AI-created materials is clogging up the lists of books to buy or social media posts to read, leading to a market full of unchecked resources.

To help make it easier, here is a list of some reputable and safe canning resources, including hard copy books and online websites to use.

**Please note this is not a review of the resources, simply a list of where to get started!

Hard Copy Books

Hard copy books is the easiest way to have credible and reliable canning recipes on hand.

I highly recommend renting books out from your local public library before purchasing. No need to waste money on books you won’t use, and renting them is a great way to see if it’s worth the purchase.

I believe 2-3 books is plenty for a comprehensive canning recipe library.

That said, here are some reputable canning books you can look into:

1. Ball’s Complete Book of Home Preserving, 400 delicious and creative recipes for today (2024) Link: https://a.co/d/04WeiKZO
2. The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving: Over 350 of the Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, and Preserved Recipes (2016), Link: https://a.co/d/03cD7PW1
3. Ball Canning Back to Basics: A Foolproof Guide to Jams, Jellies, Pickles, and more (2017) Link: https://a.co/d/00GsfdJn
4. The Homestead Canning Cookbook by Georgia Varozzo (2020) Link: https://a.co/d/0iJ1YfsF
5. The Complete Book of Home Canning by The United States Department of Agriculture (2015) Link: https://a.co/d/042DvTKO
6. Can It & Ferment It: More than 75 Satisfying Small-Batch Canning and Fermentation Recipes for the Whole Year by Stephanie Thurow (2017) Link: https://a.co/d/05X3oEOb
7. WECK Home Preserving: Made-from-Scratch Recipes for Water-bath Canning, Fermenting, Pickling, and More by Stephanie Thurow (2020) Link: https://a.co/d/0hbvgDCo
8. The Complete Guide to Pressure Canning: Everything You Need to Know to Can Meats, Vegetables, Meals in a Jar, and More by Diane Devereaux (2018) Link: https://a.co/d/027LzmJl

If I missed a good one please leave a comment down below.

That said, never purchase a canning recipe book where AI may have been used in either the photos or the writing. This is 2026! Everyone has access to a camera and some editing on a computer and hiring book writers who are real people is normal. AI should not be used, and as far as I know nothing that is listed has used AI in their books.

Online Websites

The great thing about blogs, or other social media websites, is that the author will usually give you extra hints and tips along the way to make the canning process easier.

And they are also usually better at photographing the process, instead of just the end result, giving a better visual, which can be very helpful.

However, canning recipes, no matter where on the internet, should always be safe in terms of ingredients used, prepping the food, and appropriately using the water bath canner or a pressure canner.

Here are websites to use to make sure recipes you find on the internet are safe:

1. National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), University of Georgia: https://nchfp.uga.edu/resources/category/usda-guide
2. Ball’s Canning Recipes: https://www.ballmasonjars.com/recipes?fdid=recipes
3. The Complete Guide to Home Canning, Mississippi State University Extension: https://extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/publications/P1152_web.pdf

The first one (NCHFP) listed is the best website to double check anything because they have a search bar and an extensive database of knowledge.

Ball’s canning recipes website has a search bar you can use also, Ball holds a very high standard of quality and safety with their recipes.

The third one listed is a great print out if you wish to print something instead! It has canning basics and recipes included.

That’s It!

Now (in February, and early spring) is a great time to re assess your canning recipe book library.

You should always be willing to upgrade your books or catalogs to current editions to make sure your are making changes where they need to be made.

And I always encourage you to can safely and not recklessly. Freezing or freezing drying is a great way to ‘have fun’ with recipes, and sometimes they have a longer shelf life than a canned recipe anyways.

I also very much encourage you to utilize your local public library to see if certain books will be worth the purchase. No need to waste money on books your not going to use!

Feel free to bookmark this page for future reference.

Enjoy!

The Cottage Vegetable

Gardening & Preserving for a Practical Kitchen

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