A documentation of my preservation and preparation of local foods as I work through the seasons. This will serve as a reference tool for me in the future and as a sharing guide for family and friends...and anyone else interested. Hopefully, I can offer some useful methods, tips and recipes to share with everyone--be they novice or pro--and encourage them to join me in the exciting world of preserving and cooking with local foods.



Sunday, May 1, 2011

Preservation Guides and Cookbooks

These are my favorite books for food preservation and cooking with local foods.  They pretty much are in order with my most favorite at the top, although they are all good.

Preservation Books
So Easy to Preserve by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension; order at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_uga.html
  This is the canning bible of Iowa Extension Offices (mine too!), answers lots of ?’s
Preserving Summer’s Bounty by Rodale Garden Book   (Amazon)
 Excellent book for all methods of preservation, very good recipes
Ball’s Complete Book of Home Preserving  (cheapest through Amazon)
  Very good, thorough canning book for water bath and pressure canning
Root Cellaring by Mike & Nancy Bubel   (Amazon)
 A must for those who want to do lots of root cellaring; has many plans root cellars
Fermenting by Sandor Katz 
  He’s the Guru of fermenting food, and this book has it all
Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman  (salting, smoking and curing meats, poultry, fish)
 Michael is the master of Chacuterie and this book is the best there is for it.
Preserving by Oded Schwartz
 Fun, colorful book for methods of preserving in vinegars, oils, brandy…, good gift ideas 
Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning
 Excellent book for salting, fermenting, using vinegars or oil, drying and cold storage
Dehydrating Books by Mary Bell of the Dry Store: http://www.drystore.citymax.com/
 Instructive and creative ideas for dehydrating
How to dehydrate and store food  (Youtube video)  google at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVpIHre2ao
 step-by-step instructional video for dehydrating, good introductory video to dehydrating
Fresh Food from Small Places  R.Ruppenthal
 good for the apt or condo dweller; year-round container growing, fermenting, sprouting
 
Cookbooks
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
 Has it all!  Instruction for traditional preservation and much info on nutrition.
Three great cookbooks for creative, fresh recipes using seasonal, local products:
  Lots of lore, guidelines, charts, tips and pics; fun to read
  Earth to Table by Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann
  Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert
  Farm Food by Chef Daniel Orr
Savoring the Seasons of Northern Heartland by Lucia Watson/Beth Dooley
 wonderful, ethnic-Minnesota traditional recipes, lore and pics (a must for Minnesotans)
Cooking with the Seasons by Monique Hooker
 seasonal cooking from French heritage (no longer in print, but grab it if you find it)
New Prague Hotel Cookbook by John Schumacher
 delicious German-inspired recipes; good guide for preparing wild game
Farmer John’s Cookbook by J. Peterson
 Great, fun book for growing, storing and cooking with garden produce; lots of good tips
Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden by David Hirsch
 Excellent, creative book for vegetarian gardening and cooking
Chez Panisse Cooking by Paul Bertoli with Alice Waters
 Renowned and Legendary Organic Restaurant and Chef
Betty Crocker Pie and Pastry Cookbook  never fails me for a delicious pie of any kind

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