Canning

And don't forget http://nchfp.uga.edu/ National Center for Home Food Preservation, sponsored by the US Dept of Agriculture. Also, highly recommend "So Easy to Preserve" by the Cooperative Extension at the Univ of Georgia -- I'm in the middle of a certification program to be a "Master Food Preserver" and this is our how-to book, which is also loaded with recipes. For food safety purposes, we recommend only using tested, current (e.g., since 1995 -- not sure why that is a magic date) recipes, and at a minimum understanding the importance of high-acid/low acid/overall ph to your processing method. While jams and jellies are relatively safe and easy to prepare, if you decide to venture into real canning of fruits and vegetables, you need to understand pressure canning hows and whens (who knew that improperly prepared green beans can be fatal? No one wants their home preserved foods to be deadly!).

foodinjars.com is also a great resource!

Another site I like is PickYourOwn.org. Here is a link for canning books. You can also find what you want to can and they have photos. http://pickyourown.org/canningbooks.htm

Thank you everyone for the great info. I can't wait to start the canning process!

Totally agree with mainecook61. Been canning for years and have been taught by my great grandmother on through the generations. I count on are http://nchfp.uga.edu/ for a lot of reasons. Books like Small Patch Preserving and Joy of Cooking don't provide the basics of canning in my view. Particularly important is acidity and when to know to cold pack, hot pack, water bath can or pressure can. The books and sites recommended take all the mystery out of canning and give steps. Canning is easy and takes attention. I\

Another reason why I'd want a copy of Joy of Cooking to float ashore if I were ever stranded on a tropical island.

There's also the good ol' USDA who provides free information on preserving including lots of tested recipes, tips and tutorials:

http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html

The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, the newest iteration of the old Ball Blue Book, is pretty solid. I love my old copy of "Putting Food By" by Beatrice Vaughan, et al. Linda Ziedrich also has two fine books on jams/jelliies and pickling. If I had to vote for one of these, it's Putting Food By, which has been around for a few decades and is now in its fifth edition. It's been my guide for a long time.

I also recommend "Put 'em Up". I've made several of the recipes and all were easy to follow despite the fact that I am easily intimidated by things like canning. I also recommend the "Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving" although I admit I haven't tried as many of the recipes as "Put 'em Up".

I really like put em up also

I like Small Batch Preserving (http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Book-Small-Batch-Preserving/dp/B007R9055W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339188102&sr=8-1) and Put 'em Up! (http://www.amazon.com/Put-em-Sherri-Brooks-Vinton/dp/1603425462/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339188149&sr=8-1)