Eggplant Pasta Sauce

[mom11]

Here it is CAT!

 

Hope you like it. I make 6 batches at a time and it is manageable.

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large, chopped onion

6 chopped, garlic cloves

1 large, chopped bell pepper

2 lbs. eggplant, peeled and cubed

8 cups tomatoes, peeled and cubed

1 (6oz.) can tomato paste

4 tabs. fresh basil

2 tsps. dry oregano

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 cup salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 cup dry red wine

 

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil, until soft

 

Add tomatoes, eggplant, bell pepper, tomato paste, basil, oregano, sugar, salt, pepper, and wine and stir.

 

Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 mins.

 

Process in hot water bath for 40 mins.

 

Makes 7 pints and 4 quarts

 

Good served over pasta, with mozzarella cheese.

[mom11]

Here it is Violet! Check it out!

[Violet]

Until we can verify it is safe to can, I would freeze it. I see there is some wine, but that is not the same as wine vinegar. So, we need to find the source of this recipe first to insure it is safe.

I have Small Batch Preserving, The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, the Ball Blue Book, All About Canning and Preserving from Joy of Cooking, and the So Easy to Preserve from Univ. of Georgia, plus the university websites. I have not found it in any of those resources.

[JCK88]

Violet, do you think this recipe would be best pressure canned? My instincts on reading it were that I would pressure can it based on the vegetables in it, no matter what the acid level is due to the wine or the tomato paste.

 

I tried searching the recipe online and couldn't find a match at any of the sites, either. But, that doesn't mean it can't be canned if you pressure can it for the time of the vegetable requiring the longest processing time, it would be all right, I should think. At least my neighbor, the county extension agent here, says so.

[mom11]

Well...I have 6 batches of it almost ready and not gonna freeze it.

I wouldn't even make it, if it was going in the freezers and the freezers won't hold it.

 

Don't want to pressure can it, cuz I don't want to babysit the stupid things all night long. Geeeze...I can, but absolutely hate it!!! This always happens! I am so tired! Yes...I hate canning.

 

I think I am gonna pitch it this time, I am too tired to deal with this tonight. I grew all the veggies, so no big loss of money and the wine isn't in it yet.

 

The recipe was posted on Recipezaar.com

[Darlene]

Well, with all due respect, what we WANT to do, and what we SHOULD do, can sometimes be 2 very different things.

 

This recipe is NOT safe to waterbath can.

 

If you'd like to make it and waterbath process it, and then feed it to your children at a later date, then you need to know from the get go that you are doing something that is very unsafe.

[Violet]

Ok, well, Recipezarr often has recipes that are not safe to follow. That is why I always stress, know where the recipe originted from. Please, everyone, NEVER trust a recipe you find online or in books that do not say they are USDA tested.

I have a recipe or two with eggplant, but they are for something like caponata.

JCK88, that is not always true about the longest processing time. Used to be said, but that is outdated. You also have to take into account the density of a food. Some things, as we all know, that things like pumpkin, summer squash, zucchini, can only be canned in specific ways to be safe. Some only in combination with other things, like tomatoes, some only in cubes packed lightly with water in the jars, etc. So, if you follow that old guideline, your food may still not be safe to eat.

You will find that not all extension agents are current on food preservation safety. Sad, but true. That is why I always have people with questions to check with the National Center for Home Food Preservation for current information. You can check their website, their book, So Easy to Preserve, or even email them with questions.

I honestly try my hardest to keep up to date on all information. Even I email Elizabeth Andress from time to time with questions.

I want to be 100 percent sure I am up to date.

We are supposed to be getting new USDA guidelines, but for some reason they are way later than expected.

 

I should add that the NCFHFP at University of Georgia is the leading authority on food preservation. Elizabeth Andress wrote the USDA guidelines. She works at Univ. of Georgia. A very nice, helpful lady, too ! So down to earth. We had a video conference with her last year. It was so great. We could chat back and forth, and ask questions. Just wonderful ! I was so happy I was invited to join them for the conference.

 

[mom11]

Well dang...I didn't say I was gonna WB it, I said, since it might not be safe, I was throwing it out...Not feeding it to my chicks....I did post this recipe long ago and no one said squat....I have enough trouble in my life, not to ask for more.

 

I said I didn't want to spend the night babysitting the pressure canners and I'm not...I'm too tired to do it safely tonight and still have way to much work to do. Being chained, downstairs to the canners isn't happening.

 

Just want to clarify...I did not say I WANTED to WB it, after it was brought to my attention, it could be unsafe...If it was safe, I would WANT to WB everything...PC is a big pain in the you-know-what! You're stuck, right there..For hours.

[Darlene]

Originally Posted By: mom11

PC is a big pain in the you-know-what! You're stuck, right there..For hours.

I respectfully disagree.

[Stephanie]

Mom11, when you've got lots going on in your life, you feel like you're in a pressure pot yourself. I myself would have felt extremely frustrated if I had prepared all of that food only to throw it all away. Yikes!

 

I was wondering if you couldn't have atleast frozen it and salvaged your ingredients and effort?

 

Although I know that pressure canning is a wonderful way to store food and the preferred method in many cases, when that just can't be safely done, we have other ways to preserve food. right? I hope things de-pressurize in your life soon!

[mom11]

Violet PM'd me and told me to put it in the fridge and can today. Aaron and I had prepped the tomatoes the day before yesterday, so didn't know if I should save all that, another day.

 

I did do that, but I don't like to, because it takes a large amount, several hours to come to boiling, then if you aren't careful, it scorches...Then you start canning, then it is hours more, then you didn't can what you were gonna can today, then, then then.... AND I had to have two to asthma camp at 2pm.

