The Gardeners and Farmers of Centre Terre Vivante

Terre Vivante, stated author on title page, is the name of a collective or cooperative which published a magazine. These recipes are readers' contributions requested by the editors; in publishing the book, they deliberately omitted all recipes involving freezing or canning, although some of the foods (eg jams) could be canned. Definitely old school preserving methods here -- and the contributors of each method note their location, most being French but some in Belgium, Germany, or elsewhere, which is of interest in knowing where the techniques originate. Great reference book. Worth reading with close attention.… (mehr)

A collection of personal recipes and traditional food preservation methods. The book is not only a collection of methods and techniques, but a book of traditional food lore.

The introductory pages discuss the need and utility of preserving the lore of food preservation; a distinction between traditional and modern methods; and the story of how this book came to be written.

Following an introduction on preservation, the cautions, and general ideas behind the methods; each chapter begins with a short description of the general method under consideration-along with cautions. The rest of each chapter consists of recipes and lore about specific foods preserved in the method under discussion.

The chapters cover: types of and uses of root cellars; drying foods; lactic fermentation; preservation in oil; salt (and salt brining); sugar; preserves; sweet-and-sour preserves; and the use of ethanol for food preservation.

The closing chapter is a chart about how to choose the best method for a particular food.

The book has nice illustrations and great layout. It is well supplemented with a thorough index to make any recipe immediately available.… (mehr)