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Replacing my canning books with what?

16 years ago

I have 2 Ball Blue Books - one from 1982 and one from 1993 - and one Kerr book from 1981. I do boiling water bath canning, not pressure canning, but something tells me that food safety research has brought some new discoveries since 1993!

I think I'm going to order the 2008 Ball Blue Book from Amazon, but is there any other basic book that's better than Ball? I sometimes check cookbooks, including canning books, out of the library. Did that last summer with the small batch canning book and Bernardin's, after I read all the high praise here. In fact, thanks to the CF, I returned to canning after 20 years.

A canning book and a large Air Dog Kong dumbell squeak toy will make my Amazon order complete!

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Comments (5)

annie1992
16 years ago
Virginia, get the Ball Complete Book of Canning, it's got so much more in it than the small annual Blue Books, I love it. Tammy sent it to me in a swap for a Diabetic cookbook and there are so many things in there that I want to try.

There is some contention because some of the recipes are from Canada/Bernardin, and thus not tested by the USDA, but it wasn't an issue for me, I figure that company makes all the canning equipment, they wouldn't expose themselves to liability by publishing unsafe recipes, sheesh.

I also like Small Batch Preserving and Joy of Pickling, both given to me by Readinglady, and Mes Confitures, which I haven't purchased but have checked out of the library a couple of times.

Welcome back, and Happy Canning!

Annie
readinglady
16 years ago
Online the best (most up-to-date and reliable) is the NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Preservation). I've provided a link. It will meet all basic needs.

Instead of the 2008 BBB I'd recommend the 2009 100th Anniversary Edition. Another great resource is the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, also available in Canada as the Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving. It's a compilation of Ball, Bernardin and even old Kerr recipes, appropriately updated. Check it out on Amazon.

Happy Preserving,
Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: National Center for Home Food Preservation
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readinglady
16 years ago
I just had to pipe in and say that while some on the Harvest Forum (not you Annie, LOL) question the Bernardin book, Bernardin does follow USDA standards. Personally, I have the greatest faith in the food safety standards of our neighbors to the north and happily use Bernardin recipes as well as Ball.

Carol
bcskye
16 years ago
You should stick with the the most recent Ball Blue Book. It is their 100th Anniversary edition and has peaches on shortcake on the front. Ball also has out a thick hardback book and is called Ball's Complete Guide to Canning. You can also refer to the National Center for Home Food Preservation for any information you want and the accepted, safe methods and recipes. The Bernardin book is put out by Ball, I do believe. The Small Batch Canning is not too bad, but watch out for any other "cook" books or books on canning. I've seen so many passing off recipes that weren't safe to use. Also, if you find a recipe anywhere other than Ball or on the NCHFP site, run it through this forum and you should promptly get responses letting you know whether its safe or not.

Here is a link that might be useful: National Center For Food Preservation
dgkritch
16 years ago
And don't forget there's a Harvest Forum on Gardenweb too!
Many of us "hang out" there most of the summer!
Lot's of great recipes from trusted members fully knowledgable about safety. Sometimes it's just a small change to ingredients or methods that can take a recipe from 'good' to 'great'!

Deanna

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