This weekend I’m all set to start cooking from award-winning British food writer Diana Henry’s brand new book Salt, Sugar, Smoke published by the Octopus Publishing Group. I have long been an admirer of Diana’s recipes and food writing and I have been really looking forward to this book since meeting her at her home.
This book arrives at exactly the right time for anyone looking for inspiring ways to start preserving bountiful summer fruits. Beyond fruit and beyond the summer, Diana is our guiding hand for preserving seasonal vegetables, meat and fish, too through smoking, pickling, curing, potting and more.
If you are new to preserving, you will find plenty of information on the essentials of jam-making and chutney-making. You’ll also learn how to make your own sauces, vinegars, cordials and liqueurs, confit and terrines.
You won’t need any expensive equipment, but for a little effort with this book you’ll soon have a larder full of enticing flavours ready for any season.
My favourite recipes include Purple fig and pomegranate jam, Georgian plum sauce, Wild mushrooms in olive oil, Polish honey vodka, Quince sharbat, duck confit, beetroot-cured gravalax and Crunch Russian dill pickels.
I’ll be reviewing Diana’s book in full next week. In the meantime, here’s a taster of some of Diana’s recipes from Salt, Sugar, Smoke as featured in Diana’s column in Stella Magazine and a chance to win a copy of your own below, too:
Raspberry and violet jam – Stella Magazine
Duck confit recipe – Stella Magazine
Sweet pear william recipe – Stella Magazine
Angie Hoggett says
some nice strawberries so I can make some victoria sponge cake with the yummy jam!
Hannah says
We have a whole stash of gooseberries I need to do something with!
Katarzyna Szewczyk says
I should write about fruit or vegetable, sorry.Than I would like to try buttersquash.
Katarzyna Szewczyk says
I would love to try some meat.
kirsty Elliott says
Raspberries, as they are a firm favourite in our house
Nancy Bradford says
I would love to try some blueberries.
Lauren says
Raspberries 🙂
Natalie White says
Blackberries definitely!!
Arabella Bazley says
Artichokes…
ksenia zywczuk says
Wow, I had to search online and buy one of these books straight away! I live on a small island with only 100 people so I’m interested in the techniques in the book compared to what we use here. I’m giving the copy I bought to my father-in-law for his bday coming up, but here is hoping I can win one for myself! oh, interested mostly to salt fish & preserve vegetables…yum…
Karen says
Since they are all about atm, blackberries
David Price says
Blackberries from the garden
mark milsom says
Autumn is here ! Fruit trees FULL, allotments packed with TOO MUCH stuff to use, hedgerows full of free offerings…………normally we all end up with a freezer full of mush that gets thrown away the following year..This book looks like a great insight in how to make better use of the produce that comes my way. My friends often go shooting so the odd rabbit, pheasant etc come my way as well so different preserving methods would be good.
Sarah Lee says
Blackberries and apples from my garden
Jill says
Strawberries. I love home-made strawberry jam.
LondonBusyBody says
Must try the Raspberry and Violet jam – sounds lovely!
DANIELLE VEDMORE says
We adore beetroot so would love to be able to be able to do our own rather than having to buy supermarket jars! xoxo
lorraine polley says
anything with raspberries, as we had so many from our canes this year
Tracey Anne Berry says
mmmm mango or damsons? Maybe mango AND damsons! oh yum! Im drooling just thinking about it LOL xx
Jayne says
I’d love to try that fig and pomegranate jam, it sounds wonderful!
maureen moss says
Purple fig and pomegranate jam this sound so good I would love to have a go at it
Michelle Sykes says
I would try blackberries as I have lots of them
Laura Caraher says
The pomegrante jam sounds amazing
Saran Benjamin says
I think I would have to try blackberry and apples
pete says
looks a great book
Daniel Stacey says
Blackcurrants
Choclette says
Well I made some delicious apricot and vanilla jam a few weeks ago. Gooseberry jam is my all out favourite, but we haven’t had any gooseberry bushes for a long time now 🙁
Emma Howard says
I’d stick to something fairly simple like jam to begin with
Patricia Edwards says
Gooseberries
Rikka B says
Blackberrys.
Sue Jackson says
Raspberries – mmm. 🙂
Becky John says
Gooseberries as we have loads from the garden
Fran Light says
I’d preserve blackcurrants – they’re great in jame, summer pudding and just pureed and drizzleed over ice cream so having a constant supply whatever the season would be very handy!
lu says
blackberries1
Adrian Crook says
Gooseberries
Eileen Teo says
mango
Keith says
Plums
Alex Halliday says
Sounds like a great way to get into preserving!
elaine stokes says
it would have to be Gooseberries. as we have a bush outside that must be 35 years old, and it still keeps giving
shaheen says
plums this time round
robert mcintosh says
My neighbour’s are always very generous with their apples – tend to make chutney rather than jam
Glamorous Glutton says
I have more plums on my tree than I know what to do with, I made chutney last year but would love other preserving ideas. So my first preserves would be the plums. GG
Carolyn J says
Brambles, there are loads out at the moment.
Janine Bailey says
Would have to be blackberries, the lanes where I live are full of them x
Michelle Grundy says
Would have to be the glut of plums I have on my tree that need picking!
Ursulab says
Raspberries from my garden
Tracey Belcher says
Blackberries – because they are going to soon be in season
Jen Schofield says
Strawberries!
Samantha Atherton says
Something to use up the spare figs from my fig tree would be good.
maxime goodwin says
Blackberries for me as they are free and abundant in my garden 🙂
Cas Philip says
Blackberries, as there are so many of them out at the moment.
Kulwinder Lombardelli says
I would preserve jars of strawberries
Maya Russell says
Because we have so many, I’d set about preserving blackberries.
Gemma says
Berries…Raspberries and Strawberries would be first on the list!
Charlotte @gofreecakes says
The fig and pomegranite jam sounds incredible!
Lesley says
Red onions I love them x
Linzi Barrow (@LancashireFood) says
I love Diana’s books and if I don’t win I’ll be buying, I love her combinations of flavours in her recipes , I have lots of fruit from the garden to preserve and look for new ways to use them
Jean Bolsover says
Apples 🙂
Elizabeth says
QUINCE. Years since I had quince jelly
KIERAN WALSH says
Morning, depends on season, “plums/blackcurrants”
hayley acton says
beetroot 🙂
sharon lee says
Magic, what a find!
Sandy Ferguson says
Ive heard of a chutney made from cranberries. Id like to try that as an alternative for Christmas gifts!
Gemma Mills / Chamberlain (MyMillsBaby) says
Strawberries – we grow our own – they never seem to last long enough xx
Simon C says
Wouldn`t mind trying Blackberries, used to always pick loads as a kid, would love to try making Jam.
Simon.
Hazel says
Blackberries – our blackberry bush is producing loads at the minute and we’re just freezing them as we’ve already made jam. i can see that my friends are going to be being supplied too!
Jane Willis says
We have a glut of runner beans this year and I’d love to try some way of preserving them other than just freezing them
*sigh* word press keeps telling me this is a duplicate comment
Jane Willis says
We have a glut of runner beans this year and I’d love to try some way of preserving them other than just freezing them
Laura Pritchard says
Blackberries!
lorraine dunne says
Blackberries for me to used to love picking them when i was a child and my mom made blackberry jam so yummy
CarolineJulie says
There is an elderberry hanging over my fence so I have thought about using the flowers and fruit. My dad use to make a wonderful elderflower champagne. At the moment I am making flavoured vodka. I have blackberry, orange, strawberry and blueberry vodka on the go. My brother is really into making sausages.
Claire Smith says
Cherries because they are lovely with ice cream.
Magnolia Verandah says
I really must plant some raspberries this year – that jam sound marvellous!
Angela McDonald says
Blackberries most definately!
Tracy Baker says
I HAVE A GLUT OF GOOSEBERRIES….
Mary Chez says
I think I would try blackberries
iain says
strawberries
Katrina Day-Reilly says
strawberries
Heidi Roberts says
It looks its going to be a great blackberry year so I would start there.
Melanie says
This boo looks great, we catch a lot of mackeral I would love to learn how to smoke it and preserve it. Thanks for this fab giveaway.
olivia kirby says
Raspberries. My son grows them on his patch.
Laura says
Pomegranate jam sounds incredible! Definitely want to give that a try,
Katy Maclachlan says
I think I would try a squash recipe. Or maybe gooseberries. always loved them when I was wee.
Katy Maclachlan says
oooh I was just thinking the other day that I am going to try and make jam/chutney/preserves to give as christmas pressies. have started collecting the jars, this looks like the inspiration I need to actually do it this year ( as opposed to just collecting the jars and then forgetting about it until a week before christmas, as has been the routine for the past few years..)
Gillian Holmes says
Gooseberries.
John Taggart says
Blackcurrants my favourite
stephanie Llewellyn says
beetroot I really love it and can eat it any time, any where, anyhow,,,
Jen says
Raspberries, I love homemade raspberry jam and it’s so easy to make!
Caroline says
Peaches I think, if that is possible!
Pauline Simpson says
Fruit I would like to preserve first would be blackcurrants as i love them in jams , pies chesecake the list goes on and a good book would give me ideas
laura banks says
we’ve got a blackberry bush in our garden so i would prob try them
Elaine Walsh says
Diana Henry one of my favourite food writers. A lovely book.
sandi says
I would make something from blackberries.