Saving the SeasonA Cook's Guide to Home Canning, Pickling, and Preserving

Kevin West is from rural Blount County in eastern Tennessee. He attended Deep Springs, an experimental college in the White Mountains of California, and Sewanee: The University of the South. For thirteen years he was on the staff at W magazine, with postings in New York, Paris, and Los Angeles, where he was West Coast editor and where he still lives. He runs the blog SavingtheSeason.com; writes about food, culture, and travel; and produces a retail collection of jams and marmalades. He is certified as a Master Food Preserver by the University of California Cooperative Extension.

“This cookbook is unlike any other on my shelf. West approaches his topic—home canning and preserving—with a reporter’s attention to detail and a poet’s sensibility; it’s less a canning tutorial and cookbook than it is a collection of absorbing personal essays, literary excerpts, explications of culinary history, and friendly advice, all of which happens to be punctuated by appealing, easy-to-follow recipes. . . . The text dances on, its cadence dictated by the season, and while there are more than enough spring and summer recipes to keep you busy every weekend from now through the end of August (I, for one, can’t wait to make my own Maraschino cherries), West’s engaging stories will probably have you reading ahead, looking forward to homemade pumpkin butter and blood orange marmalade.”
—Saveur.com

“Part cookbook, part manifesto, and part crypto-memoir . . . literate and lyrical and fanatically well researched. . . . The kind of cookbook you can read for pleasure. . . . It has more than 200 recipes but is shot through with little essays, too—about preserving, food gathering, gardening, family.”
—John Jeremiah Sullivan, Lucky Peach

“The secret corner where nostalgia meets innovation is where all food thinkers do their best work. Kevin West carves out that nook for you. . . . Traditional and quirky alike, Saving the Season is an endearing, romantic, and most of all practical resource for everyone — whether [you are] cleaning out the fridge, making the rounds at the greenmarket or just late to a strawberry picking date with Grandma. I, for one, am inspired and obsessed!”
—Christina Tosi, author of Momofuku Milk Bar

“Kevin West’s enthusiasm is infectious and his recipes seductive. Whether you are at work in the kitchen or savoring it in your armchair, great pleasures await within in the pages of Saving the Season.”
—Scott Peacock, co-author of The Gift of Southern Cooking

“Saving the Season is smart, romantic, poetic, and practical. . . . A damned good read and gorgeous photos, too.”
—David Tanis, author of A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes

“A bounty of jelly, marmalade and pickle recipes, timely and timeless for today’s cult of domesticity.”
—C, California Style magazine

“This cookbook by West, journalist and home-canning blogger, venerates the art of ‘putting up’ seasonal bounty of regional hillside orchards, forests, and gardens. Southern roots and childhood memories of home canning with grandparents inspire West’s passion for capturing the taste of the seasons in a jar. In an impressive practical guide rich in storytelling and culinary information, this self-described urban dweller who doesn’t garden provides a thorough compendium of essential techniques for preserving the harvest.. . . . Because ‘nature’s bounty is abundant but fleeting,’ West shows home cooks how to save the season through the tradition of canning.”
—Publishers Weekly

“West, who is certified as a master food preserver by the University of California Cooperative Extension, explores the various preserves available through the four seasons. Each base recipe includes variations to please any palate. . . . Appendixes of peak seasons by region and tables of fruit varieties provide extensive information for cooks in any region. More than just recipes, the book also contains stories of the author’s travels throughout the States, as well as regional preserving traditions. . . . A lot of information is packed into [Saving the Season], covering the basics of preserving along with easy to advanced recipes. The combination of recipes and musings makes this a great read both in and out of the kitchen.”
—Library Journal

“With the present obsession among consumers for locally grown fruits and vegetables, the practice of putting up foods has undergone a renaissance. As West points out, the real goal of home canning, pickling, and preserving is to retain for future enjoyment the special flavors of foods freshly plucked from the earth or snatched from trees and vines. West’s recipes, clearly written, cover everything from dill pickles to complex marmalades. Antique fruits appear as well as fiery kimchi. In addition to his recipes, West has scattered through the text reminiscences, anecdotes, and reflections on personalities associated in some way to the world of canning and preserving. . . . West’s guide will prove invaluable.”
—Booklist

