Liana Krissoff's Canning for a New Generation

A few years ago, I spent a day with my colleagues brainstorming new book ideas. We were hunkered down in the Soho apartment of the parents of our editorial director (they were generous, it was big) and, armed with pens and pads of paper, we went around the table and talked about the kinds of books we wanted to publish. I had made a list of four book ideas that I really wanted to pursue, but today, sitting here, I can only remember one.

Because after that brainstorming session, I went back to the office to check my email one last time before leaving for vacation the next day and there, sitting in my inbox, sent at about the exact moment that I was telling my boss and my colleagues that I desperately wanted to publish a modern, updated book on canning and jam-making, pickling and preserving, was an email from one of the company's authors, laying out her vision for that exact book.

Kismet! Fate! It was hard not to run to the CEO of the company right then and there, begging him for approval and, oh, some money, too.

A few weeks later, we had a deal. Liana would write a comprehensive book on canning and preserving, chockful of recipes that were new and interesting. She would leave behind the fuddy-duddy and slightly snoozy tone of all the older canning books. She would mine the preserving techniques of other cultures and she would include recipes for what to do with those fermented long beans you spent precious time finding in Chinatown and then putting up, all the while making sure that readers' hands would be held as they went from making their first batch of strawberry jam to their very own Indian lime pickle.

In Liana's own words, "The recipes are for people a little bit like me...who upon hearing 'pickle' remember Mom's sweet watermelon-rind pickles ice-cold out of the fridge, but also think of the dollop of goodness that goes on top of a bowl of curried lentils, or the dainty dish of tsukemono pickles that might come with the sashimi at a good sushi bar. Those people for whom 'ferment' means not just full-sour dills bobbing about in a crock of cloudy brine on the Lower East Side but also spicy red kimchi. And those of us who, while thoroughly enjoying a sweet, thick slather of classic peach preserves on toast every now and then (or, okay, often) might prefer a tart-sweet black plum jam spiked with fragrant cardamom, or a small spoonful of fig preserves with port and rosemary alongside a wedge of veiny blue cheese and a thick slice of dark bread."

That was exactly the book I wanted to publish.

As Liana worked on her book, she'd periodically send me photos of her pantry shelves that were filling at an alarming rate. Jar after jar of jams and pickles lined the room. It was like a settler's dream. Sometimes, if I was lucky, Liana would even send me a few things to try: a delicately-set grapefruit jam, tea jelly or, my very favorite, that plum jam flavored with cardamom.

In the end, Liana's manuscript turned out to be even better than I could have imagined on that hot day in August when her email first hit my inbox. It was big. It was comprehensive. It was interesting. And it was funny.

Take, for example, Liana's headnote on making her own sauerkraut:

"Although it may seem as if you're having - as my husband said when he walked in on me with my arms elbow-deep in a mass of pale-green shreds - 'a difficult immigrant experience', squeezing cabbage and salt together to make sauerkraut is fun."

But best of all, the manuscript was smart. Liana teaches you how to make kimchi and then gives you a recipe for pork and kimchi dumplings. She tells you how to make Chinese plum sauce and then gives you a recipe for Mu Shu pork using the plum sauce. She tells you how to make a Sidecar using the Brandied Cherries from the previous page. Liana comes up with all these great new staples that you just have to have in your pantry and then gets your mouth watering with dinner recipes that actually use them.

We got Rinne Allen, a talented photographer, to do the photography for the book and her lush, thoughtful images paired beautifully with Liana's recipes and pithy prose. The two would meet, week after week, at Liana's house in Georgia and Rinne would shoot what Liana was working on that day.

The book is divided into seasons, so there are four main chapters and then, within those chapters, Liana splits the recipes between fruits and vegetables. For those of you intimidated by preserving and canning (hot water baths! botulism! equipment!), Liana demystifies everything in soothing, sensible terms. She makes you feel capable and safe. And, really, her recipes will have you chafing at the bit to get started, whether you're a novice or not.

Liana's philosophy, when it comes to jams, is that the less commercial pectin you use, the more delicious your jams will be. And so, with a few exceptions, her recipes for jams, jellies, preserves and conserves are made without commercial pectin and the amount of sugar she uses lets the bright, beautiful flavor of the fruit shine through. Always.

Shall we look at a quick sampling of some of Liana's recipes? Let's. I'm hungry.

Tomato and Cashew Chutney, Simple Pickled Jalapeño Slices (that you use, then, to make a Sliced, Braised Beef Sandwich, yowrrr), Candied-Pickled Apples with Star Anise, Minted Cranberry Relish with Walnuts, North Indian Carrot Pickle, Honeyed Fig Jam with Sesame Seeds, Achar Segar (what, you didn't know how to say "Indonesian Pickles" in Indonesian?), Pineapple Jam with Chinese Five-Spice, Quince Slices in Cinnamon Syrup (that you later use in a Persian lamb stew), Nuka, also known as Japanese Fermented Bran Pickles, and Hibiscus Jelly.

(Who else is hungry now?)

(But don't worry, the classics are here as well: Strawberry Jam, Apple Butter, Raspberry Preserves, Cherry Jam, among many others.)

