Preserving and pickling the easy, modern way: in small quantities for today's small households. Forget about big jars and hours of work on a hot summer's day. Some recipes call for as few as two ingredients; some don't even require cooking. There are also recipes for beverages, salsas, baked goods, and other desserts using jarred foods as ingredients. Special equipment? Nope. The lingo is defined in a glossary, a source list suggests where to buy wide-stemmed jar funnels (handy but not necessary), pickling lime (a white powder, not fruit) and calorie-reduced pectin.
Jeanne Lesem was born in Kansas and grew up during the Depression in small towns in Arkansas, where she learned as a child that her mother?s homemade preserves and pickles made plain food taste special. A former food editor of United Press International, she has lived for many years in New York City.