“This cookbook is unlike any other on my shelf. West approaches his topic—home canning and preserving—with a reporter’s attention to detail and a poet’s sensibility; it’s less a canning tutorial and cookbook than it is a collection of absorbing personal essays, literary excerpts, explications of culinary history, and friendly advice, all of which happens to be punctuated by appealing, easy-to-follow recipes. . . . The text dances on, its cadence dictated by the season, and while there are more than enough spring and summer recipes to keep you busy every weekend from now through the end of August (I, for one, can’t wait to make my own Maraschino cherries), West’s engaging stories will probably have you reading ahead, looking forward to homemade pumpkin butter and blood orange marmalade.”
—Saveur.com

“Part cookbook, part manifesto, and part crypto-memoir . . . literate and lyrical and fanatically well researched. . . . The kind of cookbook you can read for pleasure. . . . It has more than 200 recipes but is shot through with little essays, too—about preserving, food gathering, gardening, family.”
—John Jeremiah Sullivan, Lucky Peach

 
“The secret corner where nostalgia meets innovation is where all food thinkers do their best work. Kevin West carves out that nook for you. . . . Traditional and quirky alike, Saving the Season is an endearing, romantic, and most of all practical resource for everyone — whether [you are] cleaning out the fridge, making the rounds at the greenmarket or just late to a strawberry picking date with Grandma. I, for one, am inspired and obsessed!”
—Christina Tosi, author of Momofuku Milk Bar
 

“Kevin West’s enthusiasm is infectious and his recipes seductive. Whether you are at work in the kitchen or savoring it in your armchair, great pleasures await within in the pages of Saving the Season.”
—Scott Peacock, co-author of The Gift of Southern Cooking
 
“Saving the Season is smart, romantic, poetic, and practical. . . . A damned good read and gorgeous photos, too.”
—David Tanis, author of A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes

“A bounty of jelly, marmalade and pickle recipes, timely and timeless for today’s cult of domesticity.”
—C, California Style magazine

“This cookbook by West, journalist and home-canning blogger, venerates the art of ‘putting up’ seasonal bounty of regional hillside orchards, forests, and gardens. Southern roots and childhood memories of home canning with grandparents inspire West’s passion for capturing the taste of the seasons in a jar. In an impressive practical guide rich in storytelling and culinary information, this self-described urban dweller who doesn’t garden provides a thorough compendium of essential techniques for preserving the harvest.. . . . Because ‘nature’s bounty is abundant but fleeting,’ West shows home cooks how to save the season through the tradition of canning.”
—Publishers Weekly

“West, who is certified as a master food preserver by the University of California Cooperative Extension, explores the various preserves available through the four seasons. Each base recipe includes variations to please any palate. . . . Appendixes of peak seasons by region and tables of fruit varieties provide extensive information for cooks in any region. More than just recipes, the book also contains stories of the author’s travels throughout the States, as well as regional preserving traditions. . . . A lot of information is packed into [Saving the Season], covering the basics of preserving along with easy to advanced recipes. The combination of recipes and musings makes this a great read both in and out of the kitchen.”
—Library Journal

 
“With the present obsession among consumers for locally grown fruits and vegetables, the practice of putting up foods has undergone a renaissance. As West points out, the real goal of home canning, pickling, and preserving is to retain for future enjoyment the special flavors of foods freshly plucked from the earth or snatched from trees and vines. West’s recipes, clearly written, cover everything from dill pickles to complex marmalades. Antique fruits appear as well as fiery kimchi. In addition to his recipes, West has scattered through the text reminiscences, anecdotes, and reflections on personalities associated in some way to the world of canning and preserving. . . . West’s guide will prove invaluable.”
—Booklist