Introduction (A history of preserving food (Safe preservation methods -- Acidic and alkaline foods : acid matters! -- Growing produce for preserving -- Vegetable harvesting guide -- Fruit harvesting guide -- Herb harvesting guide -- Selecting food at a store) -- 1. How to can foods (A glossary of canning terms (Caning tools -- Canning jars -- Jar cleaning and preparation) -- Canning guidelines (Hot pack vs. raw pack -- Headspace -- Altitude adjustments -- Boiling water bath canners -- How to use a water bath canner : instructions courtesy of the USDA -- Pressure cookers -- Using pressure canners : instructions courtesy of the USDA -- Cooling jars -- Testing jar seals -- Reprocessing unsealed jars -- Storing jars) -- What to can? (Preparing pickled and fermented foods -- Pickling ingredients -- Pickles with reduced salt content -- Firming agents -- Preventing spoilage -- Preparing butters, jams, jellies, and marmalades -- Ingredients -- Jams and jellies with reduced sugar -- Preventing spoilage -- Methods of making jams and jellies -- Canned foods for special diets -- Canning without sugar -- Canning without salt (reduced sodium) -- Canning fruit-based baby foods -- How much should you can?)) -- 2. Troubleshooting canning problems (Common canning problems (Spoiled food -- Jar is not sealed properly -- Special problems with jams and jellies)) -- 3. Freezing foods (Problems with freezing -- Freeze smarter -- Freezer storage times -- Defrosting food -- What do when your freezer stops working -- Protect your food from thawing -- What to do with thawed foods)

4. Smoking and preserving meat (Curing meat (Salting meat -- Brining -- Dry rub preserving -- Smoking meat -- Smoking safety information)) -- Curing instructions by type of meat (Pork -- Ham -- Bacon -- Salt pork -- Beef -- Poultry -- Fish -- Game -- Sausage)) -- 5. Preserving food by drying (Foods that do not dry well) -- Drying methods (Sun-dried foods -- Oven-dried foods -- Using dehydrator appliances -- Air-drying)) -- Food dehydration guide (Drying herbs -- Drying whole herbs -- Drying herb seeds, flowers, and roots -- Drying meat -- Fish -- Meat -- Drying fruits and vegetables -- Vegetable drying guide -- Fruit drying guide -- Drying nuts and seeds)) -- 6. Juicing (Juicing for health -- Juicing methods (Pressing juices -- Heat juicing -- Juice pressing -- Steam juicing -- Blender juicing -- Using a juicer -- Fruit juices)) -- 7. Other preservation methods (Preserving food in a root cellar (Root cellar storage times)) -- Pickling and fermenting food (Types of pickling -- The pickling process -- Making vinegar at home -- Vinegar flavorings -- Making cheese at home -- Cheese and mold)) -- Fermenting beverages (Home brewing beer (Ingredients -- Equipment -- Sterilization -- Getting started -- Brewing process -- Home beer brewing safety) -- Home wine making (Ingredients -- Equipment -- Sterilization -- Getting started -- Wine making process) -- Homemade cider (Ingredients -- Equipment -- Sterilization -- Getting started -- Brewing process)))

Appendix A. Fruit and fruit product canning recipes : courtesy of the USDA (General (Procedure -- Other sweeteners -- Apple butter -- Apple juice -- Apples : sliced -- Applesauce -- Spiced apple rings -- Spiced crab apples -- Apricots : halved or sliced -- Berries : whole -- Berry syrup -- Cantaloupe pickles -- Cntaloupe pickes, no sugar added -- Cherries : whole, sweet, or sour -- Cranberry orange chutney -- Figs -- Fruit purees -- Grapefruit and orange sections -- Grape juice -- Grapes : whole -- Mango chutney -- Mango sauce -- Mixed fruit cocktail -- Nectarines : halved or sliced -- Peaches : halved or sliced -- Pears : halved -- Pears, Asian : halved or sliced -- Pineapple -- Plums : halved or whole -- Rhubarb : stewed -- Zucchini-pineapple)) -- Fruit salsas (Spicy cranberry salsa -- Mango salsa -- Peach salsa -- Peach apple salsa)) -- Pie fillings (Apple pie filling -- Blueberry pie filling -- Cherry pie filling -- Festive mincemeat pie filling -- Green tomato pie filling -- Peach pie filling)) -- Appendix B. Canning tomatoes and tomato products : courtesy of the USDA (General (Tomato juice -- Tomato and vegetable juice blend -- Tomatoes : crushed (with no added liquid) -- Standard tomato sauce -- Tomatoes : whole or halved (picked in water) -- Tomatoes : whole or halved (packed in tomato juice) -- Tomatoes : whole or halved (packed raw without added liquid) -- Tomtoes with okra or zucchini -- Tomatillos -- Spaghetti sauce without meat -- Spaghetti sauce with meat -- Mexican tomato sauce -- Easy hot sauce -- Cayenne pepper sauce -- Tomato ketchup -- Country Western ketchup -- Blender ketchup)) -- Salsa recipes (Selection and preparation of ingredients (Acids -- Tomatoes -- Tomatillos -- Peppers -- Spices and herbs -- Other -- Chile salsa (hot tomato-pepper sauce) -- Chile salsa II -- Tomatillo green salsa -- Tomato salsa (using paste tomatoes) -- Tomato salsa (using slicing tomatoes) -- Tomato/green chili salsa -- Tomato/tomato paste salsa -- Tomato taco sauce))

