The Cookbooks That Sustained Us

 The best sellers of 2020 were not thrillers or romance - although they certainly had thrills and love in them. They also had flavor. What sold during the pandemic year? Cookbooks. Thousands of them. They helped us get through some of the most difficult times.

Kim Severson wrote about this phenomena of sorts in today's New York Times Food section.Cookbooks were everyone's go to , starting almost exactly a year ago. They comforted us, taught us how to cook comfort food as well as exotic dishes,Best of all they were simply a friend to home chefs, looking for an escape from a scary new normal.It's no wonder that sales were up seventeen per cent from 2019. The stars were predictable. Joanna Gaines and Ina Garten were at the top. Samin Nosrat, a regular contributor to the New York Times Food section. Her Salt,Fat, Acid, Heat, (Simon and Schuster) was number five on The New York Times non fiction best sellers list. Others, like Claire Saffitz's Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence (Clarkson Potter) also rose to the top ten, speaking to our need for sweet comfort last year. Trends emerged too. Sales of vegan cookbooks soared as did  ones revolving around health. This was due to people concerned about the planet and their own Covid-19 threatened lives. Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes by San Francisco chef, Bryant Terry sold 30,000. African American cookbooks like   Toni Tipton -Martin's Jubilee Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking, a mix of history and cooking also sold.

Of course books about baking bread soared. People wanted to join the sourdough trend. Yet other trends emerged too. There was a run on canning and preserving books because many home chefs went out and bought canning equipment. The same was true for grilling. The sales of pellet grills and smoking cookbooks were simultaneous. That's why Franklin Manifesto : A Meat Smoking Manifesto written by Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mckay was a breakout hit. The book sold a whopping 360,000 copies with 500,000 in print.Pizza cookbooks were other big sellers. Flour,Water, Salt, Yeast : The Fundamentals  Of Artisan Bread and Pizza written by Ken Forkish and published by the food centric Ten Speed Press became the top selling baking book on Amazon with 600,000 books in print. Home chefs wanted to travel too and they did it through cookbooks.In Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers From the Eight African Countries That Touch The Indian Ocean shows  the different comfort recipes from Eastern Africa along with Dan Buettner's The Blue Zones Kitchen which combines lush photography from around the world with international recipes.

Cookbooks will always be a source of comfort. They not only teach us but take us away from what had been the scary normal. They were godsends in a truly turbulent year.

Preserve Us!

Some people may lament the summer's leaving and all the harvest that comes with it. However you can still enjoy what's left of this last harvest and fall's new one by preserving. This homespun method has always been received with a smirk however there is nothing like them. Homemade jams and jellies go well with everything from fresh baked scones and muffins to ice creams and pudding. It's a great way of getting more out of your harvests.

Preserving or canning does take some time and involvement. You do have to have special canning jars with two piece lids for success. The lids consists of a small cap that seals the jar's rim along with an outer part known as the screw or band cap that keeps the inner one in place. You'll also need a large covered waterbath. This is a large pot that looks like a lobster pot . It has a removable metal basket at the bottom and this lifts the jars from the water. You can use a stock pot with a wire cooling rack too. You'll need a jar lifter as well. These look like large tongs and are useful in lifting the hot jars from the water. You'll also need a funnel and a non metallic spatula or knife. .Use these to break any bubbles that may have formed in the jars. Pectins are also needed in the preservation process. These are fruit based gels that helped bind and solidify the preserves.

One you have the equipment you can have fun with what you want to preserve. It's good to use high acidity fruits and tomatoes. They go through the process the best. Most people use strawberries but you can also can other berries such as raspberries or blackberries. Figs can also be preserved along with pears. This last will be entering its' harvest season right along with apples and grapes. Remember that most grocery markets are able to ship fruit in from South America all year round so you can still preserve summer faves likes peaches, and apricots well into December. You can also take advantage of the winter's citrus crop. There are some great recipes for preserved grapefruit and oranges .

Preserving is a great way to hold onto the summer and fall harvests. Homemade preserves are also a great way to liven up any dessert along with adding extra flavor to muffins or biscuits. Try this time honored method for keeping that just picked taste.

Jamming

There's nothing like jam on a warm English muffin or well buttered toast. Even bette r is when you make it. Now that the summer harvest is done with it's time to try jam making. With the right equipment, It's relatively easy and fun.it;s also a great Saturday afternoon activity the whole family can profit from.

I know everyone has qualms about jam making. After all it does come with a bad rap.preserve the wrong way and you've got problems namely a deadly botulism. However if don e the right way you have homemade jams that can be enjoyed whether in crepes or on muffins. You do need th e right equipment though such as sterilized jars, paraffin for sealing and two piece metal lids. You'll also need a kettle or large pot for cooking along with pectins for preserving Pectins are thickening agents derived from fruit. This is what holds the mixture together and give jams and jellies their texture.

What kind of jams to make? Apples are big right now along with pears. You can make either a n apple butter (sooo good on fresh made bread or some kind of apple chutney. Pears lend themselves to some wonderful jams too. You can also make a spicy butter from them too using nutmeg. The English go for blackberries this time of year and English kitchen are full of jars of the stuff freshly made into jam. There;s a wonderful site www.canning-recipes.com that has dozens upon dozens of ideas . Go to it if you want just simple recipes or looking for more adventurous ones.

Takes your harvests and turn them into jams. There's nothing like waking up on a cool morning to a cup of coffee and homemade jam spread on buttered toast or English muffin! better yet you have your favorite fruit flavors to choose from

Freezing For Fall -Storage For Your Garden

Now is the time to start harvesting whatever is left in your garden. You can simply free dry or turn fruits and veggies into jams and aspics. It's up to you.

If you have a lot of herbs you can easily pick and dry them . oregano, basil and rosemary all travel well from plant to jar and are great over any kind of roast. For basil remember to wash in cold water and then pat dry with a paper towel. basil can also be blended into a pesto sauce to be served with pasta or gnocchi later on in the season.

Now is also a good time to use these for your sauces. If you;re lucky to have an over abundance of tomatoes, then turn them into sauce. There's nothing the like home made kind warming you up on a cold rainy October or November day. Also think about cooking and freezing your squashes and zucchini. These can easily be thawed out after and served as a quick side.

The second raspberry season is just around the corner. If you're lucky to go late summer picking , then think about making your own jam. This can be tricky if you're not careful. One wrong move in canning and you can kill off your whole family. make sure equipment and jars are properly sterilized before you do anything. Also have help when preserving because it is a long and involved process (albeit a fun one). Raspberries can also be frozen for later use in desserts and cakes.

This is the season to harvest and prepare for the fall and winter ahead. Do what you have to do to to make your fruits and veggies last.