I have a confession. I’m a bit of a book junkie. I love all sorts of books that help me learn how to do things, inspire me, entertain me and teach me more about myself. One of my go-to books during the canning season is my Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It’s got over 400 recipes to help you use up all sorts of goodies from your garden and orchard.
Whether you’re just a beginner or have been canning for years, there is plenty to be learned from this book. Not only have they provided all the basic information about canning processes and how to make sure you don’t poison or kill yourself , but there are tons of tips and tricks to be learned along the way as well.
Some of the super helpful resources in the appendix include:
- The problem solver list to help you figure out where things went wrong in your canning process.
- A produce purchase guide so you know how much something weighs as well as its volume. So if you need 4 cups of jalepanos, you know that’s also 1 pound or 20 medium peppers.
- An altitude chart with information about altitudes all over the US and even a few places in Canada.
I’ve learned how to can peaches, potatoes, makes all sorts of sauces, relishes and jellies, meats and much more. All of the recipes are broken down into steps and they give ingredient measurements in both imperial and metric systems.
While I’ve come nowhere near trying all the recipes in Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, the ones I have tried have been really good and quite easy. And I haven’t managed to make us sick even once. I highly recommend just about any book from Ball, since they are really a major authority on all things related to canning.
Pick up a copy at Amazon.com
What is your favorite canning book? Do you grow enough fruits and veggies to put some up? Or do you just try to consume everything you grow as quickly as possible?
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My dear departed mother, who was born in 1902, was the queen of home canning and fruit drying in my opinion. By the time winter rolled around we would have somewhere in the range of 500 quarts of home canned goods, placed in boxes and stuffed under every bed in the house. It was hard to find a place for your shoes sometimes. I recall the pleasant hiss of the pressure cooker on almost a daily basis in the summer, announcing that it was preparing for the coming winter.
Tiffany, I am happy to see young people like you reviving some of the frugal, healthy, and oh so sensible traditions of yesterday. Your family is lucky to have a treasure such as you. 🙂 🙂 🙂
PS: I’m sorry the barn tomato idea didn’t work for you. I wonder if the particular variety had something to do with it?
That sounds like a very practial book and a wonderful resource.
Hello, I realize I am late this party, but wondered if there are any issues preparing these ball recipes in weck style jars? Anything we should know to change?
Hi Sara,
Haven’t had any trouble translating these from Ball jars to Weck. Just make sure you use the right sizing.
The worst trouble I’ve had is finding a pressure cooker in Germany which is large enough to process the 1 liter Weck jars but doesn’t cost a fortune! 😉