The Food in Jars Kitchen

As the editor of a home cooking website, I hear a lot of stories from readers about their successful home preserving projects-almost always accompanied by the question, "Any ideas for what to make with this?" I am thrilled to now be able to point them to Marisa McClellan's gorgeous new cookbook, which is full of ideas ranging from jam-sweetened granola to weeknight skillets with sauerkraut.

All of Marisa's books are essential volumes in my kitchen--her recipes check all the right boxes: useful, reliable, creative, and full of flavor. But The Food In Jars Kitchen might just be my favorite one yet. Now every one of my precious jars will find its best purpose, whether slathered on a roast chicken, swirled into a cake, or stirred into a cocktail. Best of all, the recipes in this book are for the comforting and unfussy food I love to eat, each one shared with the warmth and gentle authority that have made Marisa's books so accessible and invaluable to all of us over the years.

One can eat-or give away-only so many jams or pickles on their own. Marisa has not only given me delicious destinations for my garden creations, but also justification for planting and preserving more! And I know that I'll make many of her recipes with store-bought preserves, because they sound so good that they stand on their own.

Instead of letting jams and pickles languish in your fridge (guilty), you could be using them to lacquer chicken wings, swirl into pancakes, and perk up salad dressings. Marisa McClellan gives us the nudge and the tools we need to liven up our cooking, just by remembering the powerhouses we have waiting in the fridge door.

Marisa has been our expert guide, leading us deep into the canning pantry; now she is putting us and our jam (and pickles! and chutney!) to work in the kitchen. From sweets to meat, booze to biscuits, this is a massive collection of accessible, delicious, and homemade kitchen staples and comfort foods worthy of your homemade preserves. Buy this book for yourself and the canning enthusiasts in your life. You will find daily inspiration in its pages for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between.