Well I would have several reservations about it valereee - first no approved recipe that I know of allows for BWB onion as they are too low acid and there isn't enough added acid in this to bring the ph down to the approved level of under 4.5.

Plus it has oil in it and in general, no oils are allowed as they insulate botulism spores and prevent the heat from killing them. Granted it is oil used for sauteing but the onions are going to absorb it.

Others here will be able to better advise as Carol and Linda Lou have more experience with confit (I'll admit they ain't high on my list ;) so if they say it is ok, trust them. As for me, I'd pass on the recipe, sorry.

Dave

Dave, hi! I had the exact reservations you do -- the oil and the amount of vinegar.

However, I do know of a very similar recipe (Caramelized Red Onion Relish in The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving) that uses no more vinegar than this one calls for. Less, in fact. I'm a little leery of that recipe too as it calls for "2 red onions" to 3T of balsamic and of course how big is a red onion? :D

BUT, key: there's no olive oil in that recipe.

Still, it's not exactly pickled onions, and the vinegar still seems there more for flavor than preservation. There's an older discussion here on that recipe, but there's never a pronouncement of safe/not safe exactly -- more a discussion of different requirements in Canadian vs. US canning, which I took to mean the Canadians (where the book was published) would consider this a safe recipe while the US wouldn't.

Which leads me back to the original recipe -- does Canadian canning allow for the use of small amounts of oils at all, too?

Here is a link that might be useful: '07 discussion of CBSBP version of recipe

valereee,

If you read that thread to the end, you will find that there is some discussion about the size of onions (what exactly does "one medium onion" mean) as well as a couple of comments regarding the safety. Also, there have been several discussions specifically about the book "Small Batch Preserving", usually buried within threads about something else, so searching may or may not find them. However, the consensus amongst the people on this forum trained in food preservation safety is that the book is safe and you could follow recipes in it with confidence, including the Caramelized Red Onion Relish. My opinion (and I am NOT an expert) is that I would be comfortable with the recipe from Small Batch Preserving, but not comfortable with the one you posted originally because of the olive oil.

Prairie love, thanks -- I'll go reread. So I guess that means I don't have to go freeze the three half-pints of Carmelized Red Onion Relish I put up three days ago before I started to wonder about the amount of vinegar in that recipe. :D That's good to know. I had actually thought of trying the other recipe, and then did a double take on the olive oil.

Scary, really. Anyone can post a recipe as a 'canning recipe' and few folks really know what a canning-friendly recipe actually looks like.

Just for a quick clarification of the safety of recipes from So Easy to Preserve for those who have trouble finding the information elsewhere. Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard's book is very highly regarded in canning circles. You can process any of those recipes with confidence.

Ellie Topp has consulted on food safety for the Canadian government and has developed recipes for Bernardin. Because of her food science background, she has been able to come up with more imaginative ways to resolve acidity issues, adding red wine to some sauce recipes, for instance.

Carol

Carol, thanks so much for that! I was looking at the CGSBP book and wondering if I shouldn't have bought it if I were going to be questioning it.

Forgive me if this has been dealt with -- why is 3T of vinegar enough in a recipe that is mostly onions?

I don't mind questions, even repeated ones, when it's an important issue. Food safety certainly ranks at the top.

Several reasons, I think. First, you're cooking the onions at fairly high heat until caramelized. That drives off water. If you're speaking of something like botulism spores, they like a low-acid high-water environment. So driving off water increases safety.

Then add sugar. Sugar is a dessicant. In other words, it absorbs water. Again, it has a safety function, not just taste.

Finally, wine is also acidic. It isn't just the Balsamic vinegar, though another factor is that traditional Italian Balsamic by law is at least 6%, stronger than regular vinegar. So instead of adding water, all the liquid is acidic to one degree or another.

She's a smart lady.

Carol