I haven't made too much from this book yet, and what I have made I haven't actually tried yet (it's all in sealed jars in the cabinets!) but I will report back on flavor as I crack them open beginning in a few months.  Overall, this is a good book for "normal people" who don't have a whole day to spend on canning, and seems very approachable for beginners as well.

As for other factors, the book is pretty, and the photos make you want to can things.  Marisa makes you feel safe in canning (I started 2 years ago after finding her blog, also called Food in Jars).  What I especially like about this book is the normal-person portion sizes.  I haven't noticed a recipe yet that makes more than 4 pint jars, and I find them very easy to scale down.  So far I've made the pickled garlic scapes (halved to yield 1 pint jar, processed in an asparagus pot, a tip I picked up from Marisa's blog), sour cherry jam (halved to yield three 8-oz jars), and pickled sweet cherries (somehow I got five 8-oz jars out of that one).

I'm definitely looking forward to using this book more, especially over the summer, and I find Marisa's small batch approach inspiring for my canning in general.  Previously I've lugged out the huge pot every time and slaved for hours in the hot kitchen to fill tons of jars, but Marisa puts canning within reach of real people - I...