Includes index.

Foolish Assumptions -- Everything You've Wanted to Know about Canning and Preserving, but Didn't Know Who to Ask -- Knowing the Benefits of Canning and Preserving Your Own Food -- What is canning and preserving? -- Who is canning today? -- Why would you want to can? -- Meeting Your Techniques: Canning, Freezing, and Drying -- About canning food -- About freezing food -- About drying food -- Finding Out What's Involved in Successful Canning and Preserving -- Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk: The Language and Gear of Canning and Preserving -- Assorted Basic Tools -- Must-have basic tools -- Nice-to-have basic tools -- Pots, pans, mixing bowls, and more -- Making Work Easier with Specialty Equipment -- Food processor -- Food mill -- Blender -- Food scale -- Vacuum-sealing machines -- Canning Vessels -- Water-bath canner -- Pressure canner -- Tools Just for Canning -- Jar lifter -- Foam skimmer -- Home-canning jars -- Two-piece caps -- Lid wand -- Thin plastic spatula -- Wide-mouth canning funnel -- Jelly bag or strainer -- Stoneware crocks -- Tools and Equipment for Freezing Food -- Tools and Equipment for Drying Food -- The All-Important Headspace -- On Your Mark, Get Set, Whoa!: The Road to Safe Canning and Preserving -- Dispelling Your Fears of Home-Canned and Preserved Food -- Knowing the Acidity Level of Your Food -- Meeting the Spoilers -- Mold -- Yeast -- Bacteria -- Enzymes -- Adjusting Your Altitude -- Detecting Spoiled Foods -- Water-Bath Canning -- Come On In, the Water's Fine!: Water-Bath Canning -- Defining Water-Bath Canning -- Identifying High-Acid Foods -- Lining Up Your Equipment -- Equipment you can't do without -- Additional equipment you may want -- The Road to Your Finished Product -- Readying your food -- Preparing your jars, lids, and screw bands -- Filling your jars -- Processing your filled jars -- Adjusting your processing times at high altitudes -- Following step-by-step instructions for canning high-acid foods -- Simply Fruit -- Picking and Preparing Your Fresh Fruit -- Identifying the proper degree of ripeness -- Skin on or skin off -- To cut or not to cut your fruit -- Deter fruit discoloration -- Raw pack and hot pack -- Lining Your Jars with Liquid -- Using sugar syrup -- Using water or fruit juice -- Fresh Fruit Canning Guidelines -- Apples -- Apricots, nectarines, and peaches -- Berries (except strawberries) -- Figs -- Grapefruit and oranges -- Pears -- Rhubarb -- Transforming Your Fresh Fruit into Side Dishes -- Tackling Tomatoes -- Sweet Spreads: Jams, Jellies, Marmalades, and More -- Understanding Your Sweet Spreads -- Meeting Your Fruit -- Getting Up to Speed with Fruit Pectin -- Fruit pectin basics -- Types of commercial fruit pectin -- Setting Up without Adding Pectin -- The Road to Sweet Canning Success -- Jamming and Canning -- Jiggling with Jelly -- Mastering Marmalade, Butters, and More -- Condiments and Accompaniments: Chutneys, Relishes, and Sauces -- Mastering and Preserving Your Condiments and Other Accompaniments -- Complementing Your Chutney -- Reveling in Your Relish -- Satisfying Your Sassy Salsas and Sauces -- Pickle Me Timbers! -- The Art of Pickling -- The ingredients -- The equipment and the utensils -- Brining Education -- The brining process -- Adding crunch to your food -- Packing and Filling Your Jars -- Pickled Toppers -- Pickled Cucumbers Are Just Pickles -- Pickled Vegetables -- Pressure Canning -- Don't Blow Your Top: Pressure Canning -- Making Sense of Pressure Canning -- Understanding the Fuss about Low-Acid Foods -- Knowing That All Pressure Canners Are Not Created Equal -- Size -- Features -- Price -- Putting Additional Equipment in Order -- A Canning You Will Go: Instructions for Successful Pressure Canning -- Gearing up -- Preparing your food -- Filling your jars -- Placing the jars in the canner -- Closing the canner -- Releasing the pressure after processing -- Cooling the jars -- Getting step-by-step instructions for canning low-acid foods -- Taking Precautions after Processing -- Paying attention to