Saving the Season: A Cook's Guide to Home Canning, Pickling, and Preserving: A Cookbook

by Kevin West

The ultimate canning guide for cooks—from the novice to the professional—and the only book you need to save (and savor) the season throughout the entire year

"Gardening history, 18th-century American painters, poems, and practical information; it's a rich book. And unlike other books on preserving, West gives recipes that will goad you to make easy preserves.” — The Atlantic

Strawberry jam. Pickled beets. Homegrown tomatoes. These are the tastes of Kevin West’s Southern childhood, and they are the tastes that inspired him to “save the season,” as he traveled from the citrus groves of Southern California to the cranberry bogs of Massachusetts and everywhere in between, chronicling America’s rich preserving traditions.
 
Here, West presents his 220 recipes for sweet and savory jams, pickles, cordials, cocktails, candies, and more — from Classic Apricot Jam to Green Tomato Chutney; from Pickled Asparagus with Tarragon and Green Garlic to Scotch Marmalade. Includes 300 full-color photographs .

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference, Gardening, Food and Drink

544 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

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Reviews

[Matthew Iden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a simple test for my non-fiction books: can I let them fall open anywhere, to any page, and happily start reading? There are few books that meet the test, but Kevin West's Saving the Season is one of them (Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking, oft-quoted in this book, is another).

West understands, rightly, that cooking is an intensely personal and cultural pursuit--the sterile lists of measurements and cooking times of so many cookbooks do little except give us formulas for caloric intake.

But West's learned book brings us homey personal anecdotes, history, literature, and color photos that demonstrate cooking, and specifically preserving, can be a fulfilling and rewarding pastime that does more than just put beans on the table.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book at all. The author came off as pretentious and his recipes weren't exactly what I was looking for. They seemed too elevated, while I tend to just go for classic. I would have given the book 1 star, but I liked the photos and the the articles about different histories and biographies. That made it different. So while this book was well written and nice to flip through, I didn't care for the author or the recipes.

[Katia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been following his blog for a couple of years and he's fabulous, so, of course, I had to purchase this book. The stories are interesting and the recipes are beyond compare. This is destined to be a classic kitchen cook book/ reference book. Can't say enough good things about Mr. West.

[Jenny Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Not only does it provide useful and hard to find information about jam-making (lower sugar; intriguing flavorings, such as "peaches with lavendar syrup"), but it provides interesting history, poems, and anecdotes. Great reading, and great cooking!

[Sweta Agrawal · Rating 3 out of 5]

until I've tried the recipes, I'll keep the rating conservative. but I really enjoyed this cookbook! one of the few where I actually enjoyed reading the text, not just flipping through the recipes. a lot of interesting stories. the recipe arrangement is a little weird/non traditional, but overall looks like a great reference book that I will probably be purchasing in the near future.

[TienvoorNegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this huge book! It is mainly a book with recipes, but in case you want to know when this recipe was first made and in what medieval painting it is featuring then this book will show you. I just loved reading in this book.
It is big and heavy and I feel happy just watching it.
The food is from the USA (so don't expect ehmm medlars for instance) but I found the abundance lovely and the recipes very workable and clear (though I have tried only a few so far.

[Bonnie Folster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful resource for anyone who enjoys canning or wants to start getting into it. Lots of background to give an overview. Lots of great recipes. I'll never stop reading it. Probably needs five or six stars. And a jar of marmalade.

[Benjamin Sigrist · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent cookbook that also takes ample time to describe the author's travels to collect the food. Great images and thorough instructions. Looking forward to getting a copy to put with my cookbooks - and putting up my first tomatoes.

[Rachel Coyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accompanied by beautiful quotes, pictures and illustrations this book is a sensual delight to read.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

History and stories and recipes and techniques wonderfully woven together.

[Laurla2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

-a bit more story than cookbook, but an interesting read. autobiography, road trips to various places for fresh ingredients to make the recipes, and histories of some plants/recipes.

-refers to other cookbooks: the berry bible by janie hibler, west coast cook book by helen brown, joy of pickling by linda ziedrich, joy of jams, jellies, and other sweet preserves by linda ziedrich. also refers to june taylor for preserves and jams.

-suggests a preserving pan to help in cooking down jams and such, never heard of it before.
-suggests powdered apple pectin rather than regular store pectin. or making your own pectin from cooking down apples yourself.
-suggests mixing sweet and sour cherries for the best jam
-you can cook cherry pits with preserves for an added almond flavor

"preserving fruit is challenging because no two batches of fruit are ever the same in ripeness and sweetness." "as fruit ripens, the pectin levels drop. less ripe fruit has more pectin."

