Narsai David Book Review: Saving the Season - A Cook's Guide To Home Canning, Pickling, and Preserving

Narsai David is the KCBS Food and Wine Editor. He has been a successful restaurateur, chef, TV host, and columnist in the Bay Area spanning four decades. You can hear him Saturdays at 10:53 a.m., 12:53 p.m. and 4:53 p.m., and at 2:53 a.m. Sunday on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

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BERKELEY (KCBS) - A very creative book for the summer canning season, Saving the Season: A Cook's Guide to Home Canning, Pickling, and Preserving is not just recipes.

Author Kevin West is an excellent story teller whose meandering style touches on many cooking topics related to canning and preserves. One chapter deals with the literary origins of the Thanksgiving meal.

West, a teacher at the Institute of Domestic Technology in Los Angeles, has written a book that goes beyond the usual fruits, vegetables and pickles. How about kimchi, sauerkraut, horse radish, and vanilla extract?

There is enough on marmelades to fill three cookbooks, some made with the entire fruit and others with just the rind. One very creative one I'm dying to try is a scotch marmalade, which as you could imagine, has a good splash of whiskey in it.

Throughout the book, it's just a pleasure reading someone who writes so well and has such fun, interesting side stories to tell. I know I'll be turning to it quite a bit this summer.

Saving the Season: A Cook's Guide To Home Canning, Pickling, and Preserving
Kevin West
Published by Alfred A. Knopf

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