Didn't know there was one! Haven't seen it anywhere and can't even find anything about it online. Peaches book is the only recent edition I can find anywhere so you guys finding it are lucky. Will keep my eyes peeled for it. Can you post a pic of the cover for us Melly?

Dave

I bought mine at Walmart about 3 weeks ago, (In Michigan) Think it was $8.99 or something like that, It does have new recipes in it.

it's on their website.

Ball Blue Book on Fresh Preserving Site

I bought it at Target. I had a $5 off $25 of kitchen and home items coupon so used that and bought some jars. Probably came out about the same as if I'd bought them at the commissary. I haven't sat down and studied it yet.

not enough pictures!

I got it $9.99 at Target, haven't gotten all the way through it (not the low acid stuff) but noted changes in a few old recipes I contacted them about still waiting for reply: Curried Apple Chutney cut recipe in half to make 5 pints instead of 5 quarts (I assume old processing time for quarts is still OK) but they left the garlic as 1 clove instead of cutting in half. Jalapeno Salsa cut the vinegar in half. Hot Pickle Mix instructions no longer say to discard the garlic before jarring up (omission?). A "new" (variation on Zucchini Pickles? Makes more and canned in pints not half pints) recipe for Zucchini-Hot Pepper Pickles also seems low in acid (in comparison to the original recipe just above it), I just got to that page yesterday and contacted Ball through their website.

It's mostly a reorganization, Tomatoes now a new section. I think they dropped Citrus Marmalade, Pineapple Chile Salsa and Zesty Salsa though maybe those are hidden in the back of the book. Salsa recipes still seem to be scattered throughout, not all in 1 section though there is a salsa section under Tomatoes. Vine-Fresh Tomato Soup (for BWB) and Salsa Verde are new, so is Blueberry Lemon Jam (though I think it's just a variation on Blueberry Lime using liquid pectin), Zucchini Pineapple (NCHFP recipe ) is a "new" recipe, so is Tomato Paste (from Ball Complete, it wasn't in BBB the last few editions), there's a Strawberry-Grapefruit Juice, Sweet Cucumber Rings (?) and Pickled Butternut Squash. I guess the cover photo recipe Red Chili Cherry Jam is new but it must be in the back of the book, I'm up to page 99 and haven't hit it yet.

Each recipe now has very detailed complete instructions, from washing produce to cooling and storing jars. There's a new section on choosing a pressure canner. It really seems to be geared towards newbies and to some extent small batch and "artisan" canning though there are still larger batches in some recipes and lots of the old favorites (basic pantry items like canned tomatoes, relishes, pickles, jams) are still there.

Finally found one today at Walmart for $8. Definitely thicker than the past books. Looking forward to exploring it in detail.

Dave

Dave - I think it's thicker (more pages) mainly because of the rewritten recipes with full instructions rather than assuming someone knows how to wash, cut and measure produce, how to BWB or PC. 3-4 recipes per page now instead of 6 because of that. I'm about halfway through the book (almost all the way through the canning sections) and haven't found that many new recipes. The processing time for Rabbit and Squirrel was increased to 75 minutes for pints 90 minutes for quarts in addition to the changes/new recipes I noted above.

My Blue Book is from 1995. I've been a "sporadic" canner over the years, I've done some jam and raspberry juice and last year I did grapes for juice, jam and jelly. This year, I've acquired a pressure canner, so I'm probably going to expand my canning. I'm going to guess maybe I need a new book?

<I'm going to guess maybe I need a new book?>

Oh yeah you do. :)

Dave

I sat down and did a section by section comparison today while watching the pressure canner.

200 pages vs. 128

New and slightly bigger type face.

More detailed index and 2 new categories - Meal Creations (new recipes) and Something Extra (also some new recipes).

Expanded Equipment and How To sections.

Overall better organization ie: all the tomatoes stuff together and has its own category now vs. scattered here and there and in with Fruits, Juices, and Tomatoes category.

Added the "Your Choose" and "Our Tips" to lots of the recipes.

In Fruits I found 6 new recipes.

All in all well worth the $8.29 I paid for it at Walmart.

Dave

Are the serious about canning squirrel?

Sure. Why not? Same method as for canning rabbit. Never been squirrel hunting? It is a rural life thing.

Dave

Their recipe for Jalapeno Salsa is confusing ... it says 3 cups of chopped jalapeno's but in parenthesis it says 2-3 medium....; 3 cups chopped tomatoes and 1 cup chopped onions, and miscellaneous spices including garlic and cilantro... then only 1/2 c of vinegar... which is off when compared to other similar.. I don't have the new book but a person on a fb page had questions and ended up calling ball for clarification.. She did call and said that the
lady had to ask her manager about it. Then she told her 1/2 cup is fine.
But she first told her that the big book called for 1 cup! She asked her
is it going to be safe??? She said yes...

My (old) book has 3 c tomatoes, 3 c jalapenos (which was definitely more than 3 peppers), 1 c onion, the spices and 1 cup cider vinegar.

I'm going to rack this one to a typo and make a note in the margin. There are just too many sources/prints of this recipe and too many similar recipes all calling for 1 cup and no notes on new research to buy into the claim that all of a sudden 1/2 cup is enough for all those low acid ingredients. You could make it with 1/2 cup bottled lemon or lime juice since it is 2x as acidic but if I was going to make it with vinegar I'd use 1 cup.

Dave

You know canfan, I noticed that too. I made a hybrid version of Annie's Salsa, using the Jalapeno Salsa recipe as inspiration, and went with 1 cup of vinegar. I roasted the jalapenos before chopping as well.

I came up with:

Roasted Jalapeno Salsa
Makes 7-8 pints

5 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained
*5 cups roasted jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional seeded or unseeded)
2 cups diced onion
6 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp pepper
1/8 cup canning salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
16 oz. tomato sauce
16 oz. tomato paste

*To roast jalapenos, set oven broiler to high and place oven rack 6 inches away from broiler. Prepare peppers by slicing off tops and placing whole on a cookie sheet. Roast in broiler until skins turn brown/black, turning peppers halfway through. When finished, remove from oven and allow to cool. When cool, chop jalapenos (be sure to wear gloves!) and either remove the seeds or keep them for more spice!

Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer 10-20 minutes. Ladel into prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace, and process in a BWB for 15 minutes.

Annie's Salsa is my favorite... I stick to the recipe except I do use some lime juice in place of the vinegar just to vary the flavor a bit. Roasting the peppers and perhaps the onions is something I may do this year. I need to work on the heat factor, too. Family likes it spicy and for some reason I just can't seem to get it to pack the punch they are looking for... I'd be happy with medium warm instead of hot... :)