[.ca] The Joy of Pickling: 200 Flavor-Packed Recipes for All ... (ISBN 1558321330)

From Amazon.com:
Pickling food seems like a form of culinary alchemy to most of us. Or we recall it as something grandmothers used to do, laboring over heaps of vegetables and huge, steaming kettles to turn out jars of jewel-like pickles and piquant chutneys. In the first chapter of The Joy of Pickling, Linda Ziedrich demystifies the pickling process. She explains the difference between fresh pickles made with vinegar and longer-keeping, salt-preserved, fermented pickles. Her detailed explanation of canning methods, including low-temperature pasteurization, shows how to avoid risky problems. After reading the opening of this pickle primer, go straight to the "Quick" and "Freezer Pickle" chapters and discover how easy it is to make Green Olives with Lemon and Thyme and Freezer Dill Slices without any sterilizing, boiling, or safety issues. In addition, you get to enjoy them within 24 hours. When you are more confident, let Ziedrich guide you through pickling Spicy Broccoli, Pig Ears, Korean Kimchi, and Irish Corned Beef. Her three recipes for pickled eggs are also bound to please. --Dana Jacobi

Reliable Recipes! Not too Exotic!:
I love this cookbook! Right now my garden is full to overflowing with ripening veggies and for the last few years that I've had this cookbook, I've worn it out this time of year. Why do I love it? The recipes have proven to be very reliable and by that I mean that every recipe I've tried from it has not needed much if any 'fine tuning' and the results have been consistently terrific. I hate it when a cookbook includes too many exotic ingredients that are hard to find in my very rural area, and the only thing I've found difficult to obtain that this book calls for is white wine vinegar. I've solved that problem by asking the nearest grocer to order a case for me! I use so many of the recipes in this book that I'll easily use a case in a year or two. Favorites from the book? The Szechuan Vegetable pickle recipe that lets me take a variety of our produce and layer them together with a simple salt/water/spices mixture, leave at room temp and then store in refrigerator. They get better and better and are super served as a side dish with rice. I've also got to give rave reviews to the fruit pickle recipes. The sweetness and depth of flavor of the pickled pears and other fruit are a real treat to add to holiday meals. I just harvested lots of winter squash and will begin making the sweet pickled pumpkin and squash recipe today. Pickling and preserving are truly fulfilling acts and thanks to this great book, they are also easy and delicious. If you've never pickled anything, this book won't confuse you with anything but the simple basics of preserving. If you are a seasoned preserver, you'll find some wonderful new ways to keep that harvest.

Wonderful.:
I am a culinary student, and discovered this book in my library, (researching a paper on watermelon pickles) and found not one, but -3- recipes, I also enjoyed the 'commentary' giving information on the recipe and customs/triviata. Very very well done- so much so that I came to amazon.com to purchase a copy for home!

Great for small quantities:
This is a great book for new pickling ideas, and the quantities are reasonable for trying new things out (you dont need bushels and buckets for most of them. The blueberry preserves and pickles are great, peach chutney is wonderful, and the asparagus is now a family favorite. The home made catsup is a bit of work, but worth it.

Doesn't Leave You In A Pickle:
I am on an eternal quest for resources I can use for pickling, and I found this book right to the point. Pickling can seem scary, and it is the responsibility of the book author to make it seem less so. Linda Ziedrich covers the essentials with professional focus, enough so that I've gone out and begun my pickling career, instead of just having a pretty book on the shelf about the subject. Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com

A "Must Have" for your cookbook library!:
As a volunteer educator of food preservation, specializing in pickling and sauerkraut for the state extension service, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the art of pickling, or the experienced "pickler" who wants to try new recipes! The recipes are accurate and easy to follow and the ingredients are readily available. The author includes a large variety of different types of pickles, and different fruits/vegetables that you probably wouldn't have thought of pickling. One of the best all around pickling books that I have seen, and I have quite a library of cookbooks!