-lots of liquors added to his recipes. poire williams eau de vie is a pear brandy made from williams pears. (eau de vie is colorless fruit brandy). calvados is apple brandy. nocino is a walnut liqueur. kirsch and marasca are cherry liqueurs.

-recipes that looked interesting: strawberry jam, pickled bistro carrots, cherry preserves w/pits, cherry preserves w/pinot noir, cherry preserves w/plums, smooth cherry jam, cherry chew, cherry 'shine, sour cherry preserves, cherry pie filling, dill spears and chips, cornichons, whole fruit raspberry jam, blueberry jam, blueberry jam w/gin, wild blueberries in light syrup, wild blueberry preserves, peach jam, peach jam w/champagne, peach passion fruit jam, ultra low sugar nectarine or peach compote, peach or nectarine chutney, spiced peach butter, dill relish, tomato paste, pear jam, limeade syrup, fine shred lime marmalade

[Linda Harkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part of this book is the history Kevin West includes. For example, he explains watching the process of making kimchi, the cornerstone of Korean cooking, in a California restaurant. Although I tried authentic kimchi when I visited South Korea with some colleagues a few years ago, I would never attempt to make it, even if I halved Kevin West's recipe. The recipes presented are unusual and call for ingredients not readily available in most grocery stores. Nevertheless, I found the commentary most interesting. Some of the photographs are absolutely exquisite (like the ones on pp. 209, 350, and 369). This is not the type of cookbook I was looking for, but I did spend some interesting hours perusing it.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly feel bad giving this three stars because this really seems like a labor of love by the author BUT if I would have paid money for this book I would have been very upset... There are so many exotic ingredients and alcohol in almost all of the recipes. It just is not practical for the everyday backyard gardener/canner. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to find all of those ingredients, or how expensive! "St.-Germain elderflower liqueur, Mexican Oregano, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, sourwood honey, cardamom pods, lemon verbena leaves, ect., ect., ect."
I did like how he explained some of the processes and equipment needed. The articles, poems and quotes mixed in were nice as well. Also lovely photographs. Just wish it had more practical recipes.

[Kylaslittlelibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book is beautifully written with good gathering stories woven throughout. I love the included quotes and the great information on how to safely preserve food. I also appreciate that it is broken up into seasons. Many of the recipes however, are way outside my norm of eating that I don’t think I would use most of them.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this more for all the thoughts and ideas that Kevin pulls together than for the recipes. Interesting & informative text; adequate canning technique. Maybe a few recipes I'd want to make; most are rather unique and fancy.

[Heather]

This is an interesting read for anyone who cans. The recipes can be eclectic at times but I enjoyed the author's descriptions of all the various places he has visited and where he believes the best produce regions are located.

[Christine]

A favorite preserving book for those who wish to elevate their canning and preserving beyond the simpler (but still very valuable!) Ball-type recipes. I like the seasonal format, inspiring projects during the less obvious (read not peak summer) times of year.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

LOTS of information in addition to recipes. Historical information on various recipes, preserving processes, etc. Beautiful pictures.

[Jebrea Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book😀😀😀

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good pictures and recipes. Includes unusual things like mulberries.

[Shiela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting

The beginning had some interesting and useful info. I didn't feel like the recipes were that great. I've found better in the Ball book.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The added stories in this book are what makes the book in my opinion. The actual canning recipes are not your general 'always seen' recipes which are both good and bad.

[Zora · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book design, heart-felt love of canning, with good recipes.

But I subtracted a star for the classism. "ooh, icky, who'd preserve with white vinegar? Buy this $40 per pint vinegar instead."

So if you're a rich foodie who can travel at will to obscure food fewtivals, sneer at those of us who couldn't spend $40 on a week's worth of groceries, much less on a single bottle of vinegar, who could buy pricey flats of strawberries, green almonds, and so on at the farmer's market, this is aimed right at you. For the person being sneered at (me), it's not a perfect book.

[Katie Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was initially interested in this book for two reasons: 1) because I heard that the author was actually from Appalachia, and 2) because I love to can and pickle. I enjoyed reading it very much, though I found the recipes a little frou frou. Although he talks often about his Appalachian roots and his early interest in canning and preserving, it's abundantly clear in these recipes that West lives in California and likes to fancy things up a bit with elegant ingredients that wouldn't be available in other places. And while I love recipes that include bourbon and other spirits, lots of my East TN friends would turn up their noses.

All the same, I really loved this book and read it all the way through, just like I would a novel. What I loved about it was West's really fine essays related to food and the preservation of it. In "The Birthplace of the California Citrus Industry," for example, he discusses the citrus industry and explains how fruits are developed and bred. I found this most enlightening and was fascinated by the history he had researched, the finer points of which I was unaware. "Cherry Time in Late May: Greenvalley to Johnson Hollow, Tennessee" was another of my favorite pieces, as was "Molasses-Making." Some of the essays were about people from whom West has learned his craft, and those were nicely done, too. I found myself reading the essays out loud to my husband because they were so beautifully written and informative. In support of his own writing, West pulled poetry and snippets of prose from literature across the ages which were most appropriate and added to the literary feel of the book.

Here's my advice: if you're a beginner looking for a basic how-to book, buy the Ball home canning book. If you're interested in understanding preserving and food on a deeper level, West's book will appeal to you even if the recipes aren't always practical. It's beautifully written and beautifully photographed, intellectually stimulating and inspiring, if a little impractical.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another cookbook to covet and again, if I had had the money it would be on my coffee table and I would probably still be reading it. This one was a lifesaver as I canned over 250 jars for Christmas. Apparently my projects throw caution to the wind and I just jump in whole hog without a clue as to what I am doing. And who ever heard of persimmon jam, not I...or for that matter that there are two different types of persimmons.

No matter what page I was on, I was engrossed in the story that went with the recipe. He gives you a recipe, discusses the many sweetners available, ie., sugar, honey, agave, splenda, etc., and then tells you what to look for in the recipe when you use one or the other. He goes over the use of pectin in your canning, which fruits have it to spare and which do not. He gives you the biography so to speak of particular fruits (Blenheim apricot), tells you how they came into being and introduces you to a variety of fruits some of us have never heard of...like Meyer Lemons. I had never heard of them until this latest canning obsession. I love this book!

[Austen to Zafón · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more, but although West supplies some interesting historical backgrounds for many of the recipes, it is really just the same old story as most canning books: Jam, jam, and more jam; a monotony largely relieved by adventures into marmalades, chutneys, jellies, and conserves. And then there are the pickled things. West pickles some unusual things, like nasturtium pods and green almonds, in addition to the more traditional cucumbers, onions, and eggs. But honestly, if I'm going to go to the trouble of canning year round, I want more than sweet and sour condiments. I'm still looking for a book that's more hearty, that makes full use of pressure canning. I currently can tomatoes and large quantities of beans. Somewhere, I will find pretty and exhaustive canning book that is not mostly condiments. This one is not it.

[Sharla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I figured I was buying a cookbook about canning. I was so wrong. This book has more recipes for canning everything you could imagine and then some, but it's so much more than that. It has poems, art, history, essays, folklore ... I could sit down and read through this book for hours. But then I would be wasting time that I could be using putting up for the winter.

This is, however, an American book, not a North American book -- so no recipes for my local Saskatchewan saskatoons or chokecherries. But if you ever wanted to make a shrub (an old-fashioned soft drink), a chew (fruit leather), or have more recipes for peach jam than you imagined were possible, this is the book for you. It's definitely the book for me!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was ready to dislike this book, but it won me over. The recipes are organized by season, which I find very helpful and prefer. I've only reviewed Fall and Winter, but have had success with the items I have made from these sections.

What I enjoy most about this book is that it drives into a background or origin story for some recipes, adding a nice historical or biographical element to the food. I found this was used best when talking about recipes I would never make due to difficulty or "ick" factor. Adding a story to the food item made me appreciate and understand it more, even if I would never make it.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has beautiful photographs, charming stories, and great recipes that really work. It also includes the very basics about canning, making jams, and pickling, something that other similar books seem to leave out. This book will get you from not owning the proper equipment to making great preserves in very little time. My one annoyance is that I wish the book had more practical photos: photos of each stage in the jam cooking process (from raw to gel set) would have been great. But overall it's an amazing book with recipes that range from the basic to the interesting and complex. Highly recommend.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first heard about Kevin West in the "Apocalypse" edition of Lucky Peach magazine and was fascinated by his manic dive into preserving and respect for scientific rigor--all set off by a desire to recreate his grandmother's Tennessee farmhouse strawberry jam after an impulse purchase at the farmers' market. I had no doubts I would love this book, but a took a quick peek at a library copy first. Seven minutes in and I was ordering my own version. An absolute delight to read, and you can get more of Kevin at his blog: SavingTheSeason.com