Hi Tina - we have lots of previous "books" discussions here. I'll link some of them for you below from the search.

Of course there is the 'bible' of canning - Ball Blue Book as well as The Ball Complete Book. NCHFP is the recognized authority in home food preservation and their book (and website) is "So Easy to Preserve". Then there are some books like Small Batch Preserving and Joy of Pickling that focus on specialty items.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Safe canning books discussions

I wasn't familiar with the Home Preserving Bible so had to look that one up. The author has a degree in food science and spot-checking on her home page, the instructions for canned asparagus (pressure canning) and pickled marinated mushrooms are compatible with NCHFP.

So it looks promising, though depending upon the rest of the book, there may be a lot of overlap with So Easy to Preserve and the NCHFP site. It depends largely on how creative she is with allowable seasonings and the high-acid recipes.

Carol

I personally like "Stocking Up", but it may not have the safest recipes. I don't remember who writes it, but I have 3 versions of the book. There is no sugar used in any of their recipes. They prefer using honey. It also covers growing, harvesting, canning, freezing, drying, using a root cellar, butchering and just about anything you might need to know if you want to be more self sufficient.

Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate it greatly.
Dave I looked on here to see if this question had been asked before but could not find it thank you for the link and book suggestions.
Carol I have reserved the book at the library from the NCHFP but I grabbed "The home preserving bible" just to see if it is a good book for some new recipes. This book is loaded with all kinds of different preserving ideas, tons of history and a lot on precautions, why to not deviate recipes and just a lot of information and recipes of course. It states in the book. In Chapter 7 - Canning food it is stated " All you need to know in order to choose the right canning method is to use recipes based on laboratory testing. The canning information in this book uses only recommendation and tested recipes based on the guidelines published in the USDA's Complete Guide to Home Canning and from county extension offices and university research." So based on this statement one could presume this book to be safe? Right? What do you think? It may just repeat what is in the NCHFP as you said.
Myfamilysfarm thank you for the suggestion.
~Tina~

So based on this statement one could presume this book to be safe? Right?

I would consider it so assuming it is fairly current. The last revisions in the guidelines were dated 2006 and 2009 so I prefer to stick published after 2006, others draw the line at no more than 10 years old/revised.

Both "Stocking Up" and "Putting Food By" (both good books) have recent editions with lots of changes in them from the earlier editions.

Latest edition of Home Preserving Bible is dated 2012 so if the library one is that current it should be fine.

Dave

Thanks Dave. Sorry to be so overly cautious but it is in my nature to be exact. It drives my friends and family nuts! I just don't want the guilt of making anyone sick. The book I got has a copyright of 2012. She also mentioned in her book that the U.S. government updated canning guidelines in 2010. This surprised me I didn't know it was so recent. Do you think that sounds correct? Do you just check the NCHFP site every now and then to check for changes? Thanks again for all your help it is very valuable to me to learn from people who have as much experience and knowledge as so many of you on here pocess.
~Tina~

I don't think there's any such thing as "overly cautious" when it comes to canning.

Your comments just verify my original supposition that the author has worked hard to apply current guidelines and produce a safe book. My only "issue" is that the directions for canning something like asparagus, while correct, duplicate the NCHFP site, so whatever the book costs those who buy, in a sense they're getting less than full value due to duplication.

There were modifications to the USDA Guide in 2009, completed in December, so publication may well have been in 2010. Sounds about right.

Sadly, funding for the NCHFP has been eliminated, so while the site remains up and some previous staff members do occasionally monitor the site, we can't expect to see anything new coming from that direction. I keep hoping funding will be restored, but no such luck so far.

The USDA turned over their testing and recipe development to the NCHFP, so now it rests with properly credentialed individuals (like Ellie Topp or Linda Ziedrich) and some active state extension agencies to continue the mission.

I would purchase that book. I haven't seen any indication it's unreliable and the author's statement is further verification.

