As a canning fanatic, I'm always on the lookout for a good canning guide, and this title did not disappoint. Techniques are explained thoroughly and focus on food safety. A variety of foods and preservation methods, not just canning, are covered. I enjoyed this book so much I purchased a copy. I would recommend it for any home canner.

This has proven to be so useful and very informative! It’s easy to follow and makes it easy for even beginners

This book provides clear and concise instructions on how to safely can food using both the water bath and pressure canning methods. As a canning novice, I found the photos and graphics to help quite a bit when reading the instructions, and I will definitely be referencing this cookbook when I decide to start canning.

A good overall guide to canning, but did find some ingredients not known, and some tips and advice seemed like extra steps to me. Been canning for many years, but this would be a good guide for a beginner. Would recommend.

This guide combines information from several earlier titles, so it's a great reference. It's very well designed, with pretty pictures (although many canned foods will not look that pretty in reality). It relies on Pomona's Pectin, which may be hard for some readers to obtain. All in all, it's a handy guide.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC.

I am definitely thinking of trying canning now. I need to research more about the types of pectin that can be used, and if there is a conversion for them.

Great guide for people who are trying to get started.
At first it seemed a little daunting, but trying the easier, more common things first helps.
Overall, a good help to learning how to keep all your food.
While it isn't a cover-to-cover book, it is a good resource to keep on hand and look at whenever needed, picking out the important parts based on what you are preserving.
Great present for cooks or gardeners wanting to preserve their home grown food!

Very useful guide for the home canner, with detailed instructions for both boiling water and pressure canning, as well as some good recipes. I especially appreciated the no sugar/all fruit recipes!

A fascinating read. I grow my own veg and I was never quite sure on the best way to preserve my produce. I am on the right track now. Thank you

If I had to have only one book to guide a beginner through the sometimes daunting process of canning, this would be the one. It is impeccably organized and easy to follow the instructions. All aspects of the process, from sterilizing the jars to storing the canned goods are covered. Then, the recipes begin--from fruits to vegetables to meats. There are basic recipes for traditional preserves, but also some very unique ones, including: Lemon Pear Preserves with Cardamom, Chocolate Cherry Preserves, and Savory Blueberry-Ginger Conserve. Appetizing photos decorate the book. I'm going to buy myself a copy of this book to have handy for when I want to preserve foods. A great resource!

Home canning is becoming popular again as people look for more natural flavors with less unpronounceable ingredients. The Ultimate Guide to Preserving and Canning will comprehensively explain how to can foods safely using both the water bath and pressure canning methods.

Whether you are looking to can summer vegetables for use in winter or sweet jams and jellies for tasty, but inexpensive, holiday gifts, this book will make the canning process easier. The recipes include meats, broths, soups and sauces for the more accomplished home canner too.

With clear instructions for both the novice and experienced canner, the Ultimate Guide to Preserving and Canning is a great choice for those looking for a new hobby, to save some money, or simply to eat more natural food. 4 stars!

Thanks to Harvard Common Press, Quarto Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Ultimate Guide to Preserving and Canning
Foolproof Techniques, Expert Guidance, and 125 Recipes from Traditional to Modern
by Editors of the Harvard Common Press

Beautiful photographs, charts and images illustrate this book. The recipes include a wide variety of food items to preserve for future eating. I was interested in this book because I have been making jams and pickles since moving to our six-plus acres of land filled with a variety of produce that I want to have the taste of when the fruit is not available from from the tree. My daughter asked if this book has information that could be found online and it probably does BUT if you are a cook who prefers to have information available on paper without referring to a disappearing webpage then this book will be a great resource/reference to have in your library.

What I liked:
* The photographs
* The variety
* The detailed list of what is required and how it is to be used
* The easy to understand instructions
* The fact that this includes more than fruit and vegetables
* The charts that help determine how to and what technique to use.

What I did not like:
* It did not have all of the items we grow on our land

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Harvard Common Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

If you are just getting started this is a great resource to canning. a lot of detailed information that is presented in simple terms that are easy to understand. it gives you the hows and whys to the canning processes along with some great recipes to try.

I have bought several versions of this kind of book in the past, and this one by far surpasses the others. I really enjoyed to learn that there is a reason for doing things the way they are done in regards to canning. There were clear instructions, and I found great recipes for things I already can. Would definitely recommend!

This book got me really excited to do some canning. I have always been super interested in stocking my pantry with canned goods but I never knew where to start or how to do it. The author has given such simplified directions on the basics of canning, equipment needed etc that I am no longer scared of the thought of canning. Spicy dilly beans and peach preserves are just a few of the recipes that I fell head over heels for. Buy this book for your family and friends. They will thank you.

I was given an ARC from Netgalley in return for my honest review

I liked this book. As someone who has been interested in beginning canning, I liked the careful explanations of the different processes and the drawbacks of each. The book is written in a cheerful, conversational tone. The recipes include many for meat, which is not what I think of when I think of canning. The book encouraged me to consider canning soups as well as jams and pickles.

