• cespitler on November 01, 2012

  May 2011 I come from a family of women who can tomatoes every fall. I’ve taken up that tradition (though on a smaller scale), added in canning the Golden Tomato Sauce that Heidi shared last fall, gotten comfortable with jam, and then wanted to expand a bit. I have a couple of the Ball canning books, but wanted something more contemporary. I was pleased to find this one and Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone. From this book, I’ve made and loved the Dilly Beans. I used big heads of dill and the jars look beautiful. I’ve slowly been sharing them since last fall and I’m almost out! I am also thrilled with the Applesauce Now that it’s Spring, I have my eye on the Pickled Asparagus, Spicy Carrot Pickles, and Brandied Sweet Cherries with Red Wine. An extra bonus in this book is the beautiful tags provided in the back. Yes, I know they are easy to make, but after a full day of canning, I’m happy to pull one out of the back of the book when I need it!

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Strawberry jam

  • aeader on May 30, 2021

    Wonderful pure strawberry flavor. I did use the lemon zest and thought it added a nice bright note. My yield on this recipe was 3 half pints. Will definitely make this one again.

• Classic strawberry preserves

  • bloncosky on May 21, 2012

    These are delicious. The syrup did not turn out thick, but still great on ice cream or yogurt.

• Strawberry and lemon preserves

  • we10mom on April 30, 2012

    Love the little bites of tart lemon in this jam and the pretty bright red color.

• Pickled beets

  • radishseed on September 01, 2014

    After receiving a very large box of beets from a friend, I made two batches of these. I followed this recipe exactly for the first batch. In the second, I wanted a less-sweet set of flavors, so I changed the apple cider vinegar to white wine vinegar, and omitted the original spices. Instead, I added to each jar a few red onion slices, 1/2 t. caraway seeds, 1/4 t. mustard seeds, 5 black peppercorns, and half a bay leaf. I'm calling them Slightly Sweet Pickled Beets and Slightly Swedish Pickled Beets, respectively.

• Kohlrabi and radish refrigerator pickle

  • CRCarroll6 on March 21, 2014

    I had some radishes I needed to use up so I made some of this the other night (minus the kohlrabi because I didn't have any of that). I have been adding to veggie sandwiches and love it! Can't wait to try it with other veggies.

  • urmami on December 05, 2018

    I made this using kohlrabi (didn't have radishes), and scaled the brine way down to make more of a slaw than a fridge pickle. It was excellent! I have since used this combination of vinegar:mirin a lot.

• Pickled sugar snap peas with mint

  • shoffmann on July 15, 2017

    I've made this recipe several times and we really enjoy snacking on the pickles. Great way to extend the life of an abundance of peas.

• Apricot and vanilla-bean preserves

  • anniecc on August 15, 2025

    Quite a low sugar recipe with a lovely sharp flavour, great with ice cream or Greek yoghurt. I couldn’t face using 2 whole vanilla pods given the cost of this ingredient so I used one and added some extra vanilla paste.

• Blueberry and apple jam

  • aeader on September 06, 2020

    This jam has a wonderful, pure blueberry flavor. I could not taste the apples at all, but you can see them in the jam a bit. I got a smaller yield than recipe indicated. This jam was a hit at our house.

• Cherry jam

  • jenburkholder on July 12, 2022

    Excellent jam. We used sour cherries and on the higher end of sugar.

• Sour cherry preserves

  • bloncosky on May 21, 2012

    Delicious! Syrup did not turn out thick for me, but these are wonderful on vanilla ice cream or yogurt.

• Mango and peach habanero hot sauce

  • campusbrownie on November 23, 2015

    Very fruity flavor. Thick texture, and not as hot as I expected.

• Classic peach jam

  • radishseed on August 15, 2025

    Be sure to chop the peaches finely. I left them in big chunks, thinking they would cook down, but they didn't and ended up more like a peach preserve.

