I have been canning for years and never made anyone sick. I have taken extension classes and have several books, but I still feel nervous when I'm canning. Most books are overly technical and have recipes I'll never use. There's also a mystery surrounding pressure cookers among these books. Molly Bravo's "The Essential Canning Cookbook: Water Bath and Pressure Cooking Recipes for Every Season" has clear instructions and recipes that I can see myself making, especially with the month-by-month guide to seasonal canning. This book also answers questions and concerns I've come across as I've made jams and apple pie filling. In addition to the useful information, this book is also lovely to look through.

Thanks Cider Mill Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

#TheEssentialCanningCookbook #NetGalley

I've been both intimidated and enthralled by canning my entire life and up until now have only dipped a toe into making fruit butters. With everything happening in our society, learning food safety and security basics is a vital skill and I was so pleased with how accessible Molly made this craft in her book. With a background in being a professional chef, I was grateful to learn from someone whose career depended on following the rigid structures of recipes for safety: "Twenty years in professional kitchens taught me how to move fast, push harder, do more. But it was a weathered box of recipe cards that taught me how to slow down."

What really helped me immerse myself in this cookbook, though, was the poetic prose on slowing down and finding a more meaningful routine in ones life, this book really does "serve as a bridge between old wisdom and modern needs."

The direct prose paired with passed-down recipes made it feel like I got to take a seat in her family kitchen. I could see the smudged recipe cards – my grandmother had her own. Another passage that really resonated:

"The yearning for simplicity is something many of us experience. It's a recognition that our rush toward convenience has come at a great cost. We've traded food security for instant gratification, genuine connection for digital interation, and generational knowledge for Google searches." YEP!

I want this book in my kitchen not just for the recipes, but also as a teaching tool! Lovely, five star read!

The Essential Canning Cookbook is a seasonal tutorial and cookbook with recipes developed and curated by Molly Bravo. Due out 5th Aug 2025 from Cider Mill Press, it's 208 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

There are so many classic canning and preserving cookbooks that it's a difficult niche to find something truly new and breakthrough. Although most cooks who have experience with canning have a copy of Ball's Blue Book lying around, it's also nice to get some new recipes to try out and this collection has some interesting ones.

The layout is standard: the introductory chapters cover equipment, supplies, ingredient choices, and some basic safety. The second half of the content includes the recipes grouped thematically: fruits, vegetables, sauces & chutneys, broths stocks & soups, one jar meals, and desserts in jars.

Each of the recipes includes an introductory description, ingredients listed in a bullet point sidebar (imperial (US) measurements only, no metric conversions), and step by step instructions. The appendices do include helpful tables and charts, as well as hints and tips from the author for processing and preserving. There's a metric equivalents table as well, and a cross-referenced index.

In general this is a good starting volume with some interesting recipes. Most of the yields for the recipes make a fair bit of product (5-10 pints at a minimum), so testing out a recipe will require some commitment in time and materials. It's useful, and full of really beautifully detailed photography, but readers should still keep their Ball Canning Books (but a nice supplement).

Four and a half stars.

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

This book is a staple for canners new and old. Very clear & concise instructions. Helpful calendar on what to can when. So many recipes! Beautiful art work. This is fun just to set out as a coffee table book to page through.


Huge thanks for the advance reader copy!

What an incredibly helpful and informative book! If you're new to canning, or want a great book to reference with various questions and recipes, this is the one!!

Everything you need is clearly organized into one book, with interesting recipes, great photos and lots of helpful hints. Recipes are organized by season, with ideal times to harvest and preserve for optimum taste and texture of produce. With the cost of living as high as it is, maximizing your gardens and groceries is an essential skill. This book will allow you to start from the ground up, and learn how to preserve your own food!

I will definitely be purchasing a copy of this one when its released!