Giveaway: Can it, Bottle It, Smoke It, by Karen Solomon

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If you’ve ever been curious about things like bottling your own soda, pressing your own tofu or fermenting your own miso, this book is (according to the author) “for serious kitchen nerds and the people they feed.” Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It covers over 75 recipes for recipes for condiments, cereals, crunchy snacks, beverages, and more, helping you stock your pantry with goodies and make unique gifts for friends.
Random House has sent us a copy of Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It to give away! To enter your name, just leave a comment below and answer this question:
What’s one form of food DIY you’ve experimented with?
We’ll draw a winner at random from the comment responses on this post on Friday, July 8th. Good Luck!

228 thoughts on “Giveaway: Can it, Bottle It, Smoke It, by Karen Solomon

  1. BoogaJ says:

    I’ve been experimenting with soda making. I’ve tried yeast carbonated soda in the past, but recently I bought one of those carbonation chargers and am just making the syrup.

  2. Emily Seipel says:

    making my own kombucha tea was a serious adventure!

  3. Patty Cone says:

    Pickling beets from the csa box. Quite tasty and was great at a Christmas party.

  4. Lindsey Peebles says:

    I’ve been experimenting with fermentation as a means of preservation for the last couple of years. The first effort was a batch of sauerkraut that I ended up throwing out after it developed a layer of goopy mold on top. I threw it out due to an irrational fear of botulism and a limited understanding of how food-borne illnesses develop – and only realized later that I actually wanted that layer of goop on top (or at least, it wasn’t anything to be afraid of)! Since then I’ve been playing around with apple cider vinegar, sourdough, sauerkraut and kimchi, and want to get into miso and kombucha soon.

  5. Karen Gurley says:

    I made some strawberry jam one year. The first batch set up hard as a rock. :) Second batch was pretty darn good!

  6. Nicole Clawson says:

    So boring, but I make my own jellies. My husband did try to make his own absinthe once, though – yikes! LOL

  7. Jody Haller says:

    We make our own smashed fruit sodas and infused vodkas. This book looks fabulous! Yum!

  8. Larissa Loden says:

    I have done lots of canning but my favorite DIY food moment was making/rendering duck fat so I could make french toast with it. Yummers.

  9. Crisi Ellsworth says:

    I tried my hand at making Limoncello one time and gave it as gifts. It came out being more like lemon scented paint thinner LOL Very very strong!

  10. Jessie King says:

    I’ve only done your typical baking projects – cookies, pie, cake, but I’d really like to learn about canning food.

  11. Carly Petitt Taylor says:

    My first ever post! I have been making elderflower champagne, Tastes great but half the bottles explodes leaving cork marks on my ceiling! Opps :) Nothing like DIY fun, net I want to try making elderberry wine, fess fizz!

  12. Heather Lewis says:

    So cool! I love canning but I’m def a novice!

  13. Teresa Gadda says:

    I’ve done canned tomatoes, applesauce, and jam, but my favorite is bread and butter pickles.

  14. AlieraKieron says:

    I love canning and pickling! I put in a few pickling cuke plants this summer just for that reason!

  15. A Facebook User says:

    I have been canning jams and pickles for years, just now getting into making soda. Would love to learn about preserving meats and condiments.

  16. Curiositykt says:

    I have been experimenting with different types and kinds of mustards. Mostly they’ve been good, but there have certainly been lessons learned along the way!

  17. Melanie Mahonen says:

    Looks awesome. My husband and I are just getting into canning and are always fascinated with anything to do with food. This would be the perfect companion for our adventures in the kitchen!

  18. Michelle Ballou says:

    Would love to try out a few recipes with this fall’s harvest!

  19. Julia Bueller says:

    Green tomato relish and spicy pickled eggplant!

  20. Ann Malcolm says:

    We just started making pickles! So far we’ve only used premade spice mixes, but we would love to branch out and get a little more daring!

  21. Nancy Cruse says:

    I have done canning in the past..always like to try new things…learning to make soda would be awesome!!!!

  22. Suhbuhduh says:

    the only thing we’ve done thus far is jam, but the bf is super excited about smoking stuff, and i’d love to learn more about canning in general!