Carol

Although not exclusively about canning, I would suggest "The Joy of Pickling" by Linda Ziedrich. I love her recipe for pickled beets with red wine and ginger. She also has a blog, A Gardener's Table: Celebrating the Harvest.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Gardener's Table

The canning books I reach for most often are:

The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Small Batch Preserving (Ellie Topp/Margaret Howard)
The Complete Preserving Book (Canadian Living)

For jams and preserves:
Mes Confitures (Christine Ferber)
The Jamlady Cookbook (Beverly Alfeld)

The Joy of Pickling (Linda Ziedrich)

Also you can download the entire USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning from the NCHFP. Much of the "So Easy To Preserve" is included in the USDA book. I like free books :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Download USDA Complete Guide

This post was edited by malna on Sat, Jul 27, 13 at 10:42

The Stocking Up books are from Rodale Institute and you will probably need to order them from amazon or somewhere like that. Unless you're lucky to find one at a yard sale. I give them for bridal shower gifts to brides that want to grow and can.

Unfortunately the latest edition of Stocking Up is July 1997 so it is rapidly falling out of date. There have been 3 sets of revisions in the guidelines since it was last updated so I hope a more current edition is in the works.

Plus the price for it, since copies are now so limited, is WAY up. It's not worth the quoted prices of $40-50 but some used copies are available at a normal $5-6 price via amazon.

Dave

I found enough info, outside of the recipes, for it to be worth the $50 and more. I've got all 3 versions and still go to it when I to know. Then I can verify after with the guidelines. I'm sure some will still work, just not all.

It's made it easier to choose varieties that are best for freezing versus canning when I was planting.

I was going through the books on my shelf and I have a copy of "Stocking Up" it is copyrighted 1977 guessing it is the first addition. I have used it as a book for ideas but since it is so old I have never used it for canning. I keep it around because I have fond memories of my great grandma using it.

Today the library notified me that the book I reserved is in. I will have to wait until Tuesday when they are open again to pick it up. I can't wait to dig into the NCHFP canning book and see what it has to offer.

One again thank you all for the wonderful leads on good books and the suggested links. It is all very extremely helpful!

~TINA~

My first copy is from 77. I still fall back on it at times.

I'm just more cautious about the recipes.

I went to the library today and picked up the So Easy to Preserve book. I am so excited to started looking through it. What I have looked at looks great. I also reserved some of the other book suggestions.
~Tina

I just got a new book from my public library. Saving the Season by Kevin West. It is full of information, recipes and color photos, just a beautiful book and 532 pages.

Here is a link that might be useful: Saving the Season

Try Linda Amendt's book Blue Ribbon Preserves. It's an EXCELLENT book. Tried and true recipes and you will learn you do not need to bring your BWB to highest temperature -check it out at local library and you';ll see what I mean. Linda is an award winning canner and is a lifetime member of the Sure Jell Hall of Fame. She's been the Top Preserved Food competitor in the nation at state and county fairs.
I've been canning for 40+ years, competed @state level& am now a state fair judge. This is a great book. Easy to follow.

Here is a link that might be useful: AMAZON

Be aware some of Linda Amendt's recipes do not follow current USDA standards. When the book first came out I emailed her about the canned fruit curds and she acknowledged that the recipes were not tested and that she no longer canned the curds herself.

She has some great recipes but you have to pick-and-choose. I wouldn't recommend the book for a novice.

Carol

I just got a new book from my public library. Saving the Season by Kevin West.

I have been trying for weeks to find out something about this author's credentials and so the safety of the recipes in this book. Since you have it can you pass on that information to us?

Most of the recipes appear to be jams and pickled foods so I really question the value of its price tag of over $25 and most of the reviews seem to reflect its "coffee table picture" quality rather than its actual recipe value.

Dave

Digdirt,
FYI - Kevin West received his MFP from UCCE and also is a guest instructor for their MFP classes.

I briefly flipped through it at the bookstore. It's an interesting collection of essays (for lack of a better word) with recipes interspersed.

after reading though all of these post and thinking about what Dave said about new requirements and guidelines,I went online to Amazon looking for new publications after 2009 and was amazed at the lack of new publications. To my experience and several of you others maybe we all need to buy some new books so we can advise properly. I know I would not want to give wrong advice to someone ending up with a bad canning experience for a new canner.
I am not trying to cut anyone down but I just read what my wife and everyone else posts and then change at least what we use for our materials for recipes or our canning knowledge. We have already purchased some books that we did not have this year and it looks like some more purchases are nessecary.
James

To my experience and several of you others maybe we all need to buy some new books so we can advise properly. I know I would not want to give wrong advice to someone ending up with a bad canning experience for a new canner.

