It’s that time of year, when a Midwestern farmwife’s fancy turns to thoughts of…canning. Okay, so you don’t have to be a farmwife to can, since I know plenty of people who do not live on farms who participate – including myself. And it’s definitely that time of year.
The tomatoes might not have been very good, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other things to toss into jars to save for posterity, or next year, whichever comes first. Peaches, cherries, beets, carrots, peas, beans – I could keep going. The point is, the library has some great resources for home preservers, whether you’re a beginner or an expert.
Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It and Other Cooking Projects by Karen Solomon has some GREAT ideas for things to do with your produce or projects just to do in your spare time (face it, we’ll have some once it snows). The projects and recipes in her book are marvelously intriguing and the book is designed to help you make the basic things you need in your kitchen at home, such as mustard, crackers, cheese, etc. In her acknowledgements, she states quite clearly that it shouldn’t be hard to find home-made kitchen staples, such as shortening, and the book is designed to remedy that. She also includes recipes for bacon, pasta dough, marshmallows, and several kinds of popsicles and drinks.
The Complete Book of Preserving by Marye Cameron-Smith is an older book (1976) but contains some great resources for preserving foods, including a detailed chart for freezing foods in a home deep freezer. There are instructions for preserving meat, drying herbs, smoking fish, and an array of recipes for chutneys, jams, and candied fruits and flowers. It’s an excellent book!
How to Dry Foods by Deanna DeLong centers completely around drying food, as the title states. She includes instructions for sun drying, room drying, stove-top and convection oven drying, so it’s not necessary to purchase any special equipment. There are very detailed instructions in this book for drying different fruits, herbs, and vegetables, as well as a section on meats and jerkies. There are also some great recipes, to help you USE your dried food.
Perfect Preserves: Provisions from the Kitchen Garden by Nora Carey is a book that is strictly devoted to the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers one can grow in your own backyard. There is also a section on different kinds of preserving, including bottling, sweetening, pickling, and freezing. Some of the fruits and vegetables might not grow well in Minnesota, but if you feel experimental, that’s what the grocery store is for! Personally, the part about fruit-scented sugars was absolutely fascinating. I had no idea you could make those. And, of course, in the back there are recipes for pastry dough and sponge cake, because how do you have strawberry shortcake without the cake?
We’ve got plenty of other books on kitchen projects, from canning and preserving to cooking French and Asian cuisine! If you feel like trying a new recipe for cucumbers or learning how to make Pei King Duck, now is your opportunity! Stop in and check a cookbook out today!
If you have any questions, or have a book to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 507-825-6714. Summer hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday, from 10 AM to 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM.
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