 "Wish it had more recipes" | 2009-11-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: ANVBG7EV7OLVO |
| Great book that provides a lot of inforamtion about the processes of putting food by. I learned a lot and have a much better understanding of how to properly can and freeze various foods. My only wish is that it had more actual recipes. I ended up going back online to find a good tomato pickling recipe since I couldn't find any in this book. |
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 "Informative and interesting." | 2009-11-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1EJ2MMDPSY5UQ |
This book has a lot of very valuable information for canning as well as odd stuff like soap making. It even tells you how to make lye for soap with hardwood ashes. The instructions in the text are very well written, easy to understand, and precise. This is not just a book about canning, it also has good information on root cellaring vegetables outdoors, curing meats and smoking meats and some pretty basic stuff about freezing which leads me to believe that when the book was first written not many people had refrigeration.
Basically it's a wealth of forgotten information which is both interesting and practical especially for a person who wants to grow ones own food and preserve it in a practical way. Also would be a good book for someone who thinks that civilization is going to be destroyed in 2012 since much in this book can be achieved with little or no technology and includes info on making soap etc. It's worth having just to have a better understanding of how canning works. |
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| "A Food Preservation Must Have in Every Kitchen" | 2009-11-07 |
| - Reviewed By texannmk |
I got the first version of this book many years ago when I wanted to learn to can veggies and fruit from my garden. I didn't have the luxury of learning at Mom's or Grandma's knee, since they didn't can, so I had to teach myself. This book was my first purchase in the "teach myself" arsenal.
I bought the second edition only after the first one had practically fallen apart.
It's pretty basic, with in-depth explanations of canning methods and food spoilage. Not sure if a certain food is better off canned or frozen? This book helps with that. Also, if you're considering which equipment to buy, be it canning or freezing, this book gives excellent advice. Even though it's a little dated by now, the equipment has remained the same--pressure canners and freezers haven't changed much over the years and jars are still jars!
There are instructions for each type of produce and instructions about raw-packing or hot-packing. What I found most useful is the meat preserving sections. It's so detailed that you could butcher your own animal, and preserve it using this book. (I am a city girl--I just wanted to can my own chicken soup, so canning game was not my goal, but it may be yours!)
This book is chock full of recipes. Not just how to put food up, but what to do with a jar of food after you've preserved it. My book opens automatically to the Classic Orange Marmalade recipe, which I have used for years. The following page has the guidance on making fruit butters, which I have found invaluable. I also appreciate the chapter on making your own convenience foods--like canning dried beans.
Want to make your own ketchup? The recipe in here is excellent!
Putting Food By regained its place front and center on my kitchen bookshelf when we moved to the Rocky Mountains and I had to learn about high altitude canning.
All in all, if I had to choose just one book on canning/preserving and throw the rest away, this would be my first choice! It's been a keeper in my kitchen since the '80's! |
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| "A comprehensive reference guide" | 2009-11-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: AHLKC464VMCN3 |
I bought this book on the recommendation of an author who had published articles about food preservation. I was not disappointed.
I have been accumulating the material necessary to start canning fruits and tomatoes and I had been reading on line sources and magazine articles about preserving foods. I have also been interested in other ways of preserving foods as well. This book gives exhaustive, in depth instructions about different methods of preserving foods. While most of the book is devoted to canning foods, there is much about freezing, drying, salting and smoking foods to preserve them. The author thoroughly discusses every method of food preservation, including old fashioned ways of food preservation which are no longer considered safe.
The author carefully emphasizes the need for specific procedures that are followed precisely in order to safely preserve foods. For instance, she shows how to determine if your pot is going to be tall enough to use to can quart jars, since boiling water must cover the jars by at least two inches in order to assure a proper, sterile seal. Many canners cannot accommodate quart jars with a full two inches of boiling water above the jars, so that is an important bit of information to know before you buy a canner.
Many recipes are given, but the basic proportions of necessary ingredients are also given which allow for some limited creativity in recipes for canned goods. The author does not just tell what must be done, but goes into detail to explain why things are done the way they are done.
At the end of the book there is a comprehensive list by chapter of additional sources of information if one has questions after reading the material in the book.
I expect to get a lot of use from this book and it seems to have everything I need in order to accomplish my objective of safely saving food. |
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| "A Good and Frank Instructional" | 2009-09-21 |
| - Reviewed By User: AJ1P59G0KJN9Y |
| This is a great book for understanding the how to's and why's of putting food by, or storage, but without the "ohmygod, you're going to DIE if you don't simmer the lids for ten minutes!!!). There's a lot to be said for using good old fashioned common sense and this book stresses just that - common sense. There are a lot of great ideas for food storage within these pages. |
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| "Canning bible" | 2009-08-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: AUV5SZ8J9WM21 |
| I have been using this book, well the earlier printed version, for almost 30 years. This book tells you everything you need to know about canning & freezing fruits & vegetables. It's my canning bible. It also tells you how to make jams & jellies. When I first started canning, the whole process was alittle scary to me. Seems like so many things can go wrong, & didn't want to send my family & friends to the hospital. But, this book makes it simple to understand & takes the fear out of it. It's so gratifing to have all this good(no preservatives & additives) food for my family all winter. I live in the mountains, & it gives you all the changes you need to make for high altitude. Process time is usually longer. You absolutely won't regret purchasing "Putting Food By". I have numerous other canning books & always to back to this one. |
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