I have found my new favorite cookbook – and it’s all about “putting up”. Putting up is what we call canning or preserving here in the South. The book is fascinating – all the science, fact and fiction of sweet and savory foods. I’ve been taking it to bed at night, reading all the information in preparation for trying some of the recipes. I had the pleasure of meeting the charming author, Stephen Palmer Downdey last week at Cooks Warehouse. What a story he shared – from Army Ranger to boat-bottom-scrubber to canning magnate. He learned his craft from his grandmother and after a long career as a stock broker, (with time out for the boat-bottom-scrubbing) he returned to South Carolina to start Rockland Plantation Products with his son. Next picture of jelly you see on the site will be mine 🙂