• Classic cucumber relish

  • aeader on July 28, 2025

    7/28/25 Note that the vegetables have to brine for 4 hours before cooking. I only got 3.5 pints - seems like the yield is wrong (or maybe it should be 6 half-pints?). Haven’t tasted it yet, will report back. 9/28/25 Relish is excellent, but I may have over reduced the liquid as the jars seem low on liquid. Flavor is great (way better than store bought) and even Rich liked it (although he doesn’t like relish).

• Persian tarragon pickles

  • sunlitsepia on January 28, 2014

    I made this recipe last summer-- extremely easy refrigerator pickles that have a great tarragon flavor and a little kick of hot pepper. We loved these!

• Crushed tomatoes

  • radishseed on October 08, 2022

    I used this recipe for the technique but canned the tomatoes whole-ish instead of crushing them.

• Charred tomato and chile salsa

  • anniecc on September 01, 2022

    This makes a lovely fresh tasting salsa which tastes intensely of tomato, particularly welcome in the middle of winter. I've made it several times and usually use a mix of jalapenos and smaller hotter chillies (cayenne or serrano) which to me is perfect heatwise. I think there may be a mistake in the recipe, as the weight and the quantity given for the onions doesn't correspond. Perhaps the author meant 6 ounces rather than 1 pound 6 ounces. The need to broil the veges in batches makes the recipe a bit time-consuming, but it isn't complicated.

• Tomato and cashew chutney

  • radishseed on October 21, 2012

    This is delicious. I opted for golden raisins instead of dried mango so I could use something that I already had in the cupboard, but I'd bet the mango adds a little extra complexity.

  • urmami on August 23, 2016

    Oh, this is perfect. I first made it on a hot steamy Labor Day weekend as part of a bulk tomato canning project...and immediately regretted choosing the other recipes. It's great with mango, but we actually prefer the golden raisins. Mixing this chutney with tuna and chickpeas makes the most perfect zero-effort, dog days of summer lunch.

• Tomato and basil jam and sherry vinegar

  • TFall21 on August 22, 2025

    I've made this almost every tomato season for several years. It's so good on a grilled cheese or toast, on a charcuterie board, or blended up with some olive oil and vinegar into a salad dressing. Because I'm lazy, I don't peel the tomatoes as instructed, and I use a food processor to chop them.

• Afternoon applesauce spice cake

  • anniecc on March 21, 2023

    This was tasty and simple but next time I’d reduce the baking time to 25 mins.

• Applesauce

  • aeader on October 11, 2020

    We loved this. Did not use any sugar or spices - pure apple flavor. I cored the apples but didn't peel them and used a food mill. It worked pretty well, but I think next time I will use the Squeezo strainer as the author suggests. Some small pieces of peel got through around the edges of the disk in the food mill. I used the 2mm disk (2nd smallest). Made it twice and got 5 pints the first time, 3.75 pints the second time.

• Spiced cranberries

  • campusbrownie on November 23, 2015

    With very fresh cranberries this jelled from its own pectin. The spices were wonderful. I only used two cups sugar, and added shredded orange zest, because I wanted it quite tart. It yielded four half-pints and a bit.

• Spiced Concord grape jam

  • aeader on October 15, 2017

    Wonderful flavor and consistency. May leave out the cinnamon and cloves next time - they weren't overpowering but would also like to just enjoy the terrific grape flavor on its own. Recipe turned out perfectly and I got exactly 4 half pints. The most time-consuming part of the process on this recipe is prepping the fruit, but it was worth it.

• Pickled garlic

  • Barb_N on September 20, 2014

    This results in a tasty pickle, as long as you don't mind the cloves turning blue.

• Middle Eastern pickled turnips (Quick lift)

  • radishseed on September 09, 2015

    I like these, but I prefer the recipes where the turnips pickle in the brine over a week or two without any cooking, which I think results in a nicer texture. These are a little soft.

• Preserved lemons

  • Astrid5555 on November 23, 2015

    Very easy, no fuss recipe. Keep forever in the fridge once opened.

• Regan's oat scones

  • shoffmann on July 30, 2017

    These scones have a nice flavor/texture, but are pretty rich. The recipe suggested chilling for thirty minutes before baking if working in a warm kitchen. Short on time I skipped this step, but really should not have because the scones did spread quite a lot.