  23. Angela Barnard says:

    I’ve tried my hand at making my own infused olive oils for cooking and giving away as gifts. Very fun and easy!

  24. Leigh Ann Brizendine says:

    i love to use the dehydrator and make condiments and sauces. can’t wait to make my own kombucha and do more canning! ;)

  25. Theowlsays says:

    I’ve only tried simple experiments like infused olive oils, infused sugars, and making fresh tofu. Now that I live in an area with a wonderful selection of berries and veggies, I’d like to learn some jam and pickle recipes! The canning process scares me a little, though.

  26. Karen Rice says:

    I have canned jams, peppers, and even cookie mixes. Just tried my hand at pickling eggs. This book would definitely expand my knowledge and abilities.

  27. Debbie Wright says:

    Hi here in the UK I make wine elderflower blackberry etc basically anything that is free, but I have been trying smoking cheese in a cardboard box with mixed results. Smoking at home is not very popular over here but would love to learn more about it. Thanks your book looks brill!!

  28. Ashley Bingham says:

    I haven’t experimented a lot (just jams), but I am going to try my own yogurt this week. This book looks fun.

  29. Kate Dusinberre says:

    We tried pickles last summer, when our cucumber plants ranneth over. I’d like to tweak some recipes this summer, if our dang cukes will just grow!

  30. bbElf (a.k.a. Panda) says:

    Homemade marshmallows were my favorite kitchen DIY. They were also the messiest…

  31. Malea Baer says:

    I do food DIY all of the time due to food allergies. Coming up with appropriate substitutions can be tricky, especially with a dairy allergy and a fondness for foods that often require things like condensed milk. Coconut cream is a great sub!

  32. Kate Wolk says:

    I’ve made my own marshmallows and fridge pickles. My first attempt at making jam went a bit wonky.

  33. Knittingrid says:

    these are two of my current DIYs – the sourdough makes the best waffles, and the jam, of course, goes with everything!

  34. Lola Bang says:

    Last year I started brine pickling, can’t wait to expand on that this year!

  35. Kari Kurtz says:

    Crab Apple Jelly- lots of hard work but very tasty!

  36. tracylee says:

    Just made blueberry jam last week and plan to make some vanilla extract with local vodka soon. Also had a lot of fun with waffleized soft pretzels.

  37. Darla Cline Shannon says:

    I canned sour cherry jam.

  38. Melissa Miller says:

    I made granola from scratch for the first time last week. I also recently made cheese.

  39. Julie says:

    I’ve made my own rubs a bunch of times and am toying with trying some canning – the cucumber plant it prolific!

  40. Meghan O'Rourke says:

    I would like to make ketchup and relish. Made all sorts of other things.

  41. Meghan O'Rourke says:

    I would like to make ketchup and relish sometime. I have made all sorts of other things.

  42. JessicaC says:

    i’ve made yogurt, jams, pickles, candies, and i’ve only eaten homemade bread since november of 2008, so i’d say i qualify as a kitchen nerd. i’d love this book!

  43. www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1100642566 says:

    I’ve made some jam, but am wanting to do a lot more.

  44. www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1100642566 says:

    My name is Robin Winder.

  45. Beth Scudder says:

    Last year I had good results with making gifts of infused vodka and maple-spiced nuts. I’ve also been making our own granola at home for a few months now!

  46. Trypd says:

    This fall my father is going to pass on to my sister and myself the family recipe for wine, but most of my experimentation with food has been with soft pretzels, trying new recipes and seeing effects of different methods.

  47. taureau says:

    Canning pickles, tomatoes, jam. Dehydrating apricots and prunes. Baking. Cooking meals day in and day out.

  48. natalya says:

    I made all sorts of russian drinks, since it’s difficult to find them here (e.g., ryazhenka and kvas). I also make paneer because it is easy

  49. Jessica says:

    I grow quinoa!

  50. Kylie Carlson says:

    I’ve been making yogurt for over a year now and have been canning jams since childhood but I’d love to learn how to make sodas and some more adventurous canning.

  51. Madelynn Martinière says:

    I’ve mostly worked in brewing beers and ciders and creating flavored oils for cooking. I would like to get more into canning so that I can preserve seasonal fruit from our local farmer’s market.

