Put 'Em Up: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook was another awesome find at the Mother Earth News Fair. Yes, it's a canning book, but it's nothing like your average Ball Blue Book. The book is filled with beautiful photos of canned food with endearing hand-labeled tags. And the recipes are interesting and unique. Vinton covers the canning basics at the beginning of the book and then launches into the recipes. The book is organized by ingredient in alphabetical order. This is a unique way of organizing a recipe book, but it makes sense to me! You can choose whatever ingredient is in season and try all her recipes. For example: for beets she has Pickled Beets with Cumin and Cloves, Pickled Beets with Dill, Beet Relish. Vinton also has a simple picture key that shows at a quick glance the various ways an ingredient can be preserved.
The only downside is that there aren't enough recipes per ingredient. Only 3 recipes for beets! I'd love to see more of what can be done in canning some of these things. Below is what you can find inside:
Table of Contents
Part One: Techniques
-Food Preparation Methods
-Food Preservation Methods
-Working in Groups
- Things That Will Get You Into Trouble
- Things That Look Bad But Aren't Dangerous
Part Two: Recipes
- Apples
- Asparagus
- Beans
- Beets
- Berries
- Cabbage
- Cantaloupe
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Cherries
- Chilies
- Citrus
- Corn
- Cucumber
- Fennel
- Figs
- Garlic
- Grapes
- Herbs
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Peaches
- Pears
- Plums
- Radishes
- Ramps and Scapes
- Rhubarb
- Strawberries
- Summer Squash and Zucchini
- Sweet Peppers
- Tomatillos and Green Tomatoes
- Tomatoes
- Watermelon
Overall, this book is a great adventure into canning, whether for the beginner or for someone more experienced. You just might find a new favorite recipe!
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