James - if I understand what you are saying correctly then I agree with what you are saying in part, I wouldn't however necessarily agree that we all need to buy new books UNLESS it is to replace older, outdated editions. And most importantly those new books need to be proven to abide by the current guidelines.

And unfortunately while many books that claim to be canning books have been published since 2009 many of them don't hold up to that evaluation.

There seems to have been a rush in publishing trendy "canning" books of late authors wanting to cash in on the resurgence in the interest in canning. Some of them simply rehash existing instructions so not worth the investment. Some of them are geared exclusively toward niche canning and written by chefs and others with no training or even background in canning. And some are like the West book mentioned above - very pretty and probably safe to use but lacking practical value for the dollar.

This not to mention all the online blogs!

We try to review books as they come out - preferably without having to buy the book first - and you'll find some really critical reviews here as well as several discussions about blogs, websites, and books to avoid.

Bottom line it is relatively easy to keep current with just NCHFP, So Easy to Preserve, and a current edition of the Ball Blue Book and the Ball Complete Book. Not that they are the only approved ones by any means but they do cover all the info needed.

Dave

I looked at Kevin West's "tomato confit" posted on his Amazon page (scroll down). I notice he says The USDA would be alarmed .. .

MFP or not I wouldn't be comfortable following his recommendation for keeping non-acidified tomatoes, crushed garlic and herbs in oil in the refrigerator for two weeks. The current recommendation is one, and although I've made tomato confit, I keep mine in the freezer and thaw on an as-needed basis.

A lot of people are careless about monitoring fridge temps and time elapsed in the fridge for products like that. It could be a problem.

There are some books out there I love but every recipe is examined on a case-by-case basis for just this reason.

Carol

I think it's kind of funny that the publisher (or whoever makes that decision) chose that page to show as an example of the content of his book.

I wasn't impressed (mostly because of the price plus the lack of recipes for produce I am interested in putting up and eating) and you know I'm a sucker for new canning books. The few pages I skimmed sounded more like a foodie's road trip blog, so I passed on buying it.

Glad I did :-) Two stars though, just for the photography.

Dave, what James was saying is the Ball Complete book was last published in 2006 and the most recent Ball Blue Book is dated 2004, but I thought somewhere here I seen that it came out in 2009. From what I'm hearing here is there are new rules in 2010.

He was saying 'maybe' we should buy new books to update our library of books.

In response to the concerns about updated "rules", I've attached a link to a document that summarizes the changes from the 2006 USDA guide vs. the "slightly updated" (as someone from Purdue wrote) December 2009 update.

As you look through it, you'll see they included more recipes and processes courtesy of some state Extension Services and the NCHFP, changed the "Caution when handling hot peppers" warning, let your product sit for 5 minutes before you pull them out of the BWB, and a few other minor updates.

Nothing of any significance has changed in basic canning (i.e. the Ball Blue Book) in quite a while - 1988 maybe?. If it ain't broke, we don't need to fix it. 'Cause then we'd all be really confused :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Summary of 2009 Updates to USDA Home Canning Document

It really depends on the book. The most recent USDA revision was mainly "tweaking" not a substantial revision. A lot of canning processes have remained the same and many older books are just fine. In fact, the NCHFP still recommends the 1994 edition, so I assume books after that point that follow USDA standards would be fine.

There are also a lot of high-acid recipes (i.e. the majority of jams and sweet preserves) which present no risk regardless of the age of the book. The same is true of recipes for 100% vinegar pickles, relishes and chutneys, as long as the mixtures aren't too dry.

Carol

Yeah i knew what James was saying and that is great. I just want care used when buying new books as so many of them don't pass muster.

And it isn't just the 2009 upgrades that concern me - the most important one of them I can think of off hand is the 10 min. venting on pressure canners before putting on the weight. But there are new canning books out there that still don't meet the major 1986 guidelines or even acknowledge any guidelines exist. For example, I did a 2008 book not that long ago that was still calling for buying litmus paper and testing your own made up recipes.

Just take care and don't assume because it is new that it is safe.

