The Gentle Art of Preserving - Tapa dura

Why you need this book: With so many fruits, vegetables, and herbs at their peak right now, it's the perfect time to start preserving summer's bounty. This comprehensive book covers every preserving method in depth and includes ideas for how to use the recipes. The preserving fever even extends to smoking seafood and curing bacon.--Alessandra Bulow "epicurious, 7/24/2014 "

The Gentle Art of Preserving, by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi, is a detailed, readable education about all the ways mankind has discovered to save today's bites for tomorrow [or a few months or years down the road]... First and foremost, this book really is a bible, if not the bible, for food preservation. If you were a senior in college, polishing off a major in culinary science, then this would be the book for your food preservation course. This is not a science book with lots of equations or chemical diagrams. But Gentle Art is packed with facts and numbers to guide you into the details of preservation.--Brian "Cooking by the Book, 6/25/2014 "

When this book, The Gentle Art of Preserving: Pickling, Smoking, Freezing, Drying, Curing, Fermenting, Bottling, Canning, and Making Jams, Jellies and Cordials arrived on my doorstep, I had one of those moments where I knew I was holding a book that I would refer to again and again for actual recipes. That I would pour over the images and text for inspiration and for a greater understanding of the topic. That I would love this book. Now that first statement about using it for recipes might seem like a silly statement, but I rarely do this. My life is filled with days of original recipe development and testing and I have to be really moved to follow someone else's recipe start to finish. That statement means something. The passion and authority of the authors Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi is readily apparent from first glance. Then, upon diving into the book, the whole experience is even more solid than originally imagined or hoped for.--Dede Wilson "Bakepedia, 7/25/2014 "

The technique of drying fruit into pliable sheets of "fruit leather" is a classic way to preserve fruit but I guess it came to my attention when my daughter was young in the mid-90s and I saw the individual snacks being sold at our local co-op and health food store. Some folks were into dehydrators and since I wasn't purchasing one, I didn't think much of it and continued to buy my fruit leather when the impulse struck.--. "Bakepedia, 7/25/2014 "

Marrons glacés or candied chestnuts, are often purchased but they can be easily made at home with great success, as long as you follow the directions carefully. The process does unfold over a few days, so plan accordingly. Katie Caldesi has written an extraordinary book on preserving (read our review) which covers everything from drying to salting and, of particular interest to me, conserving with sugar. The book is a treasure trove of information and will be used in our Test Kitchen as a great resource for years to come.--. "Bakepedia, 7/25/2014 "

In a nutshell: When most people hear the word "preserving," they instantly think of summertime canning projects like making homemade pickles and strawberry jam. But canning is just one method of making food last. This new cookbook explores the extraordinary world of preserving, including age-old methods like smoking, salting and drying, along with modern approaches gathered from around the world. It's certainly a timely topic, not just because harvest season is here. More and more people are looking for ways to preserve food, keyed into a desire to eat better food, cut waste, and unplug from our throwaway culture. The book is broken down by the different ways foods are preserved - vinegar, sugar, smoke, alcohol, etc. - showing how those methods are used in different countries, with favorite recipes for everything from Scottish smoked fish to Sri Lankan dried chiles. What's hot: Concerned about food safety if you've never preserved before? Their instructions for working with high- and low-acid foods is clear and easy to follow, and there's step-by-step advice on how to do things like heat processing, which should give home cooks confidence right out of the gate. What's not: You're going to need more shelf space in your pantry with all the things this book will inspire you to preserve.--Grant Butler "OregonLive.com, 8/12/2014 "

There are two ways you could approach this book. You could use it solely for the recipes, gleaning ways to make your summer produce haul last all year round. There are plenty of really fabulous recipes -- enough to keep you busy for many summers to come! But along with the recipes, you can also use this book as a guide. Each chapter starts off with a comprehensive look at the type of preserving being addressed -- preserving in vinegar, with sugar, with salt, air-drying, fermenting, and so on -- and then the headnotes go into further details on using specific ingredients, making adjustments, and various useful preserving facts. Lots of places to dig in and get your preserving fix with this one.--. "The Kitchn, 8/12/2014 "

Summertime and the preserving is easy--it's the time to capture Mother Nature's incredible bounty from farmer's markets, roadside stands and, if you're lucky enough to have one, your own garden. All you need is a basket of tomatoes or blueberries or zucchini and a copy of Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi's The Gentle Art of Preserving, which is chock-a-block with ideas and inspiration for using everything to its fullest, in ways that are good for our planet and good for your family. There's a lot more here than making jams and sauces--Katie covers pickling, brining, smoking, salting, freezing, canning, fermenting, conserving in sugar and alcohol and under oil and fat. Each technique gets a full explanation, accompanied by an international array of recipes that showcase these time-honored traditions: Japanese Pickled Ginger; Rhubarb Cordial; Italian Sopressata; Smoked Trout Pâté; Labneh; Frozen Soffritto; Confit of Tomatoes. The pleasures of preserving can brighten the way you cook, eat and shop.--Sybil Pratt "Bookpage, August 2014 "

Old pantry practices (pickling, canning) feel fresh in this lush book.--Good Housekeeping, September 2014

Technique: If you have followed our book reviews this year you know that I loved The Gentle Art of Preserving: Pickling, Smoking, Freezing, Drying, Curing, Fermenting, Bottling, Canning, and Making Jams, Jellies and Cordials. This book came as a surprise to me. I almost didn't ask for a review copy but then I received it and I was truly drawn into the world of curing and preserving with vinegar, sugar, air, smoke, alcohol, oil, butter, fat, heat, cold and through fermentation. Sure there is plenty of non-dessert related content, but there is plenty for us dessert lovers such as homemade fruit leather, fruit cordials, marron glacé, jams and jellies and more. Tons of images. A great gift book or resource book for your own shelf.--Dede Wilson "Bakepedia, 12/2/2014 "

Presents different methods of drying, conserving and preserving food from around the world, from smoking fish in Scotland to drying chilies in Sri Lanka, and features recipes, instructions and advice on equipment for pickling, fermenting, freezing and canning food at home.