book recommendations.

[bramble]

Came upon this book over the weekend and feel i can thoroughly rrecommend it. It seems to be a mine of information, (to me anyway)
The Jams Preserves and Chutney handbook by Marguerite Patten. Its a softback book. Its listed as £7.99 sterling and tells you all you need to know to preserve your harvest of fruit,and veg.

[borage]

Amazon have it on offer for £5.99

[Alison]

My mum bought it me for Christmas, not actually used it that much yet but there's loads I keep meaning to try!

[seasprout]

It taught me how to pickle my red cabbage. Sad but true,

[Sue]

Use this one a lot, highly recommended
Sue

[Hazel at the Hill]

Hey, grapes - mum wants to buy me a preserving book for Christmas - is this the absolute must have, or are there any others worth considering?

Chutney-head Flum?

[Seahorse]

Hazel, I think the M. Patten one is super and it's the one I used most this year. I also really like the WI 'Best Kept Secrets' one:

Amazon.co.uk: Jams, Pickles and Chutneys: Best Kept Secrets of the Women's Institute: Books: Midge Thomas

There's more in the Patten one but the WI one has colour pics and is a bit 'prettier' overall. I'd have to say get both!

Claire

[Flummery]

I still like the Marguerite Patten one that I use regularly. It has the advantage of many suggestions of subsitutes so each recipe is effectively 4 or 5. Don't know if it's still available - I got it in a remaindered book shop. Can give you the ISBN if it will help?
0-7475-2318-5
Called Jams, Chutneys, Preserves, Vinegars and Oils, published by Bloomsbury in 1995. The above book might be an update? I would think it would be good.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Had the day off today to go Christmas shopping with mum in Leamington Spa and Solihull (via the Garden Centre...)- and guess what?! The M Patten book was just sitting on the shelf in Waterstones!

As it is a Christmas present, I was not even allowed to open the cover before it was whipped away...

Thanks for you help, grapes!

[SarzWix]

I have several books by Mary Norwak, and I'd recommend any/all of them. She's written a couple in conjunction with a gardener called Keith Mossman which are very good (written in the 70's - long before Delia & Gay Search got together!), and all of her books with 'Farmhouse' in the title are worth having! If you put "Norwak" in a search on Amazon or GreenMetropolis you get a good list.
Amazon.co.uk: The Book of Preserves : Jams, Chutneys, Pickles, Jellies: Books: Mary Norwak Book of Preserves : Jams, Chutneys, Pickles, Jellies

[Tracey]

I've just read with laughter and tears a book called 'A handful of earth' about a year of healing and growing, by Barney Bardsley.

Synopsis:
When Barney Bardsley's husband was diagnosed withcancer he was thirty-six, and their daughter just one. The family was too young for sell-by dates -- there was too much to live for. And so they did. But when he finally died, Barney felt alone and exhausted. Their savings had all gone and now she must support their child single-handedly. She would just have to take life one day at a time. She took to tending her small, scruffy allotment. Fresh air, wildlife, exercise, nature's cycles of growth and decay -- she found solace in it all.This is the diary of her year in the garden. It begins with January's brisk walks, nourishing soups,and dreams of spring. In May comes a messy abundance of bluebells, tadpoles, and honeybees. In summer the sunflowers shout. And inautumn aharvest of blackberries, beans andsquash. The garden's meditative atmosphere also provokesdeeper musings. Barney recounts the myths and emotions associated with particular plants;shepaintsmemories of childhood; she evokes the changes of mood as the seasons shift. Above all, she charts how her own life is slowly restored, under the garden's healing influence.

Tracey

[mrs potato head]

hello all and happy easter,
Bit of a change of subject, does anyone own a copy of john seymours , self suffient veg gardening and preserving, or something like that, ive had it on order from amazon for nearly 3 months now!, is it worth waiting for?, thanks forn all replys
leisa

[Skotch]

Sorry I'm late to this thread, but I've just had a most enjoyable read of:

"Daily Telegraph" Digger's Diary: Tales from the Allotment by Victor Osborne.It's got a few recipes but it's mostly about the people on a large site in London and how they have fared over the course of a year. Gentle and engrossing reading.

Skotch