This is my second year canning and I'm trying to find a similar recipe to my summer veggie tomato sauce. I would love to can my own recipe, but have been reviewing all your wonderful advice here and should probably continue to freeze it. Although I don't have a lot of freezer space since we've downsized into a small home with smaller appliances!

I purchased an AA pressure canner and a good pH meter with controls this year (I'm a lapsed engineer so these things appeal to my sensibilities). I appreciate that pH testing is not a straight forward exercise as well. And I haven't gotten everything precisely measured in my recipe, but would like to develop this further.

So here it is. Have any of you seen something like this? It's so delicious, I was ever so hopeful to be able to pressure can it, but don't want to risk making anyone sick!

9lbs mixed roma tomatoes roasted with about 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 head of garlic cloves, salt and pepper, and 8 sprigs fresh oregano. After roasting, remove the skins and most of the seeds. Squeeze 1/2 the garlic cloves out of skins to include in the sauce; save the rest for bread for lunch!

3 medium coarsely chopped onions
2 small japanese eggplants chopped
1 large zucchini chopped
2 medium summer squash chopped
1 red cubanell pepper chopped
2 small green peppers chopped
2 cups red wine
2 Tbsp maple syrup
Bouquet Garni of fresh oregano, basil, thyme wrapped and hung in the pot while cooking down
1 tsp each dried oregano, basil, and thyme

Saute all the chopped vegetables in 2 Tbsp olive oil until just tender.

Add the roasted tomato and garlic to the pan
Cook for about 10 minutes until well mixed.

Add the wine, maple syrup and hang the bouquet garni in the pot. Add some salt to taste.

Cook at a slow simmer for about an hour until sauce is reduced to your liking. Remove the bouquet garni.

Blend with immersion blender, add dried herbs, then simmer for another 1/2 hour.

Serve on your favorite pasta.

That's one of the foundation rules of safe home canning for many very good reasons. And even formally trained home canners keep that rule in mind when modifying recipes.

So assuming you understand up front that no matter what we say, canning this will be a do-at-your-own-risk practice then IMO it is possible

1) IF you reduce the amount oil used substantially (minimal brushed on amounts only),

2) limit the onions, squash, and peppers to no more than 1 cup each vs. the 6 or more cups you have in the recipe.

3) change all the herbs to dried only, no fresh

4) pressure can it in pints for 20 min. adjusting for altitude.

This is based on the NCHFP instructions for spaghetti sauce which, while it allows for 1/4 cup oil and has been tested, does not allow for the oil in the eggplants. I'm allowing the eggplant as a sub for the mushrooms in their recipe and counting on the wine acidity to cover them since your recipe contains no sugar for free water binding.

Now, with all these changes to bring it closer to the safety line will you like the end result? Probably not. It will have a very different taste because of the changes in ingredients and the texture will be quite different as well due to the PC processing.

Would I take the risk to make and can it? No. I wouldn't even recommend doing it. Even with all those changes there would still remain far too much risk in the recipe for my comfort level.

Even if the pH tested out at 4.5 would I make it? No because pH does not remain stable on the shelf and this is so close to the borderline that it would likely rise into the unsafe level rather quickly given all the free water in the vegetables.

What if I pre-acidified all the vegetables before cooking? Say a vinegar or lemon juice or citric acid presoak? Would I make and can it then? No because it would have a very vinegary or citrus taste to it all.

You begin to see the problems?

Which brings us back to the basic rule. You cannot safely can your own made up recipes. You freeze it.

JMO

Dave

pH is particularly problematic in chunky product because blending it before testing for pH level will not yield reliable results as there can be lower-acid "islands" in a higher-acid mixture.

Some few members have developed their own recipes and had them tested so that they're assured of safety. Some universities do offer lab testing services at affordable costs through their foods and sometimes small business departments. It all depends and would take some research.

In your case freezing is much the better option.

Entirely aside from the safety issue, canning presents other challenges. One is changes in flavor. So you might find that some flavors become unpleasantly strong and upset the balance. I'd guess the garlic and basil would be especially problematic.

Good luck whatever you decide. I'm sorry we couldn't give you the answer you were hoping for.

Carol

I think I will focus on basic sauce, stewed tomatoes, and tomato soup and add the goodies to it after opening.

Thanks again,

anne

If it will help shorten your search I can tell you that you likely not find any with eggplant simply because it won't hold up to the heat of any form of processing. As for squash, canning it in anything but chunks hasn't been approved for many years because of the large amount of water in them - they turn to mush too.

