The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves is a rich and complete book, packed with sweetly luscious recipes, yet it deals with its complex subject in a direct and clear manner. Linda Ziedrich has not missed a beat in her exploration of the fine art of preserves. She includes every fruit you can find, including the rare medlar fruit, and she has even discovered the Shakespearean references to the exotic medlar. When Ziedrich uses the word "joy," it is her own joy infusing the book with happiness. Conveying enthusiasm, she also conveys a way to save a few dollars when times are challenging. And there are a jam-packed 200 recipes.
With an opening that is complete in a mere 30 pages, Ziedrich covers the many types of preserves, and offers a brief history of preserves. She delves into the subject of pectin, of preserving with honey, of canning preserves and preserves proper, of both storage and cleanup. Within these few pages she also gives a chart listing the pectin content of fruits, and a list of terms. There are additional sidebars giving recipes for homemade pectin, tests for natural pectin, tests for gelling, steps in boiling-water canning, preserve equipment, harvesting and handling fruit and more. This is complete, and none of it is written to mystify, but rather to clarify and encourage everyone to do their own.
The recipes are equally lucid and equally without mystery. Ziedrich has the gift of getting down to basics and does so with charm. There are 46 different fruits with a veggie or two (even flowers) mixed in. Each fruit or veggie has a brief explanation to assist the cook in working with that particular ingredient. Ziedrich includes the popular apple, apricot, blueberry and peach, but also makes the reader want to experiment with, among others, pomegranate, pumpkin, winter squash, kumquat, and kiwi.
The recipes are delicious and include such tempting bottled fare as Crabapple Jelly with Cloves and Red Wine Vinegar, Blackberry - jelly jam vinegar and syrup. There are recipes for Coconut-Caramel Jam, for Elderberry jam, juice or jelly. Love lemon? Try Lemon jelly, curd or syrup, or mix the lemon with ginger for a Lemon-Ginger Marmalade. Addicted to oranges? Try Orange Honey, Candied Orange Peel, and/or Blood Orange Marmalade. Choose from the diverse varieties of plums and make Damson Jam, Greengage Plum Jam, Plum-Apple Conserve, Japanese Plum-Apple Paste or Plum-Apple Leather.
The unstoppable Ziedrich has sidebars throughout the book giving tips, hints, and information. This is a solid book and belongs on every shelf.
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