February 2010 Archives

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) continues to support research and education on canning and preserving through its Extension Service partnership at the University of Georgia. These are tax dollars are well spent! It includes an excellent introduction to home canning.  Check it out at:

National Center For Home Food Preservation 

Other Websites

Lehman's, the Amish, non-electric catalog - a great, fair priced sourced for stoneware crocks, canning kits & supplies, dehydrators, and so much more.

Jarden Home Brands - commercial website of the maker of Ball jars.  Includes canning instructions and dependable recipes.

Splenda - I've never made sugar-free preserves, but lots of people ask me about doing so.  Splenda gives tips on jam making using the Splenda as the sweetener on their website.

Wild Fermentation- the source for everything you ever wanted to know about fermentation by the fermentation guru, Sandor Katz.

Tigress in a Jam - an adorable blog all about preserving.

Portland Preserve - an inspiring website and Portland, Oregon based classes on all manner of preserving, plus a healthy dose of philosophy.

June Taylor Jam - Source of some of the best preserving classes and preserves out there.

Books -My Personal Favorites --Support your independent bookstore! 

The Joy of Pickling by Linda Zeidrich  -- an excellent resource for all things pickled.  I particularly like the recipes for all sorts of international cabbage pickles.  Great guide to common problems with fermenting that is worth the cost of the book. The best pickling book out there in my opinion.  Linda Zeidrich also has a book on jamming and preserving, that would be worth checking out.

Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz - Sandor Katz has led the fermentation revolution in the US.  His gift is demystifying fermentation for the novice and luring the unsuspecting layman into the kitchen.

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon - a classic that "challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats."  A must read.  Explains the benefits of eating raw, unpasteurized lacto-fermented foods in depth, hails the wisdom of traditional cultures, and contains many recipes.

Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber - a beautiful, inspiring French cookbook (in English) for making traditional (artificial pectin free) fruit preserves.  Recipes are wonderful; produce results similar to old timey Southern-style preserves with a slightly softer set than jam. 

Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No. 2 by Pam Corbin - So far the book has not been published in the US, but the UK edition is available through Amazon UK.  However, it is wonderful for both inspiration and usage if you bear to convert it from metric. It contains recipes for all sorts of preserves from Elderberry Cordial to British Pub-style Pickled Onions.  I love this book! 

Interested in Starting Your Own Preserved Foods Business? 

National Center for Food Preservation