  52. Sherri Konin Montgomery says:

    I’ve experimented over the years with canning tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, and applesauce. One year I sent out homemade garam masala, with recipes, and that was very popular. I’ve also been doing some dehydrated tomatoes, although my experience in using the oven to do this just illustrated to us why a good food dehydrator is a good investment! We also process a lot of frozen foods; particularly berries.
    I’ve been making kombucha for a while too. It kind of terrifies my wife who insists that it live under a “shroud” so the site of it doesn’t freak anyone (her) out. I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy kombucha was. A piece of my mother culture is in our fridge awaiting my getting things going again after some major home improvement tasks.
    This year we hope to try some small-batch jams and canning some of our soups, stews & chili for a big road trip we’re taking in September. We’re also very interested in doing our own liqueurs and infusions. We have a pressure canner too and once we get the gauge calibrated we look forward to exploring the world of low-acid canning!

  53. Allison Bradley says:

    Granola, salad dressings, pizza dough. I try to make as much from scratch as possible, but i’ve been a little scared of preserving. But I intend to work on some jams soon! This sounds like a great book– I will be sure to check it out!

  54. Tiffany Schlosser Taylor says:

    I have tried more DIY kitchen experiments than I can remember. My favorites have to be almond milk, soy milk, soy yogurt (it didn’t turn out), and most recently failed no knead bread. I’m also into foraging so I am always looking for things to do with what I find. I am always looking for something new to try!

  55. Thepajamachef says:

    i’ve been making my own BBQ sauce & freezer jam lately. both are great!

  56. Glue and Glitter says:

    This book looks amazing! Probably my most DIY kitchen activity is brewing kombucha.

  57. Aimee Petkus says:

    We’ve tried making just about everything: bread, crackers, baked beans, ranch dressing, granola, soda syrups, kombucha, kimchi, infused vodka, canning, jams, etc. But what’s required the most experimenting has been pickling. We’ve tried everything from infused to fermented, oshinko to bread and butter. I’ve pickled cucumbers, eggplant, zucchini (as a sweet relish), watermelon rinds, green tomatoes, jalapenos, carrots, and okra. And there’s always more to experiment with!

  58. Laura Friess says:

    This would be an awesome addition to my book collection!!

  59. Heather Ryan says:

    I’m rather adventurous when it comes to trying my hand at most anything…. the most recent experiment was making my own Kimchi and beef jerky. My favorite food DIY was all the different things I made with the wild blueberries we picked… everything from muffins to ice cream, and the blueberry coulis to go on top!

  60. katbaro says:

    We’ve been doing a lot of experimenting over the last couple of years, homemade cheese, jam, pickles, relish, mustards, sausage and more. Always looking for new ideas!

  61. Amanda Smithers-bentley says:

    last year i talked my then boyfriend (now husband) into trying to make kimchi. not only was it a lot easier than we imagined, we also tried making other fermented pickles and that was also fun! homemade kimchi is so much better than the canned stuff too.

  62. Bloggeddown says:

    I experimented last weekend by making butter at home for the first time!

  63. Christina McNamee-Mahaffey says:

    I’ve been making ice cream, jam and pickles. Pickles are some of my favorites.

  64. Gina says:

    My most recent food DIY was dried pineapple. Boring, I know, but I just got a new (to me) food dehydrator, and it was the inaugural run :)

  65. Rhianna Lederman says:

    I’ve made some beer pizza dough which turned out really good, ice cream, and pickled garlic. Just not all at the same time. Would love to learn more and this book looks awesome!

  66. Jocelyn Lee says:

    My most recent experiment was cultivating sourdough starter from just flour and water. It was lots of fun and I have two going now – the breads I’ve made from it are amazing.

  67. E says:

    I’ve made ice cream (shaky method), ginger ale, crystallized ginger, pineapple, and citrus rinds, and recently I made some homemade paneer to go with a slow cooker palak paneer.
    Thanks for the contest!

  68. Melissa Sisk says:

    I attempted croissants once upon a time, homemade frozen custard (soooo much better than just plain homemade ice cream) vanilla extract, I’m constantly experimenting when the weather isn’t too hot to bear cooking.

  69. E says:

    That’s amazing! I love quinoa but I never thought about growing it!

