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Put ‘Em Up: My Personal Favorite Guide for Home Preserving

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Put em Up Guide to Pickling and Preserving

My Favorite Guide for Pickling and Preserving

Years ago, I did a Put ’em Up review, but I am still using and still loving this particular guide. In fact, I use it more now than I did when I first got the book – so I thought a nice new tribute was in order.

Put simply, Put ’em Up! gives you a quick, painless, and even easy to catch on education in pickling, canning, freezing, drying, and preserving. Whether you’re into canning or prefer “refrigerator” methods, this guide will give you all the skills you need.

Book Description:
With simple step-by-step instructions and 175 delicious recipes, Put ‘em Up will have even the most timid beginners filling their pantries and freezers in no time! You’ll find complete how-to information for every kind of preserving: refrigerating, freezing, air- and oven-drying, cold- and hot-pack canning, and pickling. Recipes range from the contemporary and daring — Wasabi Beans, Cherry and Black Pepper Preserves, Pickled Fennel, Figs in Honey Syrup, Sweet Pepper Marmalade, Berry Bourbon, Salsa Verde — to the very best versions of tried-and-true favorites, including applesauce and apple butter, dried tomatoes, marinara sauce, bread and butter pickles, classic strawberry jam, and much, much more.

Recipes Include:

  • Chili-Tomato Jam
  • Corn Salsa
  • Picnic Relish
  • Quick Grape Jam
  • Grape Leather
  • Herbed Vinegar
  • Classic Basil Pesto
  • Peaches in Syrup
  • Plum Chutney
  • Chinese Plum Sauce
  • Roasted Garlic
  • Pickled Garlic
  • Dried Limes
  • Orange Marmalade
  • Preserved Lemons
  • Granny’s Chow Chow Relish
  • Quick Cabbage Pickle
  • Kimchi
  • Classic Fermented Sauerkraut
  • Spicy Carrots
  • Frozen Cherries
  • Frozen Cauliflower
  • Olive Salad
  • Apple Preserves
  • Dried Apple Rings
  • Apple Butter
  • Pickled Asparagus with Mustard Seed
  • Mincemeat
  • Frozen Asparagus
  • Sugar Plums
  • Charred Sweet Peppers
  • Salsa Verde
  • Canned Whole Tomatoes
  • Pickled Watermelon Rind
  • Heirloom Watermelon Jelly
  • Butters, Sauces, and Ketchups
  • Pickled Beets
  • Quick Raspberry Jam
  • Pickle Relish
  • Dill Spears
  • Bread and Butter Chips
  • Asian Icebox Pickles
  • And many more recipes, tips, ideas, and inspiration!

 

Find more information about Put ’em Up!: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling by clicking the link.

Put ’em Up! A Guide to Drying, Freezing, Canning, and Pickling Food

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I was recently sent a copy of Put ’em Up!: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling by Sherri Brooks Vinton and, after devouring ever page, I couldn’t wait to share it with you.

For a lot of reasons, I’m drawn to the concept of preserving foods at home. Health, safety, and economic concerns are leading many cooks to explore the notions of freezing, canning, drying, and pickling their own foods.

Besides, it’s just crazy fun!

About Put ’em Up: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide

PRESERVING IS BACK, AND IT’S BETTER THAN EVER. Flavors are brighter, batch sizes are more flexible, and modern methods make the process safer and easier. Eating locally is on everybodys mind, and nothing is more local than Heirloom Salsa made from vine-fresh tomatoes or a quick batch of Ice-Box Berry Jam saved from the seasons last berries. Even beginners who never made peach jam or dill pickles in their grandmothers kitchens are eager to pick up preserving skills as a way to save money, extend the local harvest, and control the quality of preserved ingredients.

The step-by-step instructions in Put ‘em Up will have the most timid beginners filling their pantries and freezers with the preserved goodness of summer in no time. An extensive Techniques section includes complete how-to for every kind of preserving: refrigerating and freezing, air- and oven-drying, cold- and hot-pack canning, and pickling. And with recipe yields as small as a few pints or as large as several gallons, readers can easily choose recipes that work for the amount of produce and time at hand.

