basics, most of these recipes did not appeal to me.
There are 88 pages of “extras“. This includes flavored oils and flavored vinegars, a variety of syrups, sauces, and liqueurs, And a variety of freezer recipes. This is the section that interested me the most, But most of the recipes on this section don’t appeal to me either. I must have a very basic palate / food preferences, but I would make 4 out of about 35 recipes in this section.
Finally, there’s a section on using the food, you’ve preserved in other recipes. Again, most of these I wouldn’t make. I really like the inclusion of this section – it can be really handy to have ideas on making use of your haul.
All in all, not a winner for me, but I like the idea of it.
There are 93 pages on jams, jellies, conserves, butters, and curds. I don’t eat enough of those two weren’t even a half batch of even one recipe.
there are 94 pages on condiments: pickles, relishes, salsas, chutneys, and various sauces. Other than the basics, most of these recipes did not appeal to me.
There are 88 pages of “extras“. This includes flavored oils and flavored vinegars, a variety of syrups, sauces, and liqueurs, And a variety of freezer recipes. This is the section that interested me the most, But most of the recipes on this section don’t appeal to me either. I must have a very basic palate / food preferences, but I would make 4 out of about 35 recipes in this section.
Finally, there’s a section on using the food, you’ve preserved in other recipes. Again, most of these I wouldn’t make. I really like the inclusion of this section – it can be really handy to have ideas on making use of your haul.
All in all, not a winner for me, but I like the idea of it.
March 22, 2022
I always thought making jams, jellies, chutneys and savory sauces were complicated to make because they all taste so good but after reading I learned that is not the case! The recipes were not complicated. Looking at the pictures of the fruit made me hungry.
June 28, 2017
There were several recipes in the book that I want to make. It was worthwhile to check it out from the library.
January 20, 2019
Good book for canning small batches.
October 12, 2019
Great recipes including vegetable tomato sauce for pasta and basic salsa!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews