This is on the BH&G website and is also published in "Better Homes & Gardens Special Interest Publications - Canning, preserving & freezing & drying." Dated 2013. In the section, "Cardinal Rules of Canning" they state that "all of the recipes in this publication are thoroughly tested in our Test Kitchen for quality, flavor, usability, and safety, and they have earned the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen Seal."

Thanks to what I've learned on this forum, two things originally concerned me:
1) The amount of oil. However, reading through the recipe, the oil is put on the outsides of the garlic heads and the "skin" sides of the peppers. The garlic is then "popped" out of its skin and the peppers skins are peeled away - so the oil is just a fraction of the original 3 tablespoons.
2) Amount of peppers, basil, and fresh herbs. This is where my concern remains and I would love any feedback and/or opinions from the more knowledgeable here as to whether or not you think this recipe is safe.

Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce

6 bulbs garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium red, yellow, and/or green sweet peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
12 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt or 4 teaspoons regular salt
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, snipped
1 cup lightly packed assorted fresh herbs, such as oregano, thyme, parsley, and/or basil, snipped
6 tablespoons lemon juice

directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut off the top 1/2 inch of each garlic bulb to expose ends of individual cloves. Leaving garlic bulbs whole, remove any loose, papery outer layers. Place bulbs, cut ends up, in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart casserole. Drizzle bulbs with 1 tablespoon of the oil; cover casserole. Arrange sweet pepper halves, cut sides down, on a foil-lined baking sheet; brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil.
2. Roast garlic and peppers about 40 minutes or until garlic feels soft and peppers are charred. Cool garlic in casserole on a wire rack. Bring foil up around peppers and fold edges together to enclose. Let peppers stand about 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Peel off and discard skins. Chop peppers; set aside.
3. Remove garlic cloves from paper skins by squeezing the bottoms of the bulbs. Place garlic cloves in a food processor. Cut peeled tomatoes into chunks; add some of the chunks to the garlic in food processor. Cover and process until chopped.
4. Transfer chopped garlic and tomatoes to a 7- to 8-quart stainless-steel, enamel, or nonstick heavy pot. Working in batches, repeat chopping the remaining tomatoes in the food processor. Add all of the tomatoes to pot.
5. Add brown sugar, salt, vinegar, and black pepper to tomato mixture. Bring to boiling. Boil steadily, uncovered, for 50 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in chopped peppers. Boil for 10 to 20 minutes more or until mixture reaches desired consistency (you should have about 11 cups), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in basil and assorted herbs.
6. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice into each of six hot sterilized pint canning jars. Ladle hot pasta sauce into jars with lemon juice, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.
7. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 35 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. Makes 6 pints.

Thanks in advance for your insights,
Kathy

It doesn't even come close to acid amounts called for in the approved recipes that allow for BWB processing. Most all mixed vegetable tomato sauces require pressure caning.

I suppose you could pressure can it using the NCHFP time of 20 min for pints but it would be untested. Better to just make it and freeze it.

Dave

A friend and her sister have made multiple batches of this and rave about how good it is. I mentioned safety concerns re: oil and the volume of fresh veggies/herbs and she pointed to the BH&G claims about testing I included in my original post. But I was still skeptical, so asked here.

I was hoping I might be missing something that made this safe as written, but got exactly the answer I expected! :) I may try making it and freezing it, if I can figure out how to squeeze more into the freezer....

I've purchased the last two annual BH&G canning special issues and in both cases I've seen recipes I wouldn't trust without some data. However, I've had difficulty emailing BH&G and getting any kind of response. Maybe someone else will have better luck.

I think things have changed in the food publishing world. It used to be that Sunset, for example, had excellent testing facilities and experienced staff and I trusted their recipes. However, a recent recipe for canned tomatoes called for Fruit Fresh to acidify. That is not equivalent to citric acid and told me they're no longer reliable.

Similarly, our local paper, The Oregonian used to have experienced canners on staff and good links to OSU Extension, but last canning season they published a melon jam with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. I never did get a reply as to how the author of the book they reviewed determined that amount was sufficient for a low-acid fruit.

And Penzey's a few years back published a home-canned mayonnaise-type sandwich dressing. I told them it posed risks but I never heard anything.

It seems the way a lot of these publications "respond" is by ignoring their readers.

Carol