  70. Jason Millward says:

    I have been experimenting with a stove top smoker. Great results!!

  71. Kathryn Stoffregen says:

    Tortillas, came out a little thick but super delicious. I watched my sister make her own salsa verde – the secret is roasting the tomatillos over an open flame.

  72. Lacey Hedtke says:

    I’ve been experimenting with kombucha. It went ok, but then was afraid it would blind me because I mistreated the mother mushroom.

  73. Lacey Hedtke says:

    I’ve been experimenting with kombucha. It went ok, but then was afraid it would blind me because I mistreated the mother mushroom.

  74. Lisa Hubbell says:

    I’ve done pickles, jams and when I was a kid we made homemade fruit rolls. I don’t do enough of this.

  75. Lisa Hubbell says:

    I’ve done a lot of pickles, jams and fruit rolls when I was a kid. If I get a bumper crop of anything this year, I should do more!

  76. Cheri Jackson says:

    Hmmm… The last time I tried to “experiment” was when I used multi-colored marshmallows in rice krispy treats. I don’t recommend – unpleasant color :D

  77. Elena Murphy says:

    I’m always trying new things in the kitchen, most of them successful. I’m trying my first granita as we speak!
    I’m thinking of trying to go a whole year making everything from scratch, rather than buying it pre-processed.

  78. Dogsop Smith says:

    We use to make tofu. We make pickles. We can vegetables.

  79. Abbie Wise says:

    I’ve been recently experimenting with different ice creams and frozen yogurt. I love adding fresh fruits and different spices!

  80. Abbie Wise says:

    I’ve been recently experimenting with different ice creams and frozen yogurt. I love adding fresh fruits and different spices!

  81. Abbie Wise says:

    I’ve been recently experimenting with different ice creams and frozen yogurt. I love adding fresh fruits and different spices!

  82. Laura Feeney says:

    Lots of infused vodkas, pickles, and hummus!

  83. dreamstuff says:

    I’ve just recently canned for the first time and it was AMAZING!! Love it :) I quickly became addicted!! Would love to get my hands on this book :)

  84. Ann Leachman says:

    this book looks amazing! it’s always an adventure trying to veganize regular recipes.

  85. Loralee Clark says:

    For the winter holidays I made preserved lemons–very easy and great with chicken. This year I am trying blueberry jam–wish me luck!

  86. Shannon Riddle says:

    I’ve tried canning a couple times, but after canning a bunch for my wedding, I haven’t had the proper motivation to get back to it. And we homebrew, and used to bottle, but we’ve upgraded to kegging…so now I’m curious what else they’ve bottled! And I’d love to try smoking, too!

  87. Kailee Hougardy says:

    My husband and I just recently tried brewing our own soda with yeast. The results were… undrinkable. This book would be a great help. Otherwise I always make my own jam in my bread maker.

  88. Kathy Williams says:

    … kefir! I fermented my own kefir at home, and it was so much better than store bought! It even had an extra fizziness to it, which gave it a really fun mouth feel.

  89. Heidi Butler says:

    I have done lots of DIY food stuff like pickles, jams, soda, fruit syrups, crackers, etc. etc. Right now I live in the Middle East and I thought, why not try sauerkraut? Haven’t got it perfected yet though :)

  90. Alexis Russell says:

    The most experimenting I’ve done so far is changing up recipes… daring I know. However, now that I have my own kitchen and vegetable patch, I’ll have homemade vodka sauce and gonna take a crack at making my own pickles. Can’t wait!

  91. Debbi McNeer says:

    I tried making sauerkraut last year for the first time. It turned out too salty so I have a whole row of cabbages in the garden and will try again. I’ve made my own bread for years, including sandwich buns, pita bread, English muffins and bagels. Yeast does not intimidate me! Heh.
    This year’s experiment will be horseradish. The leaves on my plants are huge, I can only hope the roots are, as well, although seriously, I think one jar of commercially prepared horseradish lasts a year around here anyway.

  92. reneemca says:

    i love how easy and inexpensive it is to make yogurt. this year i am going to get over my fear of canning and dive in.

  93. Handmade-by-just-in.blogspot.com says:

    I tried to make gummi bears once and well… will have to try once again;) But it was fun. I generally like changing recipies a bit or cooking without recipies at all.