Real food advocate Sherri Brooks Vinton offers recipes with exciting flavor combinations to please contemporary palates and put preserved fruits and vegetables on dinner-party menus everywhere. Pickled Asparagus and Wasabi Beans are delicious additions to holiday relish trays; Sweet Pepper Marmalade perks up cool-weather roasts; and Berry Bourbon is an unexpected base for a warming cocktail.

The best versions of tried-and-true favorites are all here too. Bushels of fresh-picked apples are easily turned into applesauce, dried fruit rings, jelly, butter, or even brandy. Falling-off-the-vine tomatoes can be frozen whole, oven dried, canned, or made into a tangy marinara. Options for pickling cucumbers range from Bread and Butter Chips and Dill Spears to Asian Ice-Box Pickles. Something delicious for every pantry!

Recipes in Put ’em Up Include:

  • Pickled Asparagus
  • Wasabi Beans
  • Beet Relish
  • Grannys Chow-Chow
  • Cantaloupe Agua Fresca
  • Asian Carrot Slaw
  • Easy Bake Tomato Paste
  • Curried Cauliflower
  • Sweet and Sour Pickled Onions
  • Cherry and Black Pepper Preserves
  • Pickled Jalapenos
  • Three-Chili Hot Sauce
  • Preserved Lemons
  • Candied Citrus Rind
  • Heirloom Tomato Salsa
  • Oven-Dried Sweet Corn
  • Bread and Butter Chips
  • Roasted Garlic Butter
  • Dill Pesto with Feta
  • Dried Pear Chips
  • Watermelon Agua Fresca
  • Heirloom Watermelon Jelly
  • Sugar Plums
  • Classic Strawberry Jam
  • Sweet Pepper Marmalade
  • Salsa Verde
  • Oven-Dried Tomatoes
  • Pickled Watermelon Rind
  • Strawberry Vinegar
  • Pickled Beets with Dill
  • Frozen Carrots
  • Many More!

Chapters in Put ’em Up Include

  • Making Jams and Jellies
  • Making Salsas, Chutneys, and Relishes
  • Making Butters, Sauces, and Ketchups
  • Food Preservation Method: Refrigeration
  • Food Preservation Method: Freezing
  • Food Preservation Method: Infusion
  • Food Preservation Method: Drying
  • Food Preservation Method: Boiling Water-Method
  • Blanching
  • Resources
  • And countless recipes, tips, and techniques!
Recipe: Watermelon Agua Fresca (Page 286)

1 small melon or half of a large one, rind removed, fruit cut into large chunks
1 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1. Set a fine-mesh sieve or colander lined with dampened cheesecloth over a bowl.  Puree the melon in a blender or food processor, working in batches as necessary.  Transfer the pureed melon to the sieve as you go.  Let drain fully; compost solids.
2.  Pour the melon juice into a pitcher.  Add the water, sugar, and lime juice and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Serve over ice, with a splash of seltzer, if you like.
Refrigerate without ice or seltzer for up to 3 days or freeze juice in 8 ounce servings for up to 3 months.

About the Author: Sherri Brooks Vinton

Sherri Brooks Vinton is the founder of FarmFriendly LLC, which helps chefs, restaurateurs, and food organizations support local agriculture.  She is a former governor of Slow Food USA, and a member of the Chef’s Collaborative, Women’s Chefs and Restaurateurs, Northeast Organic Farmers Association, and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.  She is the author of The Real Food Revival and lives in Connecticut.

Put ’em Up!: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling is a wonderful book for the cook who is new to home preserving as well as for the seasoned pro. Honestly, all the information you need is right in these pages.

The book is bright, beautiful, and very enjoyable to read. The recipes are clear, easy to follow, and can’t be found anywhere else. Shake a leg and order your copy from Amazon today. Your family will sing your praises all winter long – in between bites, that is.

Put ’em Up!: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook