The Ball Blue Book is one of the main books in the accepted American canon of home canning.
- 1 About the Ball Blue Book
- 2 New editions supersede old editions
- 3 Comparing the Ball Blue Book to other canning books published by Newell
- 4 Criticisms of the Ball Blue Book
- 5 Mistakes in the Ball Blue Book
- 6 Metric edition of the Ball Blue Book
- 7 History of the Ball Blue Book
- 8 Further reading
- 9 Other Ball home preserving books
About the Ball Blue Book
The Ball Blue Book provides recipes and procedures for water bathed home preserves, as well as basic procedures and some recipes for pressure canning.
All of their recipes are lab-tested for safety. Although a given recipe (say, Mustard Pickle) might appear to violate the general rule of thumb of “no flour in canning recipes”, such a recipe passes muster with flying colours owing to a higher rule: lab-tested by Ball.
The goal of the Ball Blue Book likely isn’t for the Blue Book to become a huge profit centre in itself; the goal likely is for it to promote home canning and via that, the Ball products. It’s a sampling of recipes designed to appeal to the broadest possible audience. There’s a lot of emphasis on plain foods — which you can then use as “plain ingredients” when you open the jars to make something from combining them all in a recipe.
New editions supersede old editions
The most recent edition of the Blue Book, as of spring 2016, is the 37th edition of Blue Book (dated 2014 but first released spring 2015.)
Often, when a new Blue Book is released, Ball will say that it supersedes previous Blue Books and you should cease using them, but with the release of the 37th edition in 2015, Ball said that the previous Blue Book, the 36th edition in 2013, was still valid. [1] Ball Canning: “Hi Randal, the new version is updated with new recipes and additional tips and tricks and can be used in conjunction [with the 2013]” Ball Canning Rep on Facebook to Randal Oulton 9 February 2015. Correspondence on file.”
Just because a recipe isn’t in the current Blue Book doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not safe anymore; it could mean that it hasn’t been judged by the Blue Book editors as appealing to enough people at the present time to be fit into their limited space for each production run. Old-timers say that over the years Ball will prune recipes — not necessarily because the recipes are no longer safe, but sometimes just because tastes have changed. If you are wondering about a recipe in an old Blue Book that isn’t in a current one, ask Ball customer service before using the recipe, and they will tell you if it’s still considered safe or not.
Comparing the Ball Blue Book to other canning books published by Newell
Compared to other publications by the mother ship known as the “Newell Corporation” (previously Jarden) the Ball Blue Book focusses more on ‘standard’ recipes. Other Newell publications such as the Bernardin Guide, the Ball Complete, etc, are considered to offer more “gourmet” approaches to home canning. The Ball Complete Book (labelled the Bernardin Complete Book in Canada) is written in Canada and is a compilation of recipes from Ball, Bernardin and Kerr. It has more recipes than the Blue Book but note: not more pressure canning recipes. The pressure canning recipes are essentially the same as those in the Blue Book.
Criticisms of the Ball Blue Book
One criticism that a new generation of canners has of the Blue Book is that it continues to give imprecise measures such as “1 quart chopped onion”, and then tell people not to deviate one iota in measurements or they will poison everybody. Ball has attempted to address this somewhat in the 37th edition by being more wordy and attempting in some places to precise exactly what they mean by “coarsely chopped cabbage” in a particular recipe.
Many of the new wave of canners also wish that Ball simply just gave weight equivalents for such ingredients as “1 quart medium-coarse chopped cabbage.”
Another criticism is that the recipes shock new canners with the huge amounts of salt and refined sugar called for; many people simply choose not to use the book for this reason, and turn to (often untested) Internet sources instead.
The recipes are more wordy in the 2014 37th edition, in an attempt to help people understand the measurements more.
The book is not strong on canning fish products. The information it gives is reliable, but cursory. For more help, someone home canning fish will want to supplement the information from other reputable sources.
Mistakes in the Ball Blue Book
The Blue Book compilers do make some editorial mistakes.
In the 2013 36th edition, Ball withdrew the Squash Pickles recipe that had been in 2010 Blue Book, without saying why, though leaving a ghost index entry pointing to it on page 57.
In the 2014 37th edition, the Hot Rhubarb Grilling Sauce recipe on page 128 was missing the processing time (should be ½ US pints for 10 minutes), and the processing directions for mushrooms (on page 114) was omitted from the index.
The indexes are frequently not entirely accurate. They may still mention ghost recipes that have been dropped, while failing to mention new recipes that have been added.
Metric edition of the Ball Blue Book
Ball’s first foray into metric lasted only a brief 12 years. The Blue Book provided metric alternative measures from Edition 30 of the Blue Book (1977) up until and including the first printing of Edition 32 of the Blue Book (1989). But, they dropped metric in the second printing of Edition 32 in 1990, and it was still absent in the 37th Edition of the Blue Book printed in 2014. (It did re-appear, however, in the 2016 edition of the Ball All New.)
In 2015, Ball accelerated its push into overseas English-speaking countries. It was already in Australia, and expanded into South Africa and the United Kingdom. It opened in the UK in June 2015. [2] Jarden Corporation Press Release. Preserving the British Summertime. Accessed February 2016 at http://www.jarden.com/latest-news-media/press-releases/preserving-british-summertime.
These countries now have close to two generations of people who grew up not knowing the old English-based measurements that Americans still use; they have grown up knowing only metric. (For Australians, Ball had previously attempted to bridge the gap with a measurements conversion chart.)
To support this expansion, in 2015 Ball released a metric edition of the Ball Blue Book.
Metric edition of the 37 edition of the Ball Blue Book
The metric edition provides actual proper metric measurements (measurements for dry items by weight, e.g. 175 g chopped onion), rather than faux metric (measurements for dry items in ml, e.g 250 ml chopped onion.) People outside North America rarely use volume measurements for solids.
As of February 2016, the Ball Blue Book Metric Edition appears to only be sold in the UK, particularly through Lakeland stores. We will provide updates on other locales as we learn of them. Update: As of 2021, Lakeland is listing it as discontinued.
History of the Ball Blue Book
The first Blue Book was issued in 1909.
“The idea for today’s Ball Blue Book Home Canning Guide was originally developed in 1909 by George A. Ball and his wife, Frances Woodworth Ball. The earliest-known version was called “The Correct Method for Preserving Fruit.” [3] Jarden Home Brands. Special Jars of the Past. 2007. Accessed March 2015.
Here are the subsequent editions we know of (to be clear, the list may not be exhaustive: it’s the editions we are aware of.)
- Ball Blue Book Edition E – ca 1920s
- Ball Blue Book Edition K – ca 1920s
- Ball Blue Book Edition L – ca 1920s
- Ball Blue Book Edition O – 1930
- Ball Blue book Edition P – 1932
- Ball Blue book Edition Q – 1933
- Ball Blue book Edition R – 1934
- Ball Blue book Edition S – 1935
- Ball Blue book Edition T – 1936
- Ball Blue book Edition U – 1941
- Ball Blue Book Edition V – 1943
- Ball Blue book Edition X – 1947
- Ball Blue Book Edition 26 – A 1953
- Ball Blue Book Edition 26 – B 1956
- Ball Blue Book Edition 26 – B 1959
- Ball Blue Book Edition 26 – C 1962
- Ball Blue Book Edition 27 – 1963
- Ball Blue Book Edition 28 – 1966
- Ball Blue Book Edition 28 – 1969 reprint
- Ball Blue Book Edition 29 – 1972
- Ball Blue Book Edition 29 – 1974 reprint
- Ball Blue Book Edition 30 – 1977 (dropped canning advice for broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, eggplant)
- Ball Blue Book Edition 30 – 1979 reprint
- Ball Blue Book Edition 30 – 1982 reprint
- Ball Blue Book Edition 30 – 1983 reprint
- Ball Blue Book Edition 31 – 1986
- Ball Blue Book Edition 32 – 1989
- Ball Blue Book Edition 32 – 1990
- Ball Blue Book Edition ? – 1995
- Ball Blue Book Edition ? – 1995 (1997 reprint)
- Ball Blue Book Edition ? – 1995 (1998 reprint)
- Ball Blue Book Edition ? – 1995 (1999 reprint)
- Ball Blue Book Edition 36 – 2013
- Ball Blue Book Edition 37 – 2014
- Ball Blue Book Edition 37 – 2020
1946 ad for Ball Blue Book, 10 cents. This would have been Edition V – 1943. Appearing in: Portsmouth Times, Ohio. 29 Aug 1946, page 15.
The first ever metric edition was released in 2015 for the UK market.
Ball started running its own test kitchen for recipes since 1976. “We’re certainly canning experts — the first official Fresh Preserving Test Kitchen was started in 1976….” [4]Harrold, Judly. Forward. Ball Blue Book, 37th edition, 2014.
Many things have been added and taken out of the Blue Book over the decades. One item was, for instance, advice on how to can frog legs, which appeared from 1930 to 1947, and was then withdrawn.
Frog legs. Ball Blue Book. Edition O, 1930. Page 19. For historical reference only; do not attempt.
Further reading
See also: Imprecise Measurements; Bernardin’s Home Canning Recipe Books.
Other Ball home preserving books
References
Marlene
Just purchased seven dozen new Ball canning jars and read on the bottom of the box that the full jars need to be immersed in simmering water, not boiling water, and then brought to a boil for the recommended time, and then I need to turn off the heat source and leave the jars in the hot water for five minutes before removing them from the water bath.
