Customer Reviews

Blue Ribbon Preserves: Secrets to Award-Winning Jams, Jellies, Marmalades and More

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The author -- who is one of the top-winning home canners in the country, with more blue ribbons and "best of show" awards than anyone else, gives you all the benefit of her decade of experience trouncing other competitors at state and county fairs across the country. Her recipes are so clearly written that even novice preservers can start with this book, yet sophisticated enough in flavor to satisfy veteran canners. You might need to buy two copies, because the pages will soon be dog-eared, spotted with canning stains, and crusty with sugared fruit from all the recipes you will no doubt try. I made the best, most transcendant peach jam of my life from this book, and I'm no expert. This book is well worth it.

Upon reading the blue ribbon preserves, I was impress how informative the book is. I use to make jams and reading this book makes me realize what I was doing wrong and I can not wait to try everything.The recipes and the instructions are easy to follow and understand and I am glad I have this book.

I purchased this book a couple of months ago and have made her Santa Rosa Plum Jam and, just today, a batch of pear preserves. Both are huge successes! Linda's methods and recipes are clear and concise. Both recipes I have tried so far are absolutely delicious - for sure, I will be making more of her recipes. These are also great for gift-giving. Highly recommended!

I bought two preserving books at the same time- this one and Hilaire Walden's Sensational Preserves. And there was no comparison. Everything I tried from this book was run of the mill. And all those pouches of pectin. The emphasis seemed to be on meeting all the technical requirements to enter your preserves in the county fair---not to put them on the home table. The other book--Sensational Preserves was inventive, beautiful and practical-- and everything we made from it was just as the title said- sensational.

I found the educational portion of the book to be very useful - I have just taken a canning class and have tried canning in the past with success. I was looking for basic recipes that would be straightforward, tried and tested.

The first recipe I tried, though, was not a success. It was fairly simple, though labor intensive. But the Apple Butter came out more like applesauce. I researched other Apple Butter recipes and found some extreme differences in the proportion of ingredients (apple pulp to liquid - cooking time - processing temperature) that were listed in the recipe in this book. In particular the 'Ball Blue Book - Easy Guide to Tasty, Thrifty Canning and Freezing'(revised edition 29) seems to have a better handle, give more precise information, and give better hints on cooking apple butter.

So, now I'm a little 'leery' about how other recipes in this book will pan out.

I found this book browsing at the library and now I've got it on my Christmas wish book. It gives great explanations and has many recipes not only for current cooking such as Asian marinades but old standbys which my mother has done. It's definitely one for your collection.

This was the best canning book ever - clear and easy instructions, lots of different recipes, and most importantly - all so far have been DELISH!! i almost want to order some more copies in case something happens to mine and the book goes out of print, it's that good.

After reading this book I felt like I could take on any canning project! The author is extremely knowledgeable. I was delighted to find this great book!

I am stunned! I thought I knew about canning until I read this book. It is outstanding! Linda J. Amendt is a master of her crafts - writing and canning. She explains clearly exactly how to make the best jams, jellies, preserves etc... and how to win awards to boot. I started reading and couldn't (and wouldn't) put it down until I had read the majority of the book. There is so much information and detail that it made me want to start creating treasures right away. This is THE book to have when you want to learn (or in my case relearn) how to make preserves.

This is an impressive cookbook with a lot of valuable information for anyone who likes to do home canning. While it does not have glossy color photographs (which would have nearly doubled the price of the book), it is loaded with an amazing amount of practical advice, great canning tips and techniques, and an outstanding collection of recipes for many kinds of preserves. I especially like the author's attention to detail and clarity in the text and instructions.

The recipes range from traditional to inventive with lots of creative flavor combinations. I have tried numerous recipes from this book and the colors of the preserves are exquisite and the flavors are sensational. The intense, fresh flavors of the fruits really come through.