Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving Paperback – Illustrated, April 15, 2024

This is my story. My husband came home from work with 18 lbs. of Concord grapes, what was I to do? If we have lemons, we make lemonade, so I figured if I have grapes, make jelly! I've never made jelly before. How do I get started? As a self-learner, I've always believed that if I have the best information and follow it carefully, I can accomplish my goal. If experts are not available in person, tutorials written by experts have always worked for me. Attention to detail and following instructions EXACTLY are the keys to creating an end-result to be proud of. In this instance, I started with Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. Within the pages of this hefty, 448 page "how to," I found everything I needed to know to start my jelly making. I learned jelly-making is done using the water-bath method. What else? This book had all the answers.Equipment? I started with a "boiling-water canner." This can be any deep pot, with a lid and a rack. I purchased, Granite Ware 0707-1 Steel/Porcelain Water-Bath Canner with Rack, 21.5-Quart, Black, but the Ball book explained that any pot big enough to completely immerse the jars in water and is at least three inches deeper than the height of the jars elevated on a rack, (jars must be kept off of the bottom of the pot) will work. The jars must be covered with at least one inch of water and you'll want extra room for the water to come to a full-rolling boil. A specialized rack isn't absolutely necessary either, a cake cooling rack that fits inside the pot, or tying extra screw bands together to make a rack, will work. (Canning racks are also sold separately.) I didn't have a pot on hand to meet these specifications, so I bought the pot/rack combo above. The racks made for water canners have handles, which I think, are the way to go. I'm glad I made the investment because after making jelly, which was out-of-this-world good, I got the canning bug!As I read through the 400 recipes in this amazing book, I went on to make a few other yummy treats. I made strawberry jam, apple pie filling, spaghetti sauce, and salsa. Truly, making these items with the freshest ingredients resulted in the best tasting product we've ever tried. I would have made more recipes this year, but in the middle of all this industriousness, I had to pack up for moving across the country! Once I get settled...onward and upward.As a novice, I can't claim any wealth of knowledge or experience, but I can recommend this book to anyone who wants to get started in home preserving. In my quest, I bought a total of four home preserving books but I only needed this one. I feel that by using the information given in this book I've started out on the right track. I found everything I needed to know about equipment, how the process works (boy, am I grateful for everyone who figured all this out, way back when), and have lots of recipes to try in the future. By using Ball's instructions, I didn't feel overwhelmed, confused, or like perhaps I should re-think the whole home preserving decision.In future, I will make many more water-bath items (fruits/vegetables high in acidity~~don't worry this book explains all of that). Some things that I'm tantalized by are: fruit butters, preserves, conserves, marmalades, more jams and jellies, fruit in syrup (peaches, pears, and the like), apples in all kinds of ways, compotes, more pie fillings, fruit sauces, (think cranberry among others), juices, (which is where I started to make the grape jelly), fruit syrups, more salsa, relish, pickles, (it looks like you can pickle just about anything), condiments, (ketchups, BBQ sauces, chili sauces, mustards, vinegars, and the like), and tomatoes, (whole, chopped, and sauced). In total there are nearly 350 pages of water-bath recipes!I'm going to use this book, to branch into pressure canning. Ball outlines all of the equipment I'll need. In fact, I have a pressure canner, on my wish list right now! I especially want to make soups and stews. There are numerous recipes for vegetables, but for me, I'll probably stick to freezing those we primarily eat. However, I'm intrigued with the idea of canning potatoes and carrots. Meats, seafood, and poultry can also be preserved in a pressure canner.You'll see amazing color photographs of several of the recipes, charts for translating ingredients from pounds to cups, neat tips in the margins, (i.e. I added ¼ tsp. butter to my jelly mixture to reduce foaming), condition-cause-solution charts for each section, (i.e. what is the possible cause and suggested solution when soft spreads are tough or stiff), and a section on the "art and science of home food preservation" teaches everything I wanted to know about safely preserving. I thought the science was interesting while at the same time thankful that I didn't have to figure this stuff out. I'm originally from the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, and found the altitude charts helpful. Processing times vary based on altitude. I'm currently moving around and this is important info...thanks to Google, wherever I live, I can know the altitude! There's a glossary of terms in the back of this book along with an excellent index.Below is a list of the equipment I acquired for water-bath preserving, based on the recommendations within this book. By using the search engine, you'll see there are several to choose from. Some of the tools I purchased separately, are sold grouped together in kits. As I continue to home preserve, I'm sure I'll find more helpful tools to make it easier and therefore keep it enjoyable.Don't try filling your jars without these items or similar:Progressive International CKC-300 Regular and Wide Mouth Canning FunnelProgressive International CKC-500 Canning ScoopYou MUST HAVE a jar lifter! I use Norpro 600 Jar Lifter. Because the seal on the lid can be damaged, using metal tongs is a no-no using Norpro Magnetic Lid Wand or similar, is necessary.Good luck on your journey! I hope you have as much fun as I have!

This book is very helpful on beginning to learn how to can. Very few people left to ask about canning, so this book has helped me alot so far. Great directions, colorful pictures, and easy to follow. Anyone needing to know how to can or just want to learn the easy way I would suggest this book.

Cannot wait to try these recipes! I love how its organized and breaks down each step of the canning process in a way that makes sense for beginners.

Great book for canning beginners. Ball is a long-time trusted source for canning/preserving and this book is the Bible!

Deducting 1 star for the book being backwards but other than that it looks good to me. For half the price of the normal one I will gladly open it a different way lol

I bought this to replace my old Bluebook of Canning. It’s been upgraded to include many newer recipes.

I'm a senior and just started growing a container garden. Ended up with more cucumbers than I can eat. Decided to try my hand at canning and bought this book. I'm amazed at the number of hot water bath fruit (jams/jellies) and vegetable (cukes and zucchini) you can pickle.Very happy with this book.

Perfect gift for those that can or want to learning the canning process. Well worth the price, book seems well made, except for the slight damage a corner received during shipping.