Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving (2009 Revision)

Very good information on canning!This book is very usable - with clear instructions. However, the printing is a little blurry (especially in the photographs). by the way, the photographs are not color.I have since found this exact book available for free online. My plan is to print out a color version and get it spiral bound at FedEx (it will be even easier to use that way). The next person who asks me about canning I think I will just lend them this book and forget and not worry about them returning it.

Nice resource but NOT in color as the "Look Inside" version. Appears that they are printing this item very quickly to make money. I appreciate the resource ( which I can download online at their website for free or read online via a PDF for free), but I don't appreciate receiving a book that is not as advertised. First off it is NOT in color - only the cover is. There demo in the "Look Inside" has several items in color yet this book is like reading a newspaper. Pictures are not sharp and the print on many items is blurry, I am not sending it back since the resource is helpful and I like to flip through pages while canning. I plan to buy the Ball Book of Complete canning since I had it on loan from the library and was as advertised. If you have a printer you can easily print this at home in black and white , punch some holes in it and place it in a binder ( which is what I should have done since the print quality would have been better).Update: I will be sending this back for a refund. I printed it off ( approx 90 double sides pages) on my laser jet printer in black and white ( using toner saver to save ink), and it looks almost identical to the version I purchased! .I am convinced this book is just a XEROX COPY! Now plan to use my 3 hole punch and place this in a dollar store binder!

This book 'goes by the rules' which is great for beginners. If you follow the instructions set forth in this book you cannot go wrong. The instructions are brief but complete.This book gives the impression that straying from the recipes will be very dangerous and only their way is proper and safe; seasoned canners however all know that there are always exceptions to the rules. Even still, especially for beginners it's "better to be safe than sorry."The entire book is offered for FREE online [search the exact title on google] but I purchased it to have on hand because I prefer that over the computer screen. Though I was already a seasoned canner when I got this book I do not regret my purchase and highly recommend this book to all who are just beginning. I refer to it time and time again for basic guidelines when canning something new.Great buy!!

I picked up the 1999 revision of this book by Dover publications a couple years ago. Very handy book, with current information from the USDA.  Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving (Second Revised Edition)  Nice small book as reprinted from the USDA. I wanted another copy so that I'd have one to loan to my potential canning class students and not lose my own. While this one has the exact same information as best I can tell and with the original USDA pagination, the quality of the black and white illustrations and printing are awful. Its difficult to read what the illustrations are trying to impart. Its as if they just used inkjet printed PDF files straight off the internet(which are in color by the way and FREE off publication sites like this: FREE USDA pdf files: nchfp(DOT)uga(DOT)edu/publications/publications_usda(dot)html) Even though this is the 2009 revision, I can't see any difference in the information. If you can download the free pdfs, I would NOT buy this version from this publisher. If you really want a book, buy the Dover publication, at least it will be clear enough to read.

I'm excited about having this book and already going through it! Lots of info I already knew, but some I didn't know, too!

This book is very easy to read and understand. The basic instructions are thorough-sanitation, water bath canning, pressure canning, pickling, and preserving; and charts for size of jar, type of food, temperatures, altitude adjustments and so on. My favorite part of this book is- after you have read all the basics and you should read ALL the basics; then you can simply use the indexed guides on the side of the book to quickly reference anything you need to review about a specific food or canning technique. There are also, some good recipes included. This book is a must have for the home canner; even if you already know most of basics.

Person this was bought for loves it.

This is a great book for beginner or experienced canner. Great information, easy to follow directions. Tables throughout showing processing times. So glad I bought this book even after canning for several years I am finding this book very useful.

This USDA book, (a US Goverment publication) gives the latest food safety and hygiene standards for home bottling (canning).This is very different information from what I have found in many moderm British preserving books. Many of the methods I have found in British preserving books are listed in moderm American preserving books under: What not to do!

The quality of the printing of this book is very poor with some page mistakes. Although the content is useful , I would look for the electronic version.