It calls itself an 'answer book' which it is in that each section essentially has a series of questions which are comprehensively answered in most cases. Much of the book deals with canning (we call it bottling - using glass Kilner/Mason jars) but has a small amount about fermentation, freezing and drying. Essentially there are three sections - Getting Started, Preserving processes and putting your skills to work. There are recipes scattered amongst these. When you get to each of these sections this is where the questions appear - if you have a specific question you have to find it as they are in no indexed order. Good luck on that. If you want to read through a process, tough, you have questions that are not in any particular order. There is too much repetition as a result - I got tired of the number of times that I was told to use a rod to poke and remove air bubbles from jars. The questions are an odd mix of useful tips/answers and the bizarre shall we say - "don't I need bushels of produce for preserving?" - yes if you want lots, no if you don't.", are there reliable sources for citrus?" "It's getting hot in here. How can we beat the heat?" Dumb questions or what? Heirloom seeds do NOT necessarily come true - if you grow them amongst other plants of the same species (tomatoes for example) they will cross pollinate as easily as anything else. There are recipes mixed up with some of these generic questions - there's one for raspberry jelly between 'do I have to peel carrots before pickling them' and 'many recipes call for seeding cucumbers and zucchini...' - not an intuitive jump. No mention (I think) of sterilising canned/bottled fruit in a low oven but maybe that's to keep it simple. When it comes to jam (ie fruit, sugar and water boiled to setting point) why on earth do you then need to can it as well? Complete waste of time and energy. Properly made it will last for years. The author obviously does a lot of preserving but flips around all over the place in this book making it muddled and repetitive. If you are new to preserving you would be far better off getting books that are logical through the steps needed (and why), easy to follow. If you are not new to preservation - well, I'm going back to making marmalade from the 8kg Seville Oranges I've just acquired, far better use of my time. Thanks to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This title is absolutely correct, as there really are lots of answers in this book, and everything seems very informative and correct. It's not possible to cover every type of preserving, of course, but the most important are definitely here.
The layout and the language are excellent, and the illustrations are sufficient for this material.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book via netgalley!

This book is very detailed. A bit overwhelming at times, who knew so much had to be known about preserving! Kudos for original recipes suck
As butter chips and okra ones.

The Preserving Answer Book by Sherri Brooks Vinton truly does what it says in the description: it answers all the common questions about every aspect of food preservation, from canning to drying to freezing food. There are substitutions for canning equipment, a few recipes for different things, explanations of what different terms mean... Truly, this book has it all and it is a great help for those who are beginning to learn how to can.

Preserving produce makes perfect sense from practical and environmental standpoints, not to mention fun to do! The author lists reasons to preserve...and I agree. It is so homey, so pleasant, so rewarding. There is a section on safety (important!) then defines different types of preserves such as chutney, fruit leather, relish and ketchup (my favourite version is blueberry). As the title suggests, the author answers common questions about all this and far more including methods of preservation such as canning, dehydrating, proper refrigerating and freezing. Equipment is discussed as well as preparation and thawing foods. She gives tips and recipes and details what to look for (mould, cloudy liquid, black spots inside lids. There are sections on terminology and troubleshooting,

As a seasoned preserver, the tip that stood out to me is the clever use of a paperclip. One of my personal favourites which Vinton mentions is freezing and stacking bags "like file folders". Another is creating mushroom and citrus "dust". My latest culinary passion includes dehydrating in my air fryer convection oven so I was happy to see tips on this. I'm a fan of brining and have a tip...leftover pickling brine is wonderful for brining meat, especially pork. Though I've infused many vinegars, I have yet to do it with strawberries...and will next summer using the recipe in this book. The pectin section is interesting, too. The pickling spice blend in the book is akin to mine except it contains cloves which I will add next time. Sounds lovely!

This is a very good general book on preserving...many focus on recipes but this contains the background information...the hows and whys. To beginners who may find preserving daunting...don't. You will find many helpful illustrations here. The book is written in an accessible conversational tone, not at all intimidating.

My sincere thank you to Storey Publishing and NetGalley for providing me a link to this inspiring book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

This book includes everything that I wish my grandmothers had taught me (and some things that I think my grandmothers didn't know). With preserving, I didn't want to accidentally do something wrong, so this book was perfect!

Wow! So many questions and answers. I’m a bit overwhelmed and scared to start some processes due to the amount of questions regarding contamination, but I’ll get over it. I’ve done lots of preserving like freezing, drying, and making jam, but there is so much more out there I want to do.

I think it’s just a matter of starting and go from there. I know I’ll make some mistakes, but I’ll learn from them. This is a good book to turn to when wondering about things like what went wrong or what could I do to make it better. Very handy book to keep in the kitchen because you never know when you need it.

There was quite a lot of repetition in this book, and even though repetition is quite often a good thing, this time I think there was a bit too much of it. I know cleanness is super important and that it’s important to follow the recipe, but it’s enough to say it a few times.

I doubt there is another book like this, covering pretty much every angle and question about preservation. You’ll find the answer to your questions in this book for sure! The book has less recipes than I expected, but to be fair this is a book about questions and answers, so it’s OK.

The Preserving Answer Book does exactly what it says on the tin (or in this case, on the can). It runs through every conceivable question related to preserving from fermentation to pickling and from jam to sauces.

There are some absolute gems in this book and I will be trying lots of the techniques and ideas. It also adds invaluable knowledge to anyone who is keen on flavours and having some real treats fermenting/brewing/maturing in the larder (with patience often being the only drawback!).

Some of the questions were a little odd ... how to peel an apple and what if a mouse gets into my produce ... and I would have loved more recipes and ideas put into action but this is a fabulous book!

Thanks to Storey Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC