Written by Nicole Elsasser

Photo courtesy

In my last column, I discussed how many people are enchanted by the idea of preserving the summer’s bounty either by canning, pickling, drying or by using one of the other likewise methods of stopping food time. I also touched on the many obstacles that can get in the way of people learning to preserve their own food; among these are botulism and accidently giving it to the ones you love, the idea that preserving requires a bunch of extra equipment, that it’s time consuming and just all around intimidating.

None of these idea or myths should stop a person from preserving food. None.

My aim in this edition of Foodstuffs is not to give you a killer recipe for jam or the best way to pickle but to empower non-canners/picklers/dryers/infusers/etc to embark on the very fulfilling journey into this way of making food.

For many summers I wanted to amass a collection of jars in my pantry filled with delicious food prepared and preserved by me. I wanted to eat my creations all year round. But I never got around to doing it. I was intimidated. Sure, there are a lot of great resources about canning on the internet but my trouble came from all the conflicting information I kept coming across. And then there was all this jazz about canning using the boiling water method or pressure canner method. It was difficult for a novice like me to navigate. That is, until I discovered a few key books that made things so beautifully simple and clear that I couldn’t not take the plunge. (PS: Most of these books are available at the Guelph Public Library.) All of these books offer a wealth of interesting recipes to keep their reader hooked as well as really clear instructions on what equipment you need and what to do with it.

And they were:

Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects by Karen Solomon

This is a good place to start as the book has a lot of pictures, is really accessible and has recipes that could certainly be handled by a beginner. Not all of the recipes require the whole song and dance of canning or pickling which works to ease readers in gently.

Put ‘em Up!: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling by Sherri Brooks Vinton

This is the book I’ve used for most of my own preservation projects. It’s well-organized and the instructions are clear. There are tons of line drawings clearly showing how each step should be done and all of the recipes are pretty interesting. I also love that in this one the author suggests possible things you can do with your preserves that may not have already occurred to you.

Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry by Liana Krissoff

Lastly, this book has by far the most creative recipes and goes into a lot of detail when explaining the ins and outs of preservation methods. Another thing I really like about this book is that the author has organized the recipes into seasons. That way the reader can work through the book as the year goes on and produce becomes available.

So these three books should get you started at preserving your own food and pretty soon all of our pantries will overfloweth with delicious food in jars.

Your anonymous comment may be printed in The Ontarion's print publication.