  94. Lisa LeBlanc says:

    I’ve made my own butter (which is a great workout for your arms…until you eat the butter). I would love to learn how to can

  95. Cindabrown says:

    I tried making my own vanilla using vanilla beans and vodka. After a couple months of sitting in a dark dry place, I went to get it out of the cabinet. It was empty. Apparently the bottle had been knocked over and it evaporated out of the top. Darn it!

  96. Pamela Dayton says:

    I love to make and try new things. This year kefir and sauerkraut are on the list.
    The auto time at gmaildotcom

  97. Lacey Dalby says:

    I’ve made my own liquor, vanilla, and hard candies!

  98. Eleanor Lewis says:

    I’ve been making my own yogurt, kombucha, and keifer, none of which have been totally successful. Learning!

  99. Bree Larkin says:

    I’ve been making jam, but this year I’m looking at making sauerkraut. I also re-constitute and freeze my own beans.

  100. Jenaldphoto says:

    I made marshmallows from scratch for a family cookout this spring. BIG hit with the kids!

  101. Heather Rowe says:

    for the past year or so I’ve been brewing my own kombucha, experimenting with different tea and fruit combinations. my favorites so far are green w/ginger, black w/ lemongrass, and green w/ pomegranate. also last spring and this year I experimented with making dandelion wine, and I’m also in the early fermentation of my first batch of strawberry wine. this summer I’ve planted a huge garden with about 8 varieties of tomatoes and pepper each to start canning this summer too! I’m looking forward to experimenting with pickling some of my harvest

  102. Theresa Petty says:

    I have been trying to make raw beer (some consider beer akin to food)…so far it tastes horrilbe. I would love a copy of this book!

  103. Blanca Torres-Olave says:

    I love making foods from scratch, and I desperately want this book! For last Christmas I made caramel, Mexican sweet bread, taffy, and cranberry ketchup (though they weren’t all consumed at the same time, mercifully!).

  104. Tanis Alexis says:

    I am really intrigued by this book! it speaks to me, because I am often challenging myself to have a more radical attitude in the kitchen! hee. Right now we have a big crock full of cucumbers, sea salt brine, dill, garlic & grape leaves fermenting on our counter. goodness I hope they turn out. If they do, we will have some pretty awesome natural dill pickles this summer. it’s hard to have patience to wait up to 4 weeks for them to finish. but I know it will be worth it.
    In the recent past I’ve experimented with other fermenting recipes including saurkraut, kefir & cheese, and I cant forget to mention the wild batch of bacon flavoured caramels for xmas. they didn’t last long.

  105. Erica Price Jones says:

    I WANT THIS!!!!
    I’m on a quest to make the perfect loaf bread (for sandwiches & toast), organic peanut butter & homemade beer!

  106. Peg Conlon says:

    I’ve pickled, made jam and jelly and cook pretty much everything from scratch (including tortillas and dried beans). I want to try preserving tomato sauce this year and experiment with what else from the garden I can keep jarred for the winter.

  107. Liz says:

    My favorite DIY kitchen projects are vegetarian meat alternatives: Meatballs, burgers, etc. But this summer I’d really like to pickle things!

  108. AMS says:

    I’ve made pickles and canned all sorts of fruits and veggies. Lately, I’m making my own yogurt and bread dough starters.

  109. Lis Malmgren says:

    I’ve done some canning and drying. My kids especially like dried apples and pears so I try to do that every year.

  110. Ryu Kifujin says:

    Recently started trying to make jams from the fig tree in our yard, with limited success. It would be fantastic to have this for tip and new treats to try! :)

  111. Gwendolyn says:

    Best so far was freezer jam- think I’m ready for something with a bit more challenge!!

  112. Juli says:

    Making fresh mozzarella was one of the more successful kitchen experiments that I have tried. It was so easy and turned out really well.

  113. Wendy says:

    I make fresh pickles (most often do chua) and, for special occasions, sodas (fruit juice, syrup, club soda). I grew up canning with my family but my garden has yet to produce enough to need canning.

  114. Linda Shum says:

    DIY vanilla extract! I made it over the summer, bottled it and gave them away as gifts for Christmas.

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