Some foods simply can't be canned for safety reasons but some foods simply shouldn't be canned not because of safety but because of what the processing does to them..

Dave

I think I will focus on basic sauce, stewed tomatoes, and tomato soup and add the goodies to it after opening.

Thanks again,

anne

And thanks, Anne, for what sounds like an excellent recipe. For fresh eating :).

WHY would you want to flavor you sauce , with anything at all, never mind zuchinnies ??
I would only add the ingridients that have some kind of preservative role. Otherwise, I'll add anything else when I am using it.
Sure some TV stuff manufacturers add this and that for some lazy cooks to make it interesting, Maybe !!
If I want to make spaghetti sauce, I buy just the plain sauce(or canned tomatoes) and make sauce with it. Then I add whatever herbs, spices that I want. that includes Italian herbs, Garlic, red bell peppers etc.

I imagine she wants to have a delicious summer-garden taste in winter. Same reason I freeze some blackberries for pies and stuff, and don't just make them all into jam :).

The issue of safety only arises when one tries to mix in all sorts of other low-acid vegetables. That shifts the dynamic into pressure canning, water activity, pH and density issues and compensating for them often requires lengthy processing times that undermine quality and flavor.

Dave.

"Caponata is a Sicilian dish served as a salad, side dish or relish. We also like it as an appetizer spread on toasted baguette slices."

1 small eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch (5 mm) cubes
1 1/2 tbsp pickling salt (20 mL)
2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, diced
1 cup diced zucchini (250 mL)
1/2 chopped onion (125 mL)
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped stuffed olives (50 mL)
1 tbsp capers, rinsed (15 mL)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fresh thyme (5 mL) or 1/4 tsp (1 mL) dried
1/4 tsp each: salt and freshly ground pepper (1 mL)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar (75 mL)
2 tsp granulated sugar (10 mL)
2 tsp olive oil (10 mL)
2 tbsp tomato paste (25 mL)

(Read Step-by-Step Guide (below) before proceeding with recipe.)

Place eggplant in a non-reactive bowl. Sprinkle with salt and stir well. Let stand for 2 hours. Drain eggp1ant in a sieve and rinse twice. draining thoroughly; press out excess moisture.

Place eggplant, tomatoes, red pepper, zucchini, onion, garlic, olives, capers, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper in a large roasting pan.

Heat vinegar, sugar, and oil in a microwavable container until hot, about 1 minute, stir into vegetables.

Bake in a 350 degree F (18OC) oven for about 1 1/2 hours (1 hour for a convection oven), or until vegetables are softened and liquid has evaporated, stirring every 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven, discard bay leaf and stir in tomato paste.

Remove hot jars from canner and spoon relish into jars to within1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (headspace).

Process 15 minutes for half-pint (250 mL) jars and 20 minutes for pint (500 mL) jars as directed

Makes 5 Cups (1.25 L)

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

20 MINUTES BEFORE PROCESSING:
Place jars in canner and add hot water. Cover canner and begin heating over medium heat. Keep jars hot until you are ready to fill them. If the recipe requires a preparation and cooking time longer than 20 minutes, begin preparation of the ingredients first. Then begin heating the water and jars in the canner while the prepared food is cooking. If the ingredients require a shorter preparation and cooking time, begin heating the canner before you start your recipe.

FIVE MINUTES BEFORE PROCESSING:
Place lids in hot water and keep lids hot until you are ready to use them. Do not heat screw bands.

FILLING CANNING JARS:
Remove jars from canner and ladle food into hot jars to within 1/2 inch of top rim. Remove trapped air bubbles and re-adjust headspace to desired level by adding more hot food and/or liquid. Wipe rim and side of jars to ensure a good seal. Lift lid from hot water and center on jar. Apply screw band until fingertip tight.

PROCESSING CANNING JARS:
Place jars in canner and adjust water level to cover jars by 1 inch. Cover canner and place over high heat. Once a full boil is reached, begin counting the processing time specified in recipe (a full boil must be maintained for the entire time required). At end of processing time, turn heat off, remove canner lid and leave jars in canner for five minutes. Then lift jars out and place on heat-safe work surface. Do not touch seals or dry jars. Let cool for 12 to 24 hours. Check jar seals (sealed lids turn downward) and remove screw bands.

STORING PRESERVED FOOD:
Label jars with contents and date and store in a cool, dark place. Any jars that do not seal within 24 hours must be refrigerated or reprocessed immediately using new lids.

Source: The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard

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