 

I didn't have room in my freezers, they are jam packed, full...AND I was canning most of this for my little 8 year old granddaughter, that has sensory integration disorder and an eating disorder and LOVES this stupid sauce. As long as no one tells her what's in it, this is one odd thing she will eat. SO, I grew 33 eggplants, so I could make her tons of it and her Mom can't haul it home frozen...It needs to be canned.

 

So...I pressure canned the quarts for 90 mins. and the pints for 45 mins. It is not a thick sauce and has lots of tomatoes, onions, peppers, wine in it. As I got to the last of it, I thinned it, with some hot water, and made sure the stinkin stuff boiled again, before putting it into jars.

 

Now I am sick enough of eggplant, to never see another one, but I have a dining room table filled with them and a garden bursting with the things.

 

This same silly little girl, loves sweet pickles, and Nana's home canned green beans, and she is GETTING them!

 

Thanks Stephanie!

[JCK88]

Violet, the USDA has funding issues these days, that's why they aren't distributing updated stuff as soon as possible. Budget affects everyone, but USDA got funding slashed here and there over the years.

 

You're right about the veggie canning times and methods...I can my squash and pumpkins in chunks, but I have always done it that way anyway. It's easy to make it into quick soup right out of the can by adding the seasonings afterwards.

 

And about the updates? Yeah...I used to add barley and soup mac and rice to soups before I canned...and now that thought rather frightens me.

 

One reason for updates is not that suddenly people were dying from their home canned food, but that the pathogens that affect us have mutated and changed over time, many becoming stronger. So what worked in the past was likely just fine for the way things were. But now, with superbugs, and new strains of bacteria and microorganisms that are influenced by pesticides, antiobiotics and genetic modifications, we are seeing new, more virulant strains. This is one area where it is not just increased knowledge about food preservation that changes the rules, as when pasteurization was a big breakthrough because we learned that heat makes food safe. These days, the microorganisms have changed and we're lucky to live in an era where these things are understood and monitored.

 

Next time you talk, ask Elizabeth why the USDA says dispose of possibly tainted jars whole in a plastic bag in the trash when the National Center for Home Food Preservation says to open carefully, boil it, and dispose of it that way? That's been bugging me, LOL!! you'd think they would agree on this!

 

I am sure that the USDA guidelines are one reason why we don't see a lot of canning books published these days, except ones from Ball Blue Book. In the 80's, canning books abounded and I have some of the old books and can see that some of those recipes are dicey.

 

OTOH, many of the recipies are later repeated in trusted sources such as Ball Blue Book, USDA, or Extension services.

 

My extension service does not teach canning. They focus on teaching gardening more. I called and asked them if they might offer food preservation classes and they said they had no plans to. So I asked them what they thought all the gardeners were going to with all that produce and didn't they think it might be a good idea to teach people correct canning methods and they said they would consider it! Yikes!

 

 

 

 

 

[Violet]

JCK88, they don't have any different info. Those are the same as USDA guidelines, since Elizabeth Andress wrote the USDA guidelines and works at Univ. of Georgia/NCFHFP.

This is from NCFHFP.http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/general/identify_handle_spoiled_canned_food.html

Note, it says if still sealed, place in a heavy trash bag.

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Spoiled low-acid foods, including tomatoes, may exhibit different kinds of spoilage evidence or very little evidence. Therefore, all suspect containers of spoiled low-acid foods, including tomatoes, should be treated as having produced botulinum toxin and handled carefully in one of two ways:

 

If the swollen metal cans or suspect glass jars are still sealed, place them in a heavy garbage bag. Close and place the bag in a regular trash container or bury it in a nearby landfill.

If the suspect cans or glass jars are unsealed, open, or leaking, they should be detoxified before disposal.

Detoxification process: Carefully place the suspect containers and lids on their sides in an 8-quart volume or larger stock pot, pan, or boiling-water canner. Wash your hands thoroughly. Carefully add water to the pot. The water should completely cover the containers with a minimum of a 1-inch level above the containers. Avoid splashing the water. Place a lid on the pot and heat the water to boiling. Boil 30 minutes to ensure detoxifying the food and all container components. Cool and discard the containers, their lids, and food in the trash or bury in soil.

 

Thoroughly scrub all counters, containers, and equipment including can opener, clothing, and hands that may have contacted the food or containers. Discard any sponges or wash cloths that may have been used in the cleanup. Place them in a plastic bag and discard in the trash.

 

 

 

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This document was extracted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA (Revised 1994).

 

 

 

 

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[mom11]

So all the eggplant pasta sauce, I have done in the past, and not pressure canned..I can't just dump it out, wash the jars with bleach water, and reuse??? I'll just bag them up, and throw them away, cuz I'm not boiling that many jars and their contents.

[Stephanie]

I've just got to say...y'all are scaring me to death with all this life threatening botulism stuff...and just when I was brave enough to bring the canner upstairs.

[Darlene]

Get your canner upstairs right this minute young lady.

[Violet]

Stephanie,

It is totally safe if you use current methods and recipes from reliable sources. This is why I stress DO NOT use just any recipe from online or in books.

I have been canning for 35 years. Never hurt or killed anyone yet. I did have to throw out a few jars of soup. This was years ago, before I knew it was not safe to thicken first. It was the ugliest gray soup you ever saw ! I even called the extension office and asked how to can soup. Well, she didn't bother to ask if it was thickened.

So, I hope I do a better job at explaining things than she did now that I am in her shoes.

Anyway, it is safe, so I agree, drag it upstairs !!!

 

If you open the jars, you risk splashing it on something, getting it on the can opener, a cloth, breathing in the toxin, etc., if there is botulism.