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| Gourmet Preserves Chez Madelaine: Elegant Marmalades, Jams, Jellies, and Preserves in Small Quantities Plus Quick Breads, Tarts, Scones, Muffins, and Desserts | 
 enlarge | Author: Madelaine Bullwinkel
Publisher: Surrey Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $4.95
You Save: $10.00 (67%)
New (32) Used (14) from $4.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 270262
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 6.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 1572840781
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.852
EAN: 9781572840782
ASIN: 1572840781
Publication Date: March 10, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New - may have a small remainder mark on the edge.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 7 | | NEXT » |
 Great cookbook July 4, 2008
I have an old edition of this cookbook, but I've looked through the new edition and don't think that there are any big changes. Perhaps that's why people are complaining that the book isn't "gourmet" enough. It's from the late 70's or early 80's when people were just beginning to rediscover the joys of making your own food. Everything now has to scream NEW and IMPROVED so a book that claims to be "gourmet" now has to be filled with all sorts of bizarre combinations and ingredients that you can't even find at your local supermarket, let alone at a farmer's market. Which I, personally, am not really all that interested in. I just want to make some interesting jams, jellies, marmalades to keep and to give as gifts.
Everything that I've made from this book has come out excellent. I am a particular fan of the lime-zucchini marmalade. Marmalade isn't the easiest thing to make (and takes 2-3 days!) but it is so delicious when you make it yourself. The lime-zucchini flavor may sound a little strange, but it really works and makes for a hearty breakfast spread. The strawberry rhubarb jam is also delicious: not too sweet, not too sour. She also supplies recipes for various muffins and breads that compliment the homemade preserves, and some desserts that use the preserves.
She sometimes includes 2 or 3 different recipes for the same thing, and I've learned so much about how preserves are just by reading these different recipes: what steps are necessary, and what steps can you toy with? Each chapter also has a little bit of history and theory. The beginning of the book gives very comprehensive instructions on canning. However, these instructions are kind of outdated, and use paraffin wax instead of the self-sealing lids. For more up-to-date canning instructions, I recommend Canning and Preserving for Dummies.
My one complaint about the book is that she doesn't use commercial pectin. Most recipes include ingredients that supply the pectin. Other recipes call for a pectin stock that she supplies the recipes for. While this is a wonderful idea in theory, I wish she had included instructions on substituting commercial pectin.
A longtime favorite September 10, 2007
This has been a favorite on my cookbook shelf for years. Recipes are fun, but not so exotic that they're difficult or demand hard-to-find ingredients. I was first attracted by the idea of using less sugar--too many standard jam recipes are too sweet for me, and the fruity taste is lost. I also like the ability to make just a few jars whenever I want to try a new recipe, rather than making a dozen jars of something only to discover I don't really like it. Favorites are the rhubarb-ginger, rhubarb-fig and blueberry-mint jams, and the lemon-ginger marmalade. I won a baking prize with the Blueberry-Pecan Cheesecake, too!
 A "Preserves How To" for Your Kitchen Reference Shelf June 22, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Preserving small quantities was the reason for my purchasing this book and the reasonable price. Color photos would just increase the cost of this book, and for me I can do without. Even though I have experience in preserving, I found the Introduction and the 1st 2 chapters very informative. The preserving recipes that are included are fun and the fruit combinations are new to me. Cutting down on sugar is an added bonus. I do enjoy the dessert recipes and Chez M's recipe for Creme Fraiche always works for me. The seasonal guide at the end of the book is so worthwhile. I also appreciate Ms. Bullwinkel giving her web address for questions. It is a book that I will keep close to my kettle.
 A book for recipe-followers November 2, 2005
18 out of 31 found this review helpful
Gourmet Preserves is a nice cookbook for making jams, jellies and preserves. Unfortunately, this book is for recipe-followers and provides little education in the actual preservation of jams, jellies and preserves.
Madelaine Bullwinkel has had over 30 years experience in making jams. She, currently, takes people on culinary tours of France. Bullwinkel has her own cooking school in Chicago and has been featured in such magazines like Bon Appetit and Better Homes & Garden.
With accolades from people like Charlie Trotter and Gale Gand, it is hard to see anything negative about this book. There is a basic instruction, in the front of the book, that teaches readers some beginning knowledge in jamming. The author does include no-sugar options, which is wonderful for the diabetics in your family. Bullwinkel, also, includes recipes that utilize some of her creative jams, like scones and trifles.
Chapters included in this book are: A Short History of Preserving; Techniques and Equipment for Preserving; Jams; No-Sugar Jams; Jellies; Marmalades; Preserves; Breads and Muffins; Desserts; A Seasonal Guide to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables for Preserving.
Photographs in a cookbook, in my opinion, are a perfect opportunity to sell your book. Unfortunately, the only photos in this book are the occasional black and white photos of a piece of fruit. There is no instruction on pH levels in jamming, nor any discussion on it. I find her term "No-Sugar Jams" misleading. Since fruit contains fructose, a type of sugar, one cannot really say that there is no sugar in the recipe. The proper term utilized by the USDA is "No-Sugar-Added".
Bullwinkel encourages creativity in her book (see Page 14) and suggests adding fresh herbs, spices and liquors. What she fails to mention is that if you add too many low-acid items, you can raise your pH levels to a dangerous level, and being there is no real discussion on pH levels, a new reader would not know this that they are even doing this.
When attempting to educate readers of this book about jam-making, she does point out that the utilization of copper in jamming is not good. Having been in training positions before, I always find that if you explain why you should or should not do something, you will have a greater understanding of what you are attempting to learn. In this specific case, she does not explain that the use of copper actually destroys the vitamin content of the product.
According to the USDA, the inversion method to seal is improper and unsafe. Bullwinkel prefers to seal all her jams this way. The USDA only recommends jams to be boiled in a RWB to seal. Jams sealed by the inversion method can unseal at higher room temperatures, and then reseal themselves with lower room temperatures! No one would know that any molds may be growing on this product. Imagine taking some of your creations in your car on a hot day to a sick grandmother. The probability of these jars (sealed by the inversion method) unsealing, may not be large at consistent, cooler temperatures, but usually one educates their students by the proper methods considering all probable variables. Through time and experience, one can learn when and how to bend the rules.
Her definitions of jellies, preserves, marmalades make no reference to the amounts of sugar in each. The USDA and other institutions have legal definitions for this. She states that preserves need to have fruit pieces suspended within the mixture. If that were the case, than something like Seedless Blackberry Preserves would not exist. I know it does, as I just bought some last week.
Also, she claims that blueberries are high in natural pectins (page 7, side bar). Upon researching this, I found that the University of Georgia's Food Science department (page 1, Essential Ingredients) states that blueberries are actually low-pectin fruits! So, how can Bullwinkel be a teacher of jam-making if she does not know basic chemistry of the fruit with which she is working?
There are some unusual recipes within this book: Rosemary Red Onion Jelly, Tomato Orange Jam, as well as Lime Zucchini Marmalade. But you can also find some more traditional jams, such as Orange Marmalade and Strawberry Jam. Yet, the recipes in this book are not creative enough to call itself, "gourmet" as the title of this book suggests.
This is a nice book, although, due to its lack of information about the science behind jamming, I would only recommend this book to readers who are already knowledgeable in safe recipe formulation and safe pH levels for canned products. I would also recommend this book for the individual who is new to jamming and is willing to follow the recipes and not follow any creative urges. This book may be affordable, but usually affordable books are lacking information. In the case of jamming and pickling, I feel that the lack of information is too critical to leave out. Too many people today can cook, but do not know how to cook and safely seal a canned product. That could be extremely dangerous. I would recommend "The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning". Although the recipes contained within this book are not really gourmet, one can learn how to jam safely at home. A few suggestions would be: "Perfect Preserves" by Nora Carey for its beautiful photography, "Jams and Jellies" by May Byron for it large number of recipes and "Pickles and Preserves" by Marion Brown as an older classic. You can also check out "The Jamlady Cookbook" by Bev Alfeld. Not only is her book more thorough as it includes science, horticulture and photos, she provides over 400 recipes. She is truly a teacher, she has been trained through the USDA in proper canning and "The Jamlady Cookbook" shows it.
great book! October 26, 2005
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
this is a great book, the recipes make preserves easy. Also, i like that it is small batches, the blueberry mint is the best so far. The introduction has really clear instructions about making jams & preserves in general.
Pick it up!
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