The New Preserves: Pickles, Jams, and Jellies Review

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(More customer reviews)Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (11/06)
Anne V. Nelson's "The New Preserves" is an inspiring and extremely useful book. Starting with an introduction where she explains why fruits and vegetables should be preserved even nowadays when we can buy most produce year round, she guides the reader from the basics of the preserving to the actual recipes and even suggestions for further reading.
In the "Basics" section she'll teach the reader all one needs to know about how preserving works, what are the key ingredients, what kind of equipment would be needed as well as where to find all of the ingredients and equipment. She also adds a bunch of truly useful and no-nonsense tips and tricks. (Did you know which end of the cucumber you should slice off if you want extra crispy pickles? Get the book - this is just one of many useful tips in it...)
The following four chapters focus on recipes, divided by the kind of preserving used. The first batch of recipes deals with "Instant Gratification," which includes such varied items as marinades, refrigerator pickles, salsas, relishes, fruit syrups, Jello's and more. All of the recipes are extremely well explained and easy to prepare and the results can be eaten almost immediately. This would be a great start into the pickling world if you've never attempted any such items before.
Next on the list are pickles and relishes. If the word pickle brings to mind cucumbers only, you definitely need to read this book - you'll be absolutely amazed at the items that could and should be pickled -- Pickled pears or watermelon rinds, anybody?
The book continues with "Staying Sweet," by which Anne V. Nelson means jams, jellies and other fruit preserves. The ones that I am most tempted by and will have to attempt to make when good, ripe fruit is available are the fruit butters. They sound very much like a sophisticated, adult-geared version of your usual jams. Next summer they are going to get a test run in my kitchen.
The last chapter deals with flavored vinegars and alcohol infusions. If you've ever looked at those products in the stores, and decided that they sound interesting, but are just a bit too pricey for you taste, you'll be pleasantly surprised to discover how easy they are to make at home. You'll be able to dazzle both family and guests alike with some of your creations from this chapter for sure.
If this book whetted your appetite for more related reading, there is a nice list of suggested additional reading provided at the very end.
I found this book well written, informative and warm. The recipes were super easy to follow and written in an extremely organized manner. While I enjoyed the drawings and the unusual orange color of the print, I do wish that the book would include photographs showing what the finished preserves look like. All the little additional tips and tricks alone would be worth the price of this book. This should be a must read - and buy! The New Preserves" is for anybody who enjoys cooking and who cares about healthy, high quality food items.

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As fresh foods and farmers' markets gain influence, edging out the overprocessed and supersized from our diets, everything old--and bursting with flavor--is new again, and Americans are turning to time-honored skills like pickling and preserving to wake up their palates. Here, in a current guide that calls upon the newest safety and health information while also updating recipes for modern tastes, Anne V. Nelson walks readers through every step of the process.Nelson explains why preserving foods at their freshest yields such great-tasting results, and how the salt and vinegar that keep foods fresh also add distinctive flavors. She discusses techniques, equipment--much of which readers will already have in their kitchens--and makes a convincing case for adding these techniques and recipes to a varied, modern diet. Nelson gives hints on choosing produce, recycling jars, making crisper pickles, saving soft jelly, and more.She starts with preserving-influenced recipes that can be made in an afternoon and eaten that evening--refrigerator pickles, marinated vegetables, homemade horseradish--and works up to blood-orange marmalade, bread-and-butter pickles, and pickled watermelon rind. A global survey, the book includes sweet Cantonese pickles, Moroccan preserved lemons, European sauerkraut, and Central American hot pickled peppers. Nelson also explores herb-infused vinegars, fruit-infused vodka, and jellied wine, plus fruit preserves, jellies, jams, and butters.Modern cooks don't need to know how to pickle or make jams and jellies. So the recipes here are designed for those who want to learn preserving techniques, those who enjoy the play of bright acids and bold spices in combination with the freshest ingredients. THE NEW PRESERVES is a definitive guide, taking an up-to-date, twenty-first-century approach to an ancient art of the kitchen.

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