Pressure Canning for Beginners

by Amber Benson

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Pressure Canning for Beginners is a basic, accessible tutorial guide for beginners with some recipes, curated and written by Amber Benson. Released 4th April 2023 by Callisto on their Rockridge Press imprint, it's 144 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. 

As the cover suggests, this is a very basic and easy to understand entry-level tutorial guide with 50 recipes to get readers into safely pressure canning garden produce safely and with a bare minimum of cost and equipment. The first chapter covers necessary gear and supplies, ingredients, and safety info such as pH (explained easily and painlessly), different packing and processing methods, and storage concerns. The writing is very simple and easy to understand and new beginners will find it supportive and encouraging. 

The following chapters contain the recipes arranged thematically: vegetables, beans & staples, stocks soups & stews, poultry meat & game, and meals in a jar. Recipes are given with an introduction, processing method, ingredients in a bullet list, and followed by step-by-step instructions. Yields are provided and ingredient measures are given in imperial (American) units only. Nutritional info is not provided. 

The recipes are simple, with easily obtained ingredients. Nearly all are fairly versatile and will be usable by most families. There is very little photography or non-text illustration provided in the cookbook. There are a few general photos scattered throughout which are mostly stock photos. 

Four stars. This is never going to replace the Ball Blue Book, but there are good recipes here with some good usable variations on the standards. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, community/allotment garden libraries, self-sufficiency folks, and home use.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.