WINNER!
The winner is April J! She said, “From Lark Crafts I liked the jewelry, and from Foodsaver, I love the FoodSaver® V3840 Vacuum Sealer Kit!”
Send an email to kelsey[at]vanillajoy[dot]com to claim your prize.
THE PRIZE
One reader will win a FoodSaver FRESHSAVER Handheld Vacuum Sealing System AND Canning & Preserving with Ashley English, written by Ashley English and published by Lark Books.
MY REVIEW
I love this time of year for lots of reasons, but one of the big ones is canning and preserving. I love fruit especially, and having all my favorite fruits all winter long in pie filling, syrups, and jams is the best thing ever.
A good preserving reference guide is a must, and Canning and Preserving with Ashley Enligsh has great recipes but it also has pages and pages of information on the science and art of canning for both newbies and old pros.
Two of my favorite sections begin on pages 29 and 35 – Boiling Water Bath- and Pressure Canner Processing Step-by-Step. At the beginning of each canning season we all need a quick refresher and this book has a thorough overview of all the steps from cleaning the jars, lids, and screw bands, heating the jars, prepping the lids, checking head space, processing the jars, cooling and checking the seals, reprocessing if needed, and storing.
I also love the scientific explanations about canning chemistry, acidity, and altitude – knowing the behind-the-scenes information really helps me to feel like I know what I’m doing.
There are charts throughout the book about food safety (fruits/veggies with high and low pesticide traces), seasonality of ingredients, pectin, ideas for gift baskets, and definitions of everything from jam to curd.
The second half of the book is full of recipes and I can’t wait to try the strawberry jam, apple butter, and strawberry and vanilla sauce. There’s a vast collection of pickling recipes in this book too. I’ll be posting recipes and my results as the canning season gets fully under way, so stay tuned!
And to go along with Ashley English‘s canning book, we have another preserving tool for more year-round needs. I’ve been wanting a FoodSaver for a long time, and this handheld, cordless, and rechargeable version is perfect for my small kitchen.
The FRESHSAVER comes with
- 1 Charging Stand
- 2 Deli Containers
- 5 Quart Vacuum Zipper Bags
- 5 Gallon Vacuum Zipper Bags
We have a hard time keeping our sandwich meat fresh so I use my FRESHSAVER most for that, but there are so many great uses. The deli containers are great for meats, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, cookies, and the freezer bags are fabulous for any kind of leftovers, smoothie fruits/veggies, baking chips, butter, ANYTHING!
Both of these products are perfect for keeping all your food fresh and delicious. Thanks to Ashley English for the words of canning wisdom and to Lark Books and FoodSaver for sponsoring this giveaway!
GIVEAWAY RULES
- Visit LarkCrafts .com AND FoodSaver.com
- Make a comment on this post telling me your favorite products and why you’d like to win before midnight Sunday, September 12.
- A winner will be selected and announced in a new post on Monday.
- Only one comment per person unless you earn extra entries.
- Giveaway open only to residents of the continental United States…sorry.
- Winners must email me to claim their prize within 5 days.
EARN EXTRA ENTRIES
You may earn 1 extra entry each for doing the following (make a separate comment for each thing you do):
- Become a Facebook fan of Lark Crafts
- Follow Lark Crafts on Twitter
- Sign up for Lark Crafts’ E-Newsletter
- Sign up for Email offers from FoodSaver
- Subscribe to Vanilla Joy on YouTube
- Become a Facebook Fan of Vanilla Joy
- Facebook about the contest with a link back here
- Add the “Back to Craft School” banner to your blog
- Subscribe to my feed
- Sign up for my newsletter
- Add my button to your sidebar
- Comment on any non-contest post (must contribute to the conversation)
GOOD LUCK and THANKS!
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