We Sure Can! (How Jams and Pickles Are Reviving the Lure and Lore of Local Food)

We Sure Can! celebrates the ongoing "Canvolution," in which urban "preservationists," local-food aficionados, rural picklers and jammers, and food bloggers are rediscovering the lost art of home canning jams, pickles, and other preserves. And we're not talking your standard strawberry jam here; passionate canners are preserving all manner of fruits and vegetables and combining them with unexpectedly exotic spices and ingredients.

The book features over one hundred recipes from an international assembly of inventive canners (including the author herself), as well as profiles of those who do it best. The book's recipes are divided according to the seasons; some of the more tantalizing creations include Lemongrass, Ginger, & Kaffir Lime Jelly; Blackberry Lime Jam; Dandelion Jelly; Pickled Ramps; Lavender Peach Preserves; and Pickled Watermelon Rinds. The book also features practical and important information and safety tips for those wanting to start canning produce at home.

Perfect for fans of the growing locavore movement and those who are empowered by the idea of "putting up" their own preserves, this book will inspire readers to start their own jam sessions as soon as the year's bumper crop of fruits and vegetables becomes available. Can anybody join the movement? We sure can!

Sarah B. Hood is a freelance food writer who has been canning for more than a decade. Her preserves have won prizes from Canada's Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and the Culinary Historians of Canada. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.