Preservation Pantry: Modern Canning From Root to Top & Stem to Core by Sarah Marshall

Preservation Pantry: Modern Canning From Root to Top & Stem to Core by Sarah Marshall


Wonderful little "skin to seed" (or stem to core as the book characterizes itself) preservation book with Introduction, Water bath canning lesson, and Fundamental Tools and Equipment before getting into Fruit recipes - Apples canned, preserved, and recipe (how to actually eat it!) and so forth with Cherries, Grapes, Green Tomatoes, Kumquats, Lemons, Mangoes, Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Red Tomatoes, Strawberries. Then on to Vegetables: Beets, Brussels Sprouts, Carrots, Cucumber, Fennel, Nettles, Onions, Radishes, Turmeric, and Zucchini. Final chapters are How to Starting Your Own Canning Club, Stocking Your Pantry, and some helpful charts and sources.

If you’ve wanted to expand your preservation repertoire with some items that are more recently available and easy to find than you would find in traditional American canning books like  Ball’s Blue Book for example, this might be a welcome addition to your kitchen library. I love the charming illustrations, and the photos are clear and abundant, not overly styled. The inclusion of things like turmeric and kumquat, as well as recipes for skins and seeds(tomato skin togarashi, cherry pit bitters), sweet preparations (whiskey apple core caramel)  and savory (mango barbecue sauce), and basic elements, then recipes for using these products (pickled grape leaves to baked nettle cannelloni).

There is plenty of education and explanation on how to can and preserve. Although it isn’t the most basic book I would think a beginner, with a little guidance, be very comfortable using it. However, it offers plenty of inspiration and fodder for the experienced preserver.

I give this book 8 out of 10 acorns