Book excerpt: The must-have guide to the best of preserving, from canning and pickling, to fermenting, freezing, and drying; complete with hundreds of farm-fresh recipes This is the book for everyone who wants to preserve food—from novice to pro—with step-by-step explanations of techniques, ranging from the basics of canning to freezing, drying, fermenting, and pickling. Readers can preserve a range of produce including fruits, vegetables, herbs—anything in season can be “put by” to enjoy later. Included are techniques and recipes for jams and jellies, conserves and fruit butters, condiments, dried treats like fruit leathers and veggie chips, and freezer recipes. Also find recipes for pickles, sauerkraut, relishes, soups—even syrups. And when the tomatoes ripen all at once, check out a chapter on smart ways to preserve them. With the basics covered, the book then moves to inventive recipes such as Honey-Lavender Peaches and Caramel Apple Jam. The experts at Better Homes and Gardens even cover lower-sugar jelly and jam options as well as no-pectin jams. Complete with printed labels to personalize jars, this book takes readers easily from produce to preserved food.