Did this, using a favorite dill pickle recipe and the pickles were mushy. I assume from being in hot water too long.
Any ideas on how to can crisp dill pickles? Thank you.
Karey
My mother in law gave me a Ball Blue Book Edition 31 with a copyright date of 1986. That was not on your list.
Healthy Canning
Thank you!
Jonie
How do I report a waterbath time error in 37th edition ball blue book not listed above? It is far too long however Healthy Canning website lists the correct time (40 minutes vs 85) Thank you.
Jim
I have some exciting information to share with you. I was reading a booklet dated 1900 Ball How to Can Meat Game and Poultry. At the back of the booklet was information about the history of the Ball Blue Book. I will quote a small bit of it “The first Ball Blue Book was published more than twenty-five years ago. It has been revised every year since to include the latest approved practices, and today is used as a supplementary text in the home economics classes of high schools and colleges all over the country.” So if this is to be believed, then the first Ball Blue Book was published more than 25 years before 1900, which would be at least 1874. I couldn’t find a picture of one online, but I’m looking. Great website you have here. Thanks for all the great info. I hope this helps.
Debra Freer
Can I please have the recipe for what’s on the cover of your 37 edition please.
Thank you, Debra Freer
Justin Wright
I’m new at canning/preserving, and would like to get the Ball Blue Book metric edition. Although the link to lakeland takes you the the product page, there is a notice stating the product is no longer available. Unclear if Lakeland simply doesn’t stock it anymore, or if they cannot get hold of it. Any idea where I may get hold of it? So far all my searches, including Amazon, come up with the US edition and I can’t cope with quarts and US pints etc, or volume for dry ingredients.
Judy Keller
Is the grape juice I I in the old Ball Blue books safe? This is where you put one cup of whole grapes in a quart jar, add cooked sugar and water and process in water bath. You strain the grapes out upon serving.I see it isn’t in newer books and wondered. Thanks
Healthy Canning
You should ask Ball directly via their FB page if they still support that recipe. My bet is they have probably retired support of it, but you can ask and see.
Susan S
I used to make grape juice “concentrate” this way. I can’t remember the proportions for putting into the jar nor the amount of water to add to make a pitcher of juice, but this method was so easy and yummy.
Tammy
I grew up with that juice for breakfast and loved it! I remember mom bring up the jars with the grapes floating at the top. I need this recipe!
Kate
It is safe. My grandmother used to do half her cannings that (whole grape) recipe and half the other way. IMO the whole grape version was superior in both taste and appearance.
Donna
Is this still (as of summer 2020) the most recent edition of the Blue Book?
“The most recent edition of the Blue Book, as of spring 2016, is the 37th edition of Blue Book (dated 2014 but released spring 2015.)”
Healthy Canning
Yes, this is still the most current one.
Victoria
I’m assuming my book, which you have pictured, is the most updated, being 2020, yet it also says 37th edition. Do they just reprint every so often?
Healthy Canning
Yes, they will do reprint runs without changing the version number. Yet, often changes will have been made, so it can be hard to track. It would be helpful if they did 37a, 37b, 37c, etc. Or something like that.
Barbara Heller
My grandmother used to make a relish using green tomatoes and have been searching for the recipe. Although I can find may recipes that call for green tomatoes, I cannot be certain it will be the same.
Recently, I came across an old Ball Blue Book edition 26-B, 1956. On the cover, my grandmother has written her name, and also “green tomato pickle recipe, page 35” . I was so excited, but then so disappointed because the booklet is missing many pages, page 35 included!
Is there any chance an edition 26-B, 1956 would still be available? I would absolutely love to try that recipe to see if it is the elusive one I’ve been searching for.
Thank you in advance for any assistance.
Healthy Canning
Responding directly by email, Barbara….
BETTY CRANDALL
have a recipe in a 1937 ball blue book for green tomato pickles
1 peck green tomatoes 1/4 ounce ground mustard
11/2 ounces pepper 1 dozen onions
6 cups sugar 1 oz whole cloves
1 oz whole allspice 1 oz mustard seed
2 quarts vinigar
mix tomatoes and onions with 3/4 cup salt set overnight in frig tie spices in bag place with vinigar and sugar bring to boil add tomatoes & onions simmer 20 minutes remove spice bag pack in jars seal 15 minutes boiling water bath
Connie J.
Would Betty’s recipe for Green Tomato Pickles be considered a safe recipe today?
Thanks for any help.
Healthy Canning
It looks like today’s version of it might be their “Green Tomato and Hot Pepper Mix” which appears in both the Ball Blue Book and the Ball Complete. As to whether they consider the older version of the recipe still safe, you would need to ask them directly.
Margo Nelson
I believe we used call that Piccalilli