Pretty Pantry Gifts: Recipes & Wrappings for delicious Jams, Sauces, and Pickles by Tara Duggan is part cookbook, part decorating kit, part gift.
More Than a Gift Kit
If this were just a collection of tags and pretty wrappers, I wouldn't bother reviewing it here. While the stickers, gift tags, and fabric toppers are charming, it is the fresh, modern preserving recipes and clear instructions that make Pretty Pantry Gifts interesting.
Perfect Start to Basic Preserving
Experienced preservers and canners won't find much here. The pamphlet-style cookbook that comes with Perfect Pantry Gifts is aimed at people just learning how to make jam and pickles. For beginners, however, Duggan acts as an assuring, enthusiastic guide to canning. Each recipe - be it quick blackberry jam or bread-and-butter pickles - includes quick method (usually refrigerated) and full canning method instructions. As an added bonus, a list of the recipes by season is included. Preserving, after all, is meant to preserve foods at the height of their season.
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
