Fiber Fool

A while ago I mentioned that I had checked out a book by Ashley English called Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Make Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Chutneys & More from the library. I’ve only had the opportunity to try one recipe from it so far. I used the Beet Relish recipe to help use up some of our overstock of beets from the CSA.

It is made from beets, some red cabbage, fresh sage and a bit of fresh horseradish, plus of course vinegar and a touch of sugar. I was really intrigued by it because of the horseradish and any recipe that can use some of the sage from our garden is a plus too. I waited for a while hoping to get some red cabbage from the CSA, but I finally gave up and bought some at the market. It took me a a couple weeks to get around to trying it after I canned it, but I’ve enjoyed the result.

The book suggests serving it on deviled eggs. I may give that a try come October when I’m hosting Monday night knitting. With the horseradish in there I thought having it on roast beef would be nice. It ended up that the flavors other than beet and vinegar did not come through much. I suspect they’d be missed if tasted side by side, but I was a little disappointed that the relish didn’t really taste different than standard pickled beets. Next time I make it I definitely want to punch up the sage and horseradish. I’d like there to be a little bit of a kick to it. Regardless, I have been enjoying it on roast beef sandwiches for lunch. I could stand to dice the beets a tad finer next time too. It would make eating it on a sandwich a tad better.

Overall I am intrigued by most of the recipes at the back of the book, of which there are 20. They are more imaginative and offer some nice options other than the standards in the Ball Blue Book. They are also arranged according to season, though I’m finding if I source ingredients locally it isn’t quite matching up with those seasons. It does provide a bit of a guideline though.

The recipes are clear and easy to follow. If you are a new or infrequent canner there is very thorough information on canning safety and procedures making up the bulk of the book. I would feel more confident in my yields and the recipes if I had a guideline weight (which would make shopping for a specific recipe easier too) or at least cups of prepared produce to compare against. Everything is given in numbers of “medium size” whatever.

While I’m wanting to try the thyme and fig preserves and the pear chutney and a handful of other recipes from the book I’ve not yet purchased this one. I’ve been canning for several years now and own the Ball Blue Book so I don’t really need a book that is mostly made up of information for the new canner. With canning having grown in popularity in the last couple years there are many modern titles one could buy at a similar price point that contain more recipes. I may have to check out a few more titles before making a purchase.

I’m mostly contemplating Williams-Sonoma The Art of Preserving or Well Preserved: Small Batch Preserving for the New Cook. I spent a bit of time perusing the canning selection at a bookstore on Sunday afternoon and eliminated a couple titles for either being too broad and including too many pickle recipes or methods of curing meat, neither of which would get much use in our household. Frankly, the beet relish was going out on a limb a bit and I may be the only one to eat it. I might also like to peruse Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry whose title sounds quite promising and The River Cottage Preserves Handbook.

Do you have a favorite canning cookbook with recipes that have a bit of a twist to them? I’d love to hear about it as I think our newish kitchen shelves need a canning cookbook!