The Food in Jars Kitchen

May 1, 2019

For home canners (and others) who need help using up jams, jellies, chutneys, and pickles, McClellan (Food in Jars) offers a cookbook featuring preserved foods as time-saving flavor boosters in a wide range of recipes. Readers will learn how to take preserves beyond their typical uses and how to utilize the homemade pantry properly. McClellan relates how to whip up convenient sauces (herbed marmalade marinade), scrumptious snacks (jam-glazed nuts), and cocktails (jam daiquiri). A number of the recipes for entrees and desserts appropriate for quick, family meals or casual entertaining support flexibility, and most include a highlighted "recommended preserves" box suggesting good optional flavors. This well-indexed book features chapters organized around food categories rather than main ingredients, as in Sally Wise's Out of the Bottle, which contains recipes using less traditional quince and passionfruit preserves. Though McClellan resurrects throwbacks such as chocolate sauerkraut cake, she also includes modern offerings (sauerkraut frittatas; tomato jam and smoked paprika granola). Additionally, the 140 recipes boast McClellan's ten favorite formulaic recipes for creating small-batch preserves. VERDICT This attractive cookbook is recommended for food preservers and anyone else who enjoys easy, flavorful cooking from scratch.--Bonnie Poquette, Milwaukee

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