Eggplant relish frm Small Batch Preserving-safe? + zuke/cuke sub?

15 years ago

I know I've seen "Small Batch Preserving" recommended many times here but have also seen problems with pickle/relish recipes to can, using oil or little vinegar. I have tried to use the search engine here, but I really need to know if these specific 3 recipes seem safe.

I only listed the prime ingredients (assume various spices) and also all are BWB processed for 15 min for half pints, 20 for pint, under 1,000 feet (or 20 and 25 for me since I am above that).

The recipes are:

1) Madras Pickled Eggplant- 2 lbs eggplant, 2 cloves garlic, 2-4 chili/jalepeno peppers. The veggies/spices are cooked with 1/3 cup oil, 1 and 1/4 cups white vinegar and 1 cup white sugar;

2) Caponata- 1 small eggplant, 2 large tomatoes, 1 cup diced zucchini, 1/2 cup onion, 3 large cloves garlic, 1/4 cup stuffed olives, 1 TBS capers, 2 TBS tomato paste, cooked with 1/3 cup red wine vinegar and 2 tsp each oil and sugar;

3) Brinjal Pickle Relish- 1 eggplant, 2-3 hot chilies, 3 large cloves garlic, cooked with 1/3 cup sugar, 3/4 cup vinegar and 1/3 cup oil

A general relish question-

I like a thick style relish. Could I use some Clear Jel, instead of having to cook 30 plus minutes until it's 'my desired consistancy', which is thicker. If that sounds reasonable, how much would I use for example, in Linda-Lou's Zucchini Relish , (6 pints made with 10 cups zukes, 3 c onion, 2 bell peppers, 2 and 1/2 c vinegar and 4 and 1/2 cups sugar plus spices).

And lastly... I have no cucumbers but tons of yellow & green zucchini.

Can I substitute zucchinis for cucumbers in pickle/relish recipes? I know Linda Lou said ok to sub cukes for zucchinis as cukes are a little more acidic than zukes. But then does that make a difference when I need/want to use zukes not cukes? (assuming a good vinegar/sugar to veggie ratio, and I use recipes that are straight vinegar no water).

New eggplant/zukes/cukes en masse in the fridge are eagerly awaiting (as am I) an answer from from the 'experts' (and you know who you are) here.

Tomorrow I do Linda Lou's Zucchini Relish!!

Thanks so much.

Rebecca

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Comments (5)

prairie_love
15 years ago
Rebecca

I am not an expert, but I have made the Madras Pickled Eggplant and it has been discussed. The conclusion was that Ellie Topp "works magic" and that the recipes are safe. At least that one has been deemed safe by the true experts and I believe they feel all of her recipes are safe.

Hmmm, I may have to go look at that caponata, sounds good.

Ann
readinglady
15 years ago
1. Yes on Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard's recipes from "Small-Batch Preserving."

2. No on the ClearJel. I know it's disappointing, but it can't be added to a canning recipe not designed for it.

3. I don't see any problem with using zucchini instead of cucumber in a 100% vinegar recipe. I'd make sure there was plenty of pickling solution and that the relish wasn't packed into the jars dry. If it's a little too liquid I'd strain when I opened the jar.

But Linda_Lou may have a different take on that. Zucchini can have a significantly higher pH. I definitely wouldn't try it with any recipe less than 100%.

Carol
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The first time I made pickle relish I did it just to use up a couple of cukes that had gotten bigger than I like (once in a while, the vine conspires to hide one or two until they can get too big), but it was so good, much better than the store bought, that I've been making my own ever since. The problem is that I like the veggies to be nicely even in size, tiny cubes and all that chopping is so tedious. So once, I tried a batch in the food processor, as suggested in a recipe. Won't do that again. The texture was completely different. My recipe is a little different from the Ball Book's, though it seems I might have gotten the original recipe from it, as the proportions are the same. But I add 2 cups of chopped celery to the other veggies, 1/4 t tumeric and I use half and half yellow and brown mustard seeds. Here is an excellent red onion relish. The recipe comes from "Small Batch Preserving", but I generally triple it because I can't be bothered to slowly caramelize the onions and go through the whole canning process for only 2 cups of finished product. Caramelized Red Onion Relish 2 large red onions-peeled and very thinly sliced 1/4 c firmly packed brown sugar 1 c dry red wine 3 T balsamic vinegar 1/8 t salt 1/8 t freshly ground black pepper Combine onions and brown sugar in a heavy, nonstick pan. Cook, uncovered over med-high heat about 25 minutes or until onions turn golden and start to caramelize. Stir frequently. Stir in wine and vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir frequently. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Pack in clean hot jars, leaving 1/2" head space. Process half pints in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
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reba_grows
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks folks, you speak I listen.....

As long as we're on the subject- the USDA's (2nd revised Edition, 1999) has a recipe for Marinated Peppers. 4 lbs blistered peeled peppers 1 cup lemon juice, 2 cups white vinegar, 1/2 cup onions,2 cloves garlic and a FULL CUP of OIL. I know we're still waiting for the newest guidelines for canning, so what about this one?

Thanks again for the quick responses,
Rebecca
prairie_love
15 years ago
If you mean the same recipe for marinated peppers that is in the thread below, yes it is safe and I love it.

Here is a link that might be useful: marinated peppers
zabby17
15 years ago
reba, I'd feel safe with a USDA recipe from that recently. That full cup of oil is cut with THREE cups of strong acid.

I think the magic Ellie works is simply that she worked on developing the recipes and had some recources to TEST them while doing so.

The reason for caution about untested recipes isn't that they're known to cause illness, but that they haven't been demonstrated scientifcally to be 100% safe. The bar most home canners want for safety is a 100% guarantee that there won't be a food safety problem if they follow the recipes. (Botulism is such a horribly serious condition that few people want even the teeniest chance of contracting it---after all, home canning is associated with fun, health, and generous gifting.)

It's comapratively easy to devise a safe recipe with nothing but fruit, sugar, and acid ingredients. Most combinations of those are going to test perfectly fine on the first try. But combinations involving low-acid ingredients, oil, and thickeners, while not necessarily always UNsafe, presumably often need more tries to find a combo that is both tasty and proven to be completely risk-free.

There just aren't a lot of resources committed to developing and testing new canning recipes, presumably because the canning lobby is pretty small and not exactly wealthy and politically powerful. So other than the company that sells canning products, which puts out a few new recipes a year, and the occasional cash-strapped extension office, there aren't a lot of places testing recipes, TRYING to find safe ways of making stuff some of us want to make, like low-sugar or low-acid or fat-involving items.

That's why I love Auntie Ellie. She had a cable show in Canada for a while; it was called PUT A LID ON IT (her book is a combination of two earlier books tied to the show and called PUT A LID ON IT 1 and 2), and many of the recipes apparently were created for the show. Presumably the advertising revenue is where the money came from for the testing, and there seems to have been some cooperation with Health Canada, as they are noted as having approved her method for making flavoured oils as a safe one.

Clearly what we need is a new canning tv show! Ideally, a U.S. prime-time reality show---THINK of the $$ they would have for recipe development! Way more than some measly Canadian cable show.

I foresee a new career for our Annie as celebrity host!

;-)

Zabby

Eggplant relish frm Small Batch Preserving-safe? + zuke/cuke sub?

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Eggplant relish frm Small Batch Preserving-safe? + zuke/cuke sub?

Comments (5)

prairie_love

readinglady

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reba_growsOriginal Author

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