Appendix C. Canning vegetables and vegetable products : courtesy of the USDA ( Asparagus : spears or pieces) -- Beans or peas (shelled, dried) -- Beans, baked -- Beans, dry, with tomato or molasses sauce -- Beans, fresh lima : shelled -- Beans, snap and Italian pieces -- Beets : whole, cubed, or sliced -- Carrots : sliced or diced) -- Corn : cream style -- Corn : whole kernel -- Mixed vegetables -- Mushrooms : whole or sliced -- Okra -- Peas, green or English : shelled -- Peppers -- Potatoes, sweet : pieces or whole -- Potatoes, white : cubed or whole -- Pumpkins and winter squash : cubed) -- Soups (Spinach and other greens -- Succotash)) -- Appendix D. Canning poultry, red meats, and seafood : courtesy of the USDA (Chicken or rabbit -- Ground or chopped meat -- Strips, cubes, or chunks of meat -- Meat stock (broth) -- Clams -- King and Dungeness crab meat -- Fish in pint jars -- Fish in quart jars -- Oysters -- Smoked fish -- Tuna) -- Appendix E. Canning fermented foods and pickled vegetables : courtesy of the USDA (Selection of fresh cucumbers) -- Low-temperature pasteurization treatment -- Suitable containers, covers, and weights for fermenting food -- Salts used in pickling -- Fermented foods (Dill pickles -- Sauerkraut -- Bread-and-butter pickles -- Quick fresh-pack dill pickles -- Sweet gherkin pickles -- 14-day sweet pickles -- Quick sweet pickle)) -- Other vegetable pickles (Pickled asparagus -- Pickled dilled beans -- Pickled three-bean salad -- Pickled beets -- Pickled carrots -- Pickled cauliflower or Brussels sprouts -- Pickled dilled okra -- Pickled pearl onions -- Marinated peppers -- Pickled bell peppers -- Pickled hot peppers -- Pickled jalapeno pepper rings -- Pickled yellow pepper rings -- Pickled bread-and-butter zucchini)) -- Pickled vegetable relishes (Chayotea and pear relish -- Piccalili -- Pickle relish -- Pickled corn relish -- Pickled green tomato relish -- Pickled horseradish sauce -- Pickled pepper-onion relish -- Tangy tomatillo relish)) -- Pickled foods for special diets (No sugar added pickled beets -- No sugar added sweet pickle cucumber slices -- Reduced-sodium sliced dill pickles -- Reduced-sodium sliced sweet pickles)) -- Appendix F. Canning jams and jellies : courtesy of the USDA (Making jelly wihtout added pectin -- Extracting juices and making jelly (Making jam without added pectin -- Making james and jellies with added pectin -- Pear-apple jam -- Strawberry-rhubarb jelly -- Blueberry-spice jam -- Grape-plum jelly -- Golden pepper jelly)) -- Making reduced-sugar frult spreads (Peach-pineapple spread -- Refrigerated apple spread (made with gelatin) -- Refrigerator grape spread (made with gelatin) -- Remaking soft jellies))

Appendix G. Recipes for dried and smoked foods, meats, and cheese (Herbal blends and teas (Lemon verbena tea -- Peppermint tea -- Soothing chamomile tea -- Italian blend -- Barbecue rub -- Cajun spice mix)) -- Meat and fish (Basic beef jerky -- Biltong : a variation of jerkey from South Africa -- Bak kua (Chinese dried meat squares) -- Dried salmon strips ("salmon jerky") -- Wisconsin Cheddar cheese -- Feta cheese)) -- Smoked food (Dry-cured ham -- Basic brine-cured ham -- Prosciutto -- Maple-cured bacon -- Brine-cured bacon -- Polish sausage -- Kippers)) -- Appendix H. Resources (Canning -- Canning supplies -- Freezing -- Juicing -- Smoking -- Fermenting -- Root cellaring)).