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ikea_gw

canning pineapple bbq sauce

ikea_gw
12 years ago

I have a recipe for pineapple bbq sauce that I'd like to can. It is basically the sauce on http://www.bbqu.net/season1/102.html but I use habanero instead. :-)

How should I go about canning these? I am new to canning so any advice will be welcome!

Comments (12)

  • readinglady
    12 years ago

    I'm sorry, but that recipe is not designed for canning.

    Secondarily, assuming you use canned pineapple juice (the usual choice), most of the BBQ sauce is just mixing together already bottled products - i.e. the juice, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce. Why bother canning something so simple?

    Carol

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pineapple BBQ Sauce

  • digdirt2
    12 years ago

    Carol is correct - as always. That is a fresh-use-only recipe and not a canning recipe. Like regular cooking recipes, most fresh-use recipes cannot be safely canned for shelf storage. They have never been tested for proper pH and density for canning. Recipes that are approved for canning will always include the instructions for doing it, processing times, jar size, etc.

    If you feel you must make it ahead of time for storage you could freeze it although I think it would keep well in the fridge for several weeks.

    Dave

  • ikea_gw
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Carol, the link you posted is the same as the one I posted. Is that a mistake?

  • digdirt2
    12 years ago

    No she was just making it a clickable link so the rest of us could check it out too. Much easier than having to copy, open another window, and paste.

    Dave

  • ikea_gw
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks Dave.

    I wanted to can some bbq sauce because I don't always have time to make the sauce. I thought it would be nice to be able to have some ready for use at all times.

    So what makes a recipe suitable/not suitable for canning?

  • Linda_Lou
    12 years ago

    One that comes from a reliable source, designed for canning. Not a cooking recipe. They are not at all the same. Try the Ball Blue book or the Univ. of Georgia website. They are safety tested recipes.
    Otherwise, freeze the sauces instead.

  • digdirt2
    12 years ago

    There are many approved (as in tested for safety) BBQ sauce recipes. As Linda Lou said try any of the canning cookbooks or NCHFP - linked below - or the Ball website, or homepreserving.com for starters.

    If you use one of the approved recipes for canning then you can always add the pineapple juice and bits at food prep time. And in some cases, since the pineapple juice is so acidic you can sub some of it for the other liquids called for in the recipe.

    What makes a cooking recipe unsafe for canning is that you cannot know the pH or the density of it so you can't determine a method of processing or a time for processing. Safe canning recipes always include that information.

    Recipes that include all sorts of low-acid foods like onions, garlic, peppers, fresh herbs, etc. require sufficient acid to be added to make them safe for shelf storage in an anaerobic environment. Note how much more vinegar is called for in the NCHFP Bar B Q Sauce recipe than in the one you linked.

    Ball also has a good recipe for Bar B Q Sauce that calls for 1/3 c lemon juice and you could easily use pineapple juice instead.

    Hope this helps.

    Dave

    Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP

  • Linda_Lou
    12 years ago

    The lemon juice is probably for safety and should not be exchanged with pineapple juice until the recipe is checked out.

  • digdirt2
    12 years ago

    Sorry I posted the wrong link to the Ball recipe. The lemon juice is in addition to all the vinegar in the recipe Linda Lou. pH of pineapple juice is listed at 3.3. Not as acidic as lemon at 2.6 true, but still quite acidic. You could easily increase the amount of the pineapple juice too to make the mixture even more acidic.

    But like I said, just my opinion.

    Dave

    Here is a link that might be useful: Ball Bar B Q Sauce

  • Linda_Lou
    12 years ago

    That is really quite a difference in ph. Each number is 10 times different in acidity.
    I would check the fruit salsas on the NCHFP and compare the fruit to the acidity of pineapple. For example, the mango salsa or the peach apple one.
    I have no time to figure it out tonight.

  • zabby17
    12 years ago

    ikea gw,

    You could make a big batch of your BBQ sauce and freeze it in containers to defrost when you want it.

    Z

  • readinglady
    12 years ago

    To add to the previous comments, it's not that your recipe is unsafe, it's that it's unknown. It might be fine to process and it might not. As it's untested, we have no way of determining the answer.

    It's a question of whether the higher-acid pineapple juice, cider vinegar and ketchup are sufficient to compensate for the low-acid jalapenos, ginger, cilantro, Worcestershire (which contains anchovies), and soy sauce.

    Carol