your canned foods -- Responsibly disposing of spoiled food -- Preserving the Harvest: Just Vegetables -- Selecting Your Vegetables -- Cleaning your vegetables -- Knowing which vegetables are not recommended for pressure canning -- Understanding Preparation Methods before Filling Your Jars -- Raw (cold) packing -- Hot packing -- Processing tips for successful results -- Pressure Canning Your Vegetables -- Asparagus -- Beans -- Beets -- Bell peppers (green, red, orange, yellow) -- Carrots -- Corn, whole kernel -- Greens (beet, collard, kale, mustard, spinach, Swiss chard, turnip) -- Okra -- Peas -- Potatoes -- Summer squash -- Winter squash and pumpkins -- Using Canned Vegetables -- Combining the Harvest: Soups, Sauces, and Beans -- Combining Foods for Convenience -- Mixing low-acid foods and high-acid foods -- Adding meat, fish, poultry, and seafood -- Incorporating pasta and rice -- Pressure Canning Combination Foods -- Stocking Up on Soup -- Teaming Up with Tomatoes -- Rounding Out Your Meals with Beans -- Freezing -- Baby, It's Cold Inside!: Freezing Food -- Defining Freezing -- Freezing basics -- Meeting the spoilers -- Gearing Up to Fill Your Freezer -- Selecting food for freezing -- Evaluating your freezer -- Packaging Is Everything -- Rigid containers -- Freezer bags -- Freezer paper and wraps -- Tracking Your Frozen Food Trail -- Thawing Out Your Frozen Food -- Choices for thawing -- Unplanned thawing -- To refreeze or not to refreeze thawed food -- Meals and Snacks in a Snap: Freezing Prepared Foods -- Managing Your Time with Freezing Food -- The key to delicious frozen food -- The key to thawing frozen food -- Freezing and Using Prepared Foods -- Convenience meals -- Snacks and other treats -- Other foods -- Savoring the Days of Summer: Freezing Fruits and Vegetables -- Mastering Freezing Fruit -- Packing methods for your fruit -- How to thaw and use your frozen fruits -- Step-by-step instructions for freezing fruit -- Freezing Vegetables like a Pro -- Blanching perfect vegetables -- Packing your vegetables -- How to thaw and use your vegetables -- Step-by-step instructions for freezing vegetables -- Drying -- Dry, Light, and Nutritious: Drying Food -- Opening the Door to Successful Food Drying -- Deciding Which Method to Use -- An electric dehydrator -- A conventional oven -- The sun -- Gearing Up with Basic Tools -- Gathering and Preparing Your Food -- Washing and eliminating blemishes -- Striving for uniform size -- Checking out spoilage -- The Finale: Your Dry Product -- Drying food using an electric dehydrator -- Drying food in your conventional oven -- Sun-drying your food -- Protecting the Life of Your Dried Food -- Snacking on the Run: Drying Fruit -- Putting Your Fruit in Order -- Sizing up your preparation options -- Pretreating your fruit -- Detailing Your Fruit-Drying Expertise -- Evaluating dryness -- Drying fruit step by step -- Talking about Drying Fresh Fruit -- Apples -- Apricots -- Bananas -- Blueberries and cranberries -- Cherries -- Citrus peel -- Grapes -- Nectarines and peaches -- Pears -- Pineapple -- Plums -- Strawberries -- Enjoying the Labors of Your Drying -- Ten (Or So) Troubleshooting Tips for Your Home-Canned Creations -- Your Jars Didn't Seal Properly -- Your Jar Lost Liquid During Processing -- Your Jar's Liquid Is Cloudy -- Your Jar's Lid Has Dark Spots on the Underside -- Your Jelly Doesn't Have the Right Consistency -- Your Jelly Is Cloudy or Has Bubbles -- Your Jelly Has Mold on It -- Your Jelly Has Very Little Fruit Flavor -- Your Jelly Contains Glasslike Particles -- Your Pickles Are Hollow, Shriveled, Discolored, or Slippery -- Your Pickle Jars Have White Sediment in the Bottom -- Your Food Floats in the Jar -- Your Food's Color Is Off -- Ten (Or So) Sources for Canning and Preserving Supplies and Equipment -- Alltrista Consumer Products Company -- The Chile Shop -- Cooking.com -- The Cook's Garden -- The Food Safety Network -- Home Canning Supply & Specialties -- Kitchen Krafts, Inc. -- MyOwnLabels.com -- Penzeys Spices -- Sur La Table -- Tupperware Corporation.