Is this a relish? Sorry, it's not suitable for canning. There's not enough vinegar and the cornstarch is a no-go.

You could probably achieve similar results by freezing peppers and making the recipe fresