Keeping the Harvest: Discover the Homegrown Goodness of Putting Up Your Own Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs (Down-To-Earth Book)

Was brought as a Xmas present for my Son so he has not seen it yet but I had a read and it and it is a very versatile book has interesting facts and ideas.

A good reference work we keep handy and refer too frequently.

A comprehensive book of freezing, drying, pickling and jam making, one that only the really serious would want on hand.If you are not sure if you want to go down the preserving route, perhaps borrowing the book first, before making up your mind, would be the best way to go.There is one small draw back with this book, it has been written by an American for the American market, so all weights and measures are in cups, gallons, quarts etc, so unless you can work with US recipes, it will mean nothing to you on the recipe side.But having said that, there is great detail on each of the preserving methods themselves which is very useful, including new US guidelines on safe food preserving, which is difficult to find here in the UK, but invaluable if you want to stay healthy after eating your preserved produce!

All the information you need, including recipes, conversion charts and comprehensive description for every type of preservation method. Well written and easily understood.

Easy to read book but I didn't realise (when I purchased the book) that it's written for the American market. Terms included 'canning' (not to be confused with commercial canning) when in the UK we say 'Bottling' and everything is in cup measurements etc. Also harvest times are obviously different too.

Good book

Waste of money for my personal requirements. Yes it is written for the American market with a heavy influence on canning.I was looking for a preserving book including oils etc not just pickling and jams.Also appears outdated.

Excellent book for those getting into allotments without going into too much detail it covers what you should know.

This book has extremely helpful information and is detailed and easy to understand. A friend recommended it and she has used it for many years and said it was her “go to” book for anything related to canning and other methods of preparing and storing fruits, vegetables, and other food items. I have not had it for very long but look forward to using it as a resource.

Give good advice

This is a must have incase you find yourself needing to keep your harvest. Very informative and step by step

Great basic book on how to preserve various kinds of fruits & vegetables. (e.g. "Canned tomatoes, canned pears".)I didn't find there were that many modern, edgy recipes though. (Not too many fancy combinations, like pear and amaretto, or peach & plum, or... you know - mixes.)So it's a good starter book, or someone looking to put food by from a kitchen garden. But for someone who's into more creative jam making and wanting to try out fun jams you'd never find in the supermarket, this might not be your best bet.

I bought this book years ago when I bought a half share in the harvest of a CSA in NJ. At the end of the season, we were overwhelmed with crates of tomatoes. So, I learned how to can tomatoes and make tomato juice (love a good Bloody Mary!). Even with only a half-share, that season I also learned how to freeze greenbeans, strawberries and what you would expect to find grown in the Mid-Atlantic area. When I retired I moved to rural mid-west community. I bought copies of this book for my neighbors, and relatives. Anyone who planted a garden got a copy of this book. It is wonderful and straightfoward. Recipients include an ICU nurse, an IT professional and a dog-groomer. I have a very large collection of "country living" books, this is the one I go to over and over. Even if I don't grow it myself, I can buy wonderful locally grown produce in season. A very good companion cookbook is In Season by Sarah Raven.