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I know what you’re thinking. Another book on canning? At least that’s what I was thinking–a few Christmases ago my mom bought me a bunch of canning and food preserving books. But when I received this review copy, I was pleasantly surprised.

From the publisher:

Many people today are buying and cooking local food, including the over 94,000 who have bought Simply in Season. But one of the challenges of cooking and eating locally is how to find the items you need when they are out of season. That is where Saving the Seasons: How to Can, Freeze, or Dry Almost Anything comes in; cooks can find ways to preserve their favorite seasonal items for use in different parts of the year.

This colorful book, full of photographs and clear pictures, shows how to can, freeze or dry various kinds of food. Colorful page borders divide the book into easy-to-find sections.

Saving the Seasons: How to Can, Freeze, or Dry Almost Anything is edited by the mother-daughter team of Mary Clemens Meyer and Susanna Meyer, both of whom are involved in sustainable and organic agriculture.

Wow, who knew that many people have purchased Simply in Season? I know I am enjoying working my way through it. So that aspect is interesting. Unlike the other books in “the Mennonite trilogy” (Simply in Season , More-With-Less , and Extending the Table, though, Saving the Seasons doesn’t include little anecdotes and essays about living simply and how eating is impacted by our faith.

What is does have is lots and lots of beautiful photos, which are inspiring and also show step by step instructions, which are great for those just learning how to preserve food.

Like most preserving books, this one covers more ground than just canning. Topics include

  • A guide to the harvest (various fruits and vegetables, when they’re in season, and best methods for preserving)
  • Canning (individual fruits and vegetables as well as vegetables, meats, and soups; herbed vinegars; pickles and relishes; jams, jellies and spreads)
  • Freezing (vegetables and herbs; fruits; meats, poultry, and fish; baby food)
  • Drying
  • and an appendix which covers canning troubleshooting and helpful and inspirational resources.

The herbed vinegars and introduction to baby food caught my attention, as I haven’t seen these in some of the other books.

The verdict: If you already have a boatload of canning and food preservation books, you might want to pass as none of the recipes are super unique (unless you’re a cookbook junkie like me and want to get it just for the photos and light reading). But if you’re just starting out, Saving the Seasons will inspire you and provide enough guidance to give you confidence to start a lifetime of preserving.

Who won?

The winner was Julie L! What a great response to this giveaway. Remember, if you didn’t win, you can always buy a copy of your own!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher. Also, if you order Saving the Seasons by following the link on my website, I will get a few cents from Amazon.com. This in no way influenced my opinion of this cookbook.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jules - Big Girl Bombshell

    I already subscribe to this blog but this book is PERFECT for me right now. My last two posts have been about my garden and I even said I want to can some things for the winter. I have NEVER done this before and it has just been a thought for a few months and POOF here is a giveaway!
    .-= Jules – Big Girl Bombshell´s last blog ..Seeds of Encouragement Needed! =-.

  2. Nancy

    I am just starting my second year with Johnsons Backyard CSA! It has been a great experience! I have always cooked almost everyday, but to now have my produce picked out, organic, local and super tasty has made a huge difference in our family meals! Several of the members at my pickup locale order extra bushels of produce to can and preserve. I think I’m kinda jealous… I have looked casually at what it would take to do this myself, and maybe this post is just the push I need to really jump in and give it a try! It is probably the next natural step in growing and eating seasonally and local. I’m amazed that in just a year I no longer buy much of anything but fruit at the store — how awesome would it be to pull out jars of tomatoes or pickles or onions in the dead of winter! Plus I can photograph the whole thing… My daughters designed a blog for me for Mother’s Day… I have a lot to learn, but as you know…so fun!
    .-= Nancy´s last blog ..Ur Mom’s Best Pesto Pasta =-.

  4. Kelly

    I am a brand-new gardener and tried to can last year. It didn’t work out so well, to say the least. I’d love to have this guide, especially considering it is great for beginners.

    **Stopping by from the Lady Bloggers Society**

  8. Susan C

    I would like to win because I would like to learn how to preserve food-especially blueberries!
    smchester at gmail dot com

  9. jacquie

    i do a bit of canning currently and would not like to learn more about preserving food by drying.

  12. BB

    I’ve been wanting to get a book on canning and preserving for a few months now, and this one sounds like a great start! I’ve never tried it before, but I grew up watching my mother and grandmother put up preserves and would love to learn to do this myself.

  16. Lori

    Each year my veggie garden grows larger, but last year was the first year I froze some veggies. They were great! This year I focused on planting veggies that could be preserved, but I fairly new to canning and other techniques. I’ve been reading some books from the library, but don’t own a preserving book – so this would be wonderful!

  17. Dawn

    I am starting my third year in a CSA, and am hoping to graduate from freezing everything to some canning and drying this year, in order to preserve more. This book would be great help! (Entry #1)

  19. Bridget

    i have blanched and frozen veggies but never been brave enough to can. i would be interested in learning it.

  20. Suzanne K

    I’d love to win this because I’m continually expanding my summer harvest from my own garden and am always looking for more ways to preserve what I’ve grown!

    Thanks!

  21. Latoshia

    I do a lot of canning and we could always use more recipes for this ever expanding garden!

  22. Jenna Martin

    I’m brand new to this. I’ve started with making soups and freezing them in canning jars. I’m also just starting to experiment with freezer pickles and freezer jams. I’d LOVE to start canning too but needs some guidance. I think this book would be VERY useful especially as my garden starts producing more produce than we can eat fresh.
    .-= Jenna Martin´s last blog ..The Simple Woman\’s Daybook =-.