There is another canning forum we have talked about here before (the one that bans any MFP from membership) where many are still proudly using their 1945 edition of the BBB they got from grandma and refuse to even consider getting a newer edition "because they took out too many recipes I like in the new editions".

The latest edition of BBB (peaches cover) was the anniversary edition in 2010.

Dave

I just ordered some new books, ones I hadn't had in my library. I really need to stop ordering books, I have several on market growing, marketing produce, canning the produce. You would think I might do something with veggies, lol.

Now the grandkids want to learn to sew, I guess I'll be firing up the library (patterns) on that subject also. Son wants Feast of Hunters Moon outfits made for him and family. I may be sewing more than canning.

I forgot one - the USDA guide was updated (in 2010-2011?) and edited by Linda Ziedrich, I'm thinking of ordering this to replace my multiple-file download. It's also less expensive than So Easy to Preserve.

Here is a link that might be useful: New USDA Guide to Home Canning

I ordered that one, from amazon, just over $10 including shipping. I got the paperback, hardback was about $16 including shipping.

I own two of the newer cookbooks and love a few of the recipes in them.

Canning For a New Generation
Put em Up

After all my reading on this forum I am not sure I would trust EVERY recipe in the books without first posting here for some advice, but there are some great recipes that are very highly acidic that I had no alarm bells going off on that I love.

I made spicy carrots from Canning fro a new generation last year and they may be one of the best things I canned. The pickled beets from one of the two were excellent (different than other recipes I have found with cinnamon and other flavors).

I would also love to hear some feedback on Pamona Pectin's new book. I just got it and am dying to try some recipes. I have never use Pamona's before but am not happy with Ball's low sugar pectin and want to try it anyway. Their recipes look very enticing.

Put 'em Up is fine, all done to current USDA standards.

Carol

Thank you Carol. Thank is good to know.

I just got Canning for a New Generation from the library. I haven't had time to do anything but flip through it (not looking at the more exotic recipes), but it doesn't seem to cover anything that Linda Z's books and Ball Complete don't already. It does have more recipes *using* the preserves.

I agree that the more basics are coverd in other books, but it is the more exotic recipes that are what sets it apart for me. But I like more exotic so that is the appeal. If you are not willing to try Chinese Plum Sauce then make the accompanying recipe for Mu Shu Pork with Plum Sauce than your right you might as well just stick with Ball, the book is probably not for you.

I received my copy of USDA's Complete guide to Home Canning and Preserves, Unfortunately the seller sent me the wrong version, he sent 1999 version and I purchased the 2009. Waiting for response from him. The book doesn't seem to have any more than the NCHFP site.

I just got mine (2011 version from Publications International, edited by Linda Z) today, literally just finished it and came to post. It really does just repeat what the NCHFP site says, I'm not sure all of the recipes are there but the basics are (no soups or meats, just fruit and veggies) but it is very clear and easy to follow, I like the spiral binding. I also like that it's half the price of So Easy, and that I don't have to refer to website or Ball book (not a spiral binding). Very good for beginner - I was going to give it to my sister, but she's moving to Japan so I may have to hang onto it for a while ;-) - or she may find it very handy there, the problem might be finding jars, though new guidance is that you can reuse commercial jars as long as standard rings and flats fit. I can send her some flats and she can reuse rings over and over. Though I think they tend to use a lot of plastic packaging over there, not glass jars.

Yes So Easy is basically NCHFP and vice versa. It is their publication. But it does have some recipes in that aren't on NCHFP as well as some of the theoretical info.

The advantages to the book as Sheila said is the convenience and access.

Dave

I've got to spend some time with New Generation - I was just saying, Linda Z already has different Asian and other "exotic" pickles. As far as plum sauce, Small Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp has a great recipe. So I don't immediately see anything in New Generation to recommend it over the "tried and true" Ball, Ziedrich, and Topp books. It's interesting to look at, when I get the time to really read it and compare to the books I already have, I might find a few recipes that are worth trying (asking about here first). I really would like to try the Cardamom Danishes but don't usually bake except around the holidays, I wonder how Cardamom would be in a strawberry jam (she has a plum jam but I don't grow plums)? I did get some whole cardamom on sale and I'm dying to use it in something! Of course strawberries are done, so it would have to be blackberries...