Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

There are now three books in the Ball line-up for home canners. I would say that the following order reflects the hierarchy. 1. Ball Blue Book; 2. Ball Complete; 3. All New Ball Book of Canning (this one) 1. If you are a beginner canner, and don't have (1) yet, you need to get it. It has all the basics in a succinct fashion. And because it's the smallest book, it's the easiest to flip through to find quick reference information on canning beans and other veg perfectly. As of time of writing this review in June 2016 the most current one is: Ball Blue Book, 37th edition, 2014. (Note: there's no metric in this edition, only American volume measurements. If you want metric and weights, you need to search for the UK edition of this book, titled "Ball Blue Book® Guide - Metric Edition.") Ball Blue Book Guide To Preserving, 37Th Edition 2. As you grow in canning you will want to expand your repertoire. Then you will want to add the Ball Complete. It recaps a lot of what is in the Blue Book, and adds a lot more onto it. No photos, though, just a good old-style recipe book.Measurements are given in American and metric. The most current one, as of time of writing this review in June 2016, is: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving 3. Experienced canners, though, will eventually get bored of the above two books, and hunger for a more challenging set of canning recipes with more interesting ingredients, and a greater choice of pressure canning recipes. This book, the ALL NEW, is the book for them. Lots of ethnic recipes, lots of all new pressure canning recipes for interesting dishes, lots of interesting gourmet ingredients, and Ball has finally caught up with its Canadian sister Bernardin and let the wine flow freely in the recipes. This book goes above and beyond the added variety that home canners have been pleading for from Ball for some years now. Measurements are in American and metric. They've really done a great job here with this book. The only thing is, I'm not sure what they are going to call it when it's not "new" anymore! :} Eventually you will want all three books. Even experienced canners just wanting to refresh their memories for processing times on a jar of plain mushrooms will always want a copy of the Ball Blue Book to hand, because its brevity is exactly what you want "in the heat of the moment." But as you grow, you may get bored of what is in the Blue Book, and when you do, you will want to get the other two Ball books. ____________________ *Note that none of the books have more than a small handful of recipes for special dietary needs such as low-sugar or low-sodium (aside of course from the plain veg ones for pressure canning.) If you need to make low-sugar or sugar free jams for weight management or health reasons, you may wish to consider adding the Pomona Pectin recipe book to your collection. Preserving with Pomona's Pectin: The Revolutionary Low-Sugar, High-Flavor Method for Crafting and Canning Jams, Jellies, Conserves, and More