  24. Anna

    We are on our fourth year of backyard gardening and we buy at the local farmer’s market every Sunday. This is the book we need to get the most out of the great things we already have access to now.

  27. Joannie

    I would like to win this book because we have begun gardening organically, and I have lots of produce that need to be preserved in some way!!!

  29. Mary

    I can tell that I’m too late in responding to win. I’ll just say that last year was my first experience getting a June-Oct. farm share and I was ashamed that some of it went to waste because I couldn’t use it up in time (I live alone). I’d like to learn to preserve as was second nature to my Mom when I was growing up and my parents grew a big garden. I watched, but was never asked or encouraged to learn or participate (danger of boiling water and such, I guess). My second year with my farm share will start around June 1, and I want to do better this year on avoiding waste. I have no books on the subject and no experience, other than, say freezing a few bags of raspberries from my yard.

  31. Jenn S.

    I would love to win this book. We always have a surplus of food in our summer garden and I never know what to do with it to preserve it properly.

  34. Carrie

    I have my own garden and many fruit trees and want to get more into preserving. Seems like this book would give me a good start!!

  35. Deborah R

    I taught myself – with the expert advice of several online sources – basic preserving, pickling and canning techniques last summer and fall. I’d like to win this book to help myself expand my skills and knowlege so I can better preserve my harvest this year.

  37. Kristen

    I’m very interested in Saving the Seasons, since this is my second year of vegetable gardening. Last summer I tried making my own tomato sauce, but wasn’t very successful. I did make some jam, which turned out well. I’m also expecting my second child, and would like to know more about making my own baby food in advance. I am trying to eat locally and in season, so and learning to preserve food would help me extend the seasons even more!

  38. Michele P.

    Living in Maine, our growing season is painfully short. I need to learn how to keep my garden growing as long as possible and save our veggies as long as I can so I can enjoy them when the season is long past. This would be a great book to help me do just that, and a helpful resource guide helping me to preserve the freshness of my garden so I can enjoy it even when there is a foot of snow on the ground and Spring seems like ages away.

  40. Kate

    What I wonderful book! I would like to win because this is exactly the book I have been looking for. I have started to garden with a passion and want to know how to preserve all that I grow!

  41. kathy dunaway

    I would like to win the book because we are planting a big garden this year and I am new at canning,freezing and everything that goes along with a garden.Thanks for the giveaway:)

  42. Kathy

    A great time of year for a very appropriate subject. I plan on doubling my canning this summer and filling an entire small freezer. I am shopping around right now for a pressure canner. We are still eating frozen veggies from last summers kitchen garden but the canned goods are nearly gone.
    Thanks for this great giveaway.

    email subscriber–maynekitty [at] live [dot] com

  44. BRB

    I could seriously use some help in the canning department, I’m kind of scared to even try it!

  45. Nancy

    I’d love to win this book because I am committed to doing more to preserve fresh produce in season, to enjoy it when it’s out of season. My daughter is working on that as well.

  46. Nancy

    I already subscribe to your blog – love the cookbook and it’s fun to see something blog through it.

  47. Gretta

    I would love to win because I have always wanted to learn how to can and pass that knowledge down to our 4 children one day. I can still remember helping my grandmother can foods as a child but she passed away before I could learn the art she was so good at. Thanks for the chance to win

  49. Lucy Schwartz

    I have been thinking of growing different herbs and spices. They would be good fresh but I would also like to preserve them for Winter. This book sounds like the answer.

  50. Liz

    This is just what i am looking for! Thanks for the review – If I don’t win I will have to buy it. I am signed up for a CSA this year and need to know how to preserve my food for winter! I will sign up now!

  51. Susie

    I’m trying to find a good canning book. This seems to fit the bill! Something good for starting out. This is our first year in a CSA and I’m stoked but a little nervous about what to do with everything we don’t eat!

  52. Jason

    I have been wanting to take a chance at canning for a while. I have a big garden and love experimenting with new things. Thanks for the chance

    jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com

  54. karen

    I would love to win this because I have an organic garden and would love to preserve the bounty. Thanks.

  55. Gwen Johnson

    I would like to win this book because we are in the process of transitioning to eating traditional foods. Food preservation and seasonal awareness are integral to traditional foods

  58. Rachel Newman

    I would like to win this for my mom — she loves receiving cookbooks as gifts 🙂

  59. Grant

    Every year I think about canning and preserving but never get around to it save for a jar of preserved lemons. This would be good incentive to do it.

  61. Karen P

    I want to win because I plan to grow my own garden and I know I will have lots of extras.

  62. Janice Wright

    I’d love to win this & give this to my son. He already does some canning & drying. I’m sure he would find this book useful.

  63. Sharon A

    I have attempted to can tomatoes and they exploded. I need this book to do it correctly.

  64. diana

    I’d like to win a copy of “Saving the Seasons” as I live in a cold northern clime with a very limited growing season.

  66. Marissa

    I’ve been wanting to can food for a while – this looks like a wonderful resource.

  67. barb

    I think it’d be great to win because I know nothing about canning or preserving foods. I also like tips on freezing more items. It would be very helpful in my house.

  70. NickG

    I would love to be more knowledgeable in the art of food storage. In this world of fast food and artificial everything, it would do me well to take a step away from all that mess. My grandmother would be proud.

  71. April

    I have been looking at canning for some time now and this book would be a great way to get me motivated to start. Thanks!

  72. lknott

    I grew up with the Blue Ball of canning book. But that has been a few years ago and it got lost with my mothers death. So I lost both my resources. Want to save our gardens supply and like the review of this New book. Thaks!!

  73. Susan K

    I haven’t been around people who can, preserve etc much and I’d really like to learn. I need not only to save money but eat ‘fresher’