Canning for a New Generation, much to my utter delight, turned out to be even better than I could have ever hoped for on that hot day in August when it was just a twinkle in both of our eyes. Liana put an enormous amount of work into the book and her passion fairly jumps off the page. It's a delight to read and is an inspiration in the kitchen. It's beautiful to look at and it's an incredible resource. Take a look at that cart up there: It holds all the jams I've made in the last three months, most of them done with Liana's book open on the counter. Raspberry Mint Jam, Plum Cardamom Jam and Holiday Cherries are just a few of my favorites. And one day, I like to dream that I will have an actual pantry like Liana's to line with identical jars filled with all the season's bounty. It will be grand.

Are you scared of jam-making and preserving? Liana will hold your hand. Are you bored with the plain pickles and jams you already know how to make in your sleep? Liana will lead you down the path of international pickling and preserving. Of all the many cookbooks on my bookshelf (and there are many, so many), this is the one that most consistently gets "borrowed" and not returned. Quite literally. I've had to ask my very kind former employers for a replacement copy of the book more times than I care to admit.

So, maybe, when you buy a copy, if you buy a copy, think about getting two. Then chain one to your kitchen counter so that no one can ever take it from you, or deface it with a big black marker ("Property of Geraldine! Keep Out!") so that no one will want it, and give the other one away. You'll thank me for this tip later.

Comments

[Sara]

Oh, I have taken this book out from the library many many times. I am not allowing myself to buy it until I do enough canning to "prove" I deserve it. I have been collecting canning books for a few years and currently have more books than I have made batches. This book is dangling like a carrot, I guess, for me (and it's working!). Also--I love the dairy section as well.

[Dawn]

"For those of you intimidated by preserving and canning (hot water baths! botulism! equipment!), Liana demystifies everything in soothing, sensible terms."

How timely is this! I just posted recently about my lifelong fear of botulism, which doesn't exactly go hand in hand with my surplus of garden vegetables. This book is exactly what I was looking for a few weeks ago. I will definitely be buying it. Thanks!

[Pam Long]

I am so excited to hear about this book. I have a huge organic garden, it,s so hard to find current and updated ways to preserve. I have so many things I experiment with, but not sure if there are different procedures I,m suppose to follow. When you have Chef's on the show and they make pickles for their restaurants it would be nice to how they keep them and how long they last. I look forward to use your cookbook. I hope it's as wonderful as you say.

[cristina]

wow - i've always been intimidated by canning but this post is definitely inspiring! (and hungry-fying!)

[Eileen]

Amazon recommended this book to me a while back, and I've been eyeballing it ever since. I think you just tipped me over the edge.

[Row]

Perfect timing! I tried canning for the first time when I made the tomato jam you had recently posted about (it was sooo yummy!) and now I'm hooked. This is going on my "to buy" list.. thanks!

[Charlotte au Chocolat]

What a gorgeous, glowing review! I've just added this book to my (insanely long) wish list :)

[marcie]

oh, i adore this book! i've had it for several months now and have tried handful of recipes - delicious results every time. i, too, highly recommend picking this up and getting a copy for everyone you know who even might be interested in preserving!

[marcie]

oh boy. the emphasis in my last sentence should be on "might". it reads rather strangely in retrospect...

[Joanne Cronin]

My mother is a jam-making legend. She will make jam out of any fruit or vegetable she comes across - she even recently found a fruit she didn't recognise (it looked like a crab apple) and she still made jam from it.

I feel envious of her skills in this area but this book looks like something both of us would really enjoy. Love the story of how the book came into existence too.

[Rebecca]

I just flipped through this book on my lunch break (one of the joys of working at a bookstore, and it is indeed beautiful. I love the seasonality of the recipes. The Strawberry Jam with Thai Herbs looks especially appealing with my bumper crop of fall strawberries. I'll definitely be buying this today. Thanks for the review!

[Amy]

How exciting! I must admit I am one of the masses that is too intimidated to every try canning or any real pickling. But this, this sounds so fun. I really want to get it now and try my hand out at it--it seems like I'm missing so many flavors and food experiences by keeping out of the canning realm!

PS: I love, love, love when you post about cookbooks you have edited and worked on. The process of working with cookbooks looks so intriguing.

Thanks for sharing, Luisa!

[The Starving Student]

Canning is something I have yet to try but it is the perfect time, especially with all of the fall products that are being harvested right now! The book looks like an awesome place to start!

[Adrienne]

I LOOOVE this book. I bought it last summer, I think, and I use it all the time. I put up something like a dozen jars of her pickled jalapenos and I never would have thought to save tomato seeds and skins to strain again for tomato juice but holy hot damn were my New Year's Day bloody marys the best around. I love this book.

[Meg]

Thanks for the recommendation! I've been thinking of doing an apple butter recently... But I am anxious about the food safety issue. I'll definately take a look at this!

[Luisa]

Meg - apple butter is a piece of cake and so delicious. To give you peace of mind, there's very little to worry about when cooking fruit with sugar into jams, preserves or butters - the sugar acts as a preservative and the vacuum seal on the jars (whether you do this by hot-water processing or by turning the jars upside-down after filling them) guarantees that no bad bacteria can squirrel their way in.

