The Canning Kitchen: 101 Simple Small Batch Recipes by Amy Bronee is the first canning book I’ve had the pleasure to review. My successful canning experiences have been limited to tomato sauce and pear sauce, so I was ready for a challenge.
To begin the canning process, The Canning Kitchen covers canning kitchen basics, canning kitchen equipment and includes a processing checklist.
Armed with post-it notes, I read through all the recipes for Jams, Jellies and Marmalade, Pickles and Relishes, Chutneys, Savoury Staples and Sweet Staples. The seasonal recipes were all well written, easy to follow and accompanied by vibrant colour photos.
So many recipes to choose from, but finally the ones I chose to fill jars are Strawberry Jam, Apple Pie Jam, Blood Orange Vanilla Marmalade, Meyer Lemon Marmalade, Coronation Grape Jelly, Double Dilly Beans, Hot Pickled Peppers, Zucchini Sweet Relish, Salted Pear Butter, Pear Amaretto Sauce and Orange Cranberry Sauce. These are just a few of the sweet and savoury recipes from The Canning Kitchen. I’m keeping my canning gear in the kitchen in anticipation of the harvest of our pear and Concorde grapes planted by my father-in-law.
The small batch recipes are perfect for gift giving and hostess gifts. I’m already planning to make the Pear Amaretto Sauce and Orange Cranberry Sauce for the holidays.
Recipe Testing
Zucchini Sweet Relish
I’m not a fan of relish. I don’t like the strong vinegar taste, but since I love zucchini I thought I’d give this recipe a try. It’s a small batch recipe (yields four 500 ml (2 cups) jars) so there wasn’t too much shredding and chopping to do. I followed Amy’s recipe to the letter and once the prepping was done, the canning process went smoothly and was completed in no time.
Hearing the seals pop was music to my ears as I had a fear that they wouldn’t and I’d be storing four jars of Sweet Zucchini Relish in the fridge. Actually the next day, I opened up a jar to serve as a condiment for our barbeque. I loved the balanced taste of vegetables with the sugar and vinegar. Needless to say, almost the whole jar was gone by the end of our meal. Not only did it taste good on hamburgers, but my favourite way to eat it was with grilled Italian sausage. I even snuck a few tablespoons into the pasta salad to give it some zing.
After my positive experience with the Sweet Zucchini Relish (all four jars have been consumed), I’m looking forward to making all the recipes I chose. Amy’s clear instructions and tips make the canning process easy. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced canner, I would recommend you add The Canning Kitchen to your cookbook collection. This is the time to can the summer’s harvest so you can enjoy it throughout the rest of the year.
Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada, below is the recipe for Sweet Zucchini Relish.
Zucchini Sweet Relish
Print
This incredibly tasty relish is a perfect way to use up an abundance of fresh garden zucchini in summer. Use it on barbecue night with cheeseburgers and smokies or add a few spoonfuls to your meatloaf mixture. If there’s a perfect relish, this is it.
Author: The Canning Kitchen by Amy Bronee (reprinted with permission)
Recipe type: Pickles and Relishes
Serves: MAKES FOUR 500 ML (2 CUP) JARS
Ingredients
3 lb (1.4 kg) zucchini
2 ½ cups (625 mL) finely diced yellow onion
1 cup (250 mL) finely diced red bell pepper
¾ cup (175 mL) finely diced green bell pepper
¼ cup (60 mL) pickling salt
2 ½ cups (625 mL) granulated sugar
2 ½ cups (625 mL) white vinegar
1 tbsp (15 mL) celery seeds
1 tbsp (15 mL) yellow mustard seeds
Instructions
Rinse the zucchini under cool running water. Trim off and discard the tips. Coarsely shred the zucchini on a box grater or finely chop in a food processor. In a large bowl, stir together the zucchini, onion, red pepper, green pepper and salt. Let stand for 1 hour to allow the salt to draw excess moisture from the vegetables.
Drain and rinse the vegetables in a fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with a large double layer of cheesecloth. Firmly squeeze out the excess liquid. Transfer the vegetables to a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Stir in the sugar, vinegar, celery seeds and mustard seeds. Bring to a bubble over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Ladle into 4 clean 500 mL (2 cup) jars, leaving a ½ -inch (1 cm) headspace. Poke a non-metallic utensil inside each jar a few times to remove any air bubbles, topping up the relish if necessary. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes using the Processing Checklist on page 17.
Notes
TIP For a flavour twist, experiment with brown or black mustard seeds. The darker the mustard seed, the hotter they are. For a colour twist, try sunny yellow zucchini instead of green.
3.2.2925
Amy Bronee is the author of Family Feedbag. You can connect with her on social media: twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
The Canning Kitchen: 101 Simple Small Batch Recipes can be purchased from online book sellers (Amazon, Indigo, Barnes and Noble) or from your local bookstore.
The Canning Kitchen: 101 Simple Small Batch Recipes
Author: Amy Bronee
Publisher: Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited
Hardcover: 256 pages
ISBN: 978-0143191315
Acknowledgement
The Canning Kitchen: 101 Simple Small Batch Recipes by Amy Bronee. Copyright © Amy Bronee, 2015. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Photography credit for The Canning Kitchen Book Cover and Sweet Zucchini Relish Jars: Amy Bronee.
Disclaimer:
The Canning Kitchen was sent to me for review by Penguin Canada for the Food Bloggers of Canada website. The opinions in this review are my own.
Win a Copy of The Canning Kitchen
Would you like to win a copy of The Canning Kitchen? There are 10 chances for you to win with the FBC Canning Kitchen Blog Hop! 10 FBC Members are reviewing different recipes from the book on their blogs throughout the week and each one is giving away a copy of the book. (we’ll link to their posts as they go live)
Kitchen Heals Soul - Sweet Thai Chili Chutney
Bridget’s Green Kitchen – Apple Butter
The Brunette Baker – Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Food & Whine – Strawberry Jam
The Organic Experiment – Zesty Pizza Sauce
Faithfully Gluten Free – Pink Lemonade Jelly
Eating Niagara – Blueberry Lime Jam
Try Small Things – Thick Cut Orange Jelly
Kelly Neil – Hot Dog Relish
The Tiffin Box – Sour Cherry Jam
The Canning Kitchen review was written by Liliana Tommasini, author of the aptly named blog My Cookbook Addiction. Her passion for baking and cooking began at an early age. Liliana grew up in an Italian household where each meal was made from scratch with fresh ingredients and Sunday family lunches were always a celebration. She has a passion for collecting cookbooks and is improving her photography skills. Now, Sunday lunches are celebrated in her family. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.