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UC Master Food Preservers of Central Sierra
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Preserve it! Series: Know Where to Find Helpful Preserving Advice

Safe Preserving Resources  

There are many books and websites covering food preserving, but unfortunately not all of them provide good advice. Some sources provide processes or recipes that are downright dangerous. So where do you turn for research-based, reliable information? Or to find safe information on a particular topic? 

Here’s a list.
National Center for Home Food Preservation
Ball website
Bernardin website 
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. 2015. Free to download the USDA Guide. Also available in paper copy from Purdue Extension
So Easy to Preserve, Sixth Edition. 2014. Bulletin 989. Cooperative
Extension/The University of Georgia/Athens
Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. 2024. Newell Corporation
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, 2024. Newell Corporation.
All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving, 2023. Newell Corporation

To find information on a particular topic, enter the following search string in the search bar in your web browser: <topic> site:.edu
Examples of search strings include:
canning tomatoes site:.edu
safe substitutions for preserving site:.edu
zucchini site:.edu

And of course, please visit our own website, where you’ll find safe recipes, Preserving Fundamentals publications, food safety information and posters, class schedules, and much more.

Ask a Master Food Preserver 

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Brought to you by the UCCE Master Food Preservers of El Dorado County
Last updated: July 2025