The Ultimate Guide to Preserving and Canning is a recipe and tutorial guide for preserving food using traditional canning techniques. Due out 10th Dec 2019 from Quarto on their Harvard Common Press imprint, it's 224 pages and will be available in paperback format. This book is a distillation/compilation of info from these earlier titles: The Farmer’s Wife Canning & Preserving Cookbook , Lela Nargi, editor (Harvard Common Press 2009); The Fresh Girl’s Guide to Easy Canning and Preserving by Ana Micka (Harvard Common Press 2010); Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin by Allison Carroll Duffy and the Partners at Pomona’s Universal Pectin® (Fair Winds Press 2013); Modern Pressure Canning by Amelia Jeanroy (Harvard Common Press 2018). The material is compiled here for the first time together, though, so readers who are missing the above titles will find a lot of useful material gathered here in one book.

The included tutorials and recipes use both pressure canning and water bath methods for preservation. Most readers will be familiar with both methods. For readers who are beginning or intending to explore pressure canning, this book provides a very good explanation of which to choose, when to use each method, what items are best suited to pressure canning, the items which (for safety reasons) need pressure processing, safety considerations and more. Essential and helpful equipment lists are included and explained very well. The first chapter also explains the choice of food ingredients. When I first started processing our garden produce, my tendency was to process -every- single fruit/vegetable no matter how misshapen, overripe, squishy, or blemished. I hated to 'waste' (compost) -anything- unnecessarily. The authors have a good explanation for why this isn't desirable (you wind up with potentially spoiled food of a much lower quality, potentially wasting the entire batch -talk about serious waste)!

The following chapters include processing and recipes grouped thematically: tomatoes and sauces, veggies, preserves and conserves, jams and jellies, meats, sauces and condiments, stocks broths soups and stews.The recipes are mostly traditional family friendly recipes which would not have been unrecognizable to our great grandmothers. It's nice to have them collected and standardized in one place.

The recipes themselves are easy to read and understand. They include a header bar along with prep/cooking time, yields and a description. Ingredients are listed bullet point in a sidebar. Measurements are given in US standard measures with metric measures in parentheses. Preparation instructions are enumerated step by step. Substitutions and alternative preparation or serving information are given in a footer bar at the end of the recipe.

The book includes a cross referenced index which includes individual ingredients. There is not much photography or illustration included in the book, however those which are included are clear and easy to follow.

I will just say that the included recipe for tom yum gai (Thai chicken coconut soup) is worth the entire price of the book for me and my family. This went straight to the top of the list.

Five stars for all readers who don't already own the above books.

#TheUltimateGuideToPreservingAndCanning #NetGalley

Publisher description: Whether you are a gardener, a fan of farmers’ markets, or just someone who likes to browse the bountiful produce at the supermarket, canning and preserving are easy, fun, and affordable ways to enjoy fresh-grown foods all year long. This book provides all the information you need to know to get started today, including basic steps to canning foods safely and easily; recipes for preserving everything from tomatoes and jams to soups, sauces, and other hearty meals; and tips on how to find the freshest local produce. Clear, easy-to-follow instructions with color photographsmake this a must-have book.

The recipes include lots of preparations, both savory and sweet, and they range from blue-ribbon classics like dilly beans, sweet gherkins, applesauce, strawberry jam, and sauerkraut to new creations like Lavender Apple Butter, Raspberry-Rhubarb Sauce, Green Tomato Chutney, and Hibiscus Lime Jelly. A special chapter introduces readers to jam- and jelly-making using Pomona’s pectin, which requires little to no added sugar—thereby letting the natural sweetness of the fruit shine through beautifully.

This comprehensive book teaches beginners how to get started and gives seasoned veterans new techniques and recipes to try.


This is a treasure to anyone canning, novice or seasoned! I have a ball book I have used for years and I learned quite a bit from this one. I really love the charts with acidity and all the explanations!! I would definitely recommend and I would by the printed version. This would be a great book to have. You wouldn't have to worry about dropping something on it (not as much as a electronic device at least) and you could put notes in the margins. Wonderful book for any canning person!!

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. The ideas and thoughts are my own.

A fantastic treatise on canning. I’ve been using water bath and pressure canner canning for decades. And this book would be a great reference for anyone from beginner to expert. Everything you need to know, from tools to recipes, is presented. Pictures included that represent most of the tools needed. Good book to serve as a reminder for experts as well as give the newbie confidence in attempting to can for the first time.
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for my volunteer review.

This book has comprehensive instructions on basic forms of preserving, including meats which are rarely included in cookbooks, and plenty of great recipes. I particularly appreciated that the recipes using pectin use a brand that does not require sugar, opening options for other sweeteners.

What I didn't like is that although the book is written in the voice of a single farm-owning person from New England, the author is listed as "editors of the Harvard Common Press." This is deceptive and bothers me.