I was blessed to come from a family that hadn't lost the canning know-how yet. But I have to say that the little canning book which started out my grandma's and came down to my mom formed the basis of how I learned to can. I've gone further because I've now learned to pressure can, but the canning book is still invaluable. You need to know to process that applesauce for 20 minutes in a water bath and ground beef for 90 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure in the pressure canner!