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My amazement at the freezer in my new flat has meant I'm becoming interested in all the different and tasty ways you can preserve food, from jam-ing to salting to pickling to drying.

Are there any books anyone would recomend?

Thank you.

I recently got Marguerite Patten's Jams, Preserves and Chutneysout of the library, if I had more time on my hands, I would have tried some of the recipes. It looks really good, I will get it out again when I am less busy.

Annpan wrote:I recently got Marguerite Patten's Jams, Preserves and Chutneysout of the library, if I had more time on my hands, I would have tried some of the recipes. It looks really good, I will get it out again when I am less busy.

I have that book - have got some paperclips in it to mark recipes I've done/doing...
I also have two WI books, one authored by Mary Norwak - The Complete Book of Home Preserving (my charity shop copy has clippings of other recipes glued in!) covering bottling, freezing, salting & smoking, potting, drying, clamping & cellaring, preserves, candying & crystallizing. The other is Jams, Pickles & Chutneys.
Another nice book is Present from the Kitchen, covering preserves, pickles, marinades as well as herb oils & vinegars, liqueurs....

Preserving By Oded Schwartz published by DK (Dorling Kindersley) 1996 is the best book I have found, gives all basic principles of preserving plus excellent recipes and nice colour photos.

There seems to be loads of information on pickles and preserves, and on freezing, but not that much on drying, storing, etc. I bought a small but quite useful book from CAT a few years ago by Piers warren, How to Store your Garden Produce, I think it is called. It is fairly slender with not much detail, though. Good for a beginner.

I think there is a serious gap in the market for a good book on this subject!

greenbean wrote:Preserving By Oded Schwartz published by DK (Dorling Kindersley) 1996 is the best book I have found, gives all basic principles of preserving plus excellent recipes and nice colour photos.

Yes.. this is a great book... last time I looked I couldn't find it for less than about £50 - not looked for a year or so though.

My favourite one is a very basic book, called Putting Food By. Can't remember the author offhand, but it's a Rodale Press book, and it's been in and out of print for a long time, with a number of editions. I have a couple of them myself, and I use it every year at preserving time.

Cheers
Andrea
New Zealand

Thanks guys.

I picked up the Agricultural & Food Research Council book of Home Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables at Amazon ISBN 0-11-242864-9 it covers most areas.

I've just asked a colleague to buy the Oded Schwartz one for me from the internet.

Yeah, can't wait for it to arrive.

farmerdrea wrote:My favourite one is a very basic book, called Putting Food By. Can't remember the author offhand, but it's a Rodale Press book, and it's been in and out of print for a long time, with a number of editions. I have a couple of them myself, and I use it every year at preserving time.

Cheers
Andrea
New Zealand

That looks very good - and a bit cheaper than the Oded Schwartz one...I have just bought it used from Amazon. Thanks!

preserved is quite good. Basic in some places, but does cover examples of all the main way of preserving, from salting to smoking,jams,pickles etc.

Just got a copy of Oded Swartz, he's great. Thanks for the recomendation chaps.

And I got the Putting Food By one. It looks very good as well.