[Kimberley]

Hearing how this book came together is both awesome and inspiring. And the fact that the recipes stray from the familiar (in canning, for me) has totally sold me! I love when people dig into their subject as deeply as Krissof has.

[Molly]

oh sweet lord, did you say plum CARDAMOM jam? because i am physically incapable of not going all gung-ho on something (anything) that includes cardamom. even if said something is jam, and jam terrifies me, and the one and only jam i've ever made was strawberry freezer jam this past summer, which so didn't set (at all) that it ran right down my husband's toast, and fingers, and arm, this very morning. did i mention "and onto the floor", like some ill-fated meatball? well, anyway.

still? ordering. a.s.a.p. plum cardamom jam. yowrrr, indeed.

[Suzy]

Hold on a sec while I run off to Amazon and buy this...
...ok, I'm back.
Thanks for this and for giving me the push to stop being pedantic about the 1 to 1 sugar to fruit ratio that had been ingrained in me at Leiths.

[Daniel]

Funny, this book has been sitting in my Amazon cart for forever. And when I clicked your Twitter link I was hoping it was this book. Just ordered it today thanks to you.

[Ellen]

going to buy this book & Good to the Grain...excited about both!

[Stephanie]

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. My husband will not be excited about this book at all, as we already don't have space to store the fruits of my canning addiction.

But I, on the other hand, am thrilled! This looks wonderful! It's definitely going on my Christmas list, and if some grumpy husband doesn't buy it for me, I'm buying it myself!

[Shaheen [The Purple Foodie]]

Thank you for this recommendation. From the bottom of my heart. I've done a bit of canning here and there, but nothing too seriously. Just one batch experiments. I've always through that that's the kind of thing that best done by grandmas, and shied away. Just what I need.

[The Spice Doc]

Fantastic book idea and beautiful story of how it came to fruition. I have been wanting a canning/pickling book of this sort, now I just have to figure out how to get it to Chungking, China where I have just relocated to!

[laura k]

Looks like a beautiful book, and how fun to get to work on a dream project!

[Laurel]

I love books like this! I was just looking at another one the other day. I love canning and preserving, I find it extremely gratifying.

[Ashley]

As I'm reading this wonderful post in my head I'm getting more and more enthusiastic saying to myself, "I NEED this book." Then, taking another glance at the cover, I realize I bought it for my sister-in-law because I thought it looked so glorious. I wish I had heeded your advice back then and bought two copies. I suppose I'll just have to borrow her copy - that is, if it's not already chained to her kitchen. Thanks for this lovely review.

[Sasha Gora]

I have been eying this book for a while and now it is most certainly on my wish list.

Plums and cardamom - I have a feeling that I won't be able to get that combination off of my mind. I am in India where there is plenty of the latter. I just need some plums.

[The Flavor Carousel]

Im a jam convert after trying out you tomato jam recipe! Thanks for the review of this book - sounds like a good buy :-).

[beleye]

Thank you for this book review. It's exactly what I needed with a garden full of treasures waiting to be "canned"!

[noelle {simmer down!}]

This is funny- I have a tiny jam company with a friend operating out of our homes and our most popular flavor last year was our plum cardamom. I don't own this book nor had I ever tried that flavor before making it myself, but now I feel like I should get it- obviously we must have similar palates!

[amelia]

hmmmm... cute holiday gift might be this book along with a jar of homemade jam. now i'm thinking!!

[dana]

I love this book. The title is perfect. Today's canner is creative, curious and thoughtful about food. Liana show how to be those things in canning. She also cans in small batches with little equipment, making it accessible for many to give canning a try. With her fruit recipes, the fruits are truly the stars, not the sugar. This book is gorgeous; Luisa, your influence is evident. One of my favorites books of 2010. Can't wait for your book!

[Tori (@eat-tori)]

This makes me ache for a time when I've got space to create and store. This, along with pictures of hammocks and porch swings and big spades with green handles is going in my wish file for when we finally get to do a 'treechange'.

[meg jones wall]

ooh, this sounds just wonderful. i've never canned a thing in my life but i've been obsessively researching it, and i want to try it out but have been so afraid. this may be the little boost that i need to get started - it sounds perfect!

[Suzanne @ Stainlesssteelfrypan]

Thank you for this recommendation.I am now surfing at Amazon to buy this book! It really will be of great help!

[Anne]

so timely! i was just thinking about preserving earlier this week... and although i have the tinyest (NY)kitchen ever, i hope to try it out soon! just ordered the book thank you for the review! -anne

[Nan]

I adore this book! Actually, it's what led me to lurk at your wonderful blog.

[Judy at 2 Broads Abroad]

You had me at "Plum Cardamon Jam". Thanks for the wonderful post.

[Bea]

I'm amazed how canning comes back. I tried to can pumkins but used too much clover... Next time, they will be great :D

[Nuts about food]

Not related, but since comments were closed on an old post I just wanted to let you know I made pizza following your Jamie Oliver recipe and linked to you.

[laura dansby]

Wow i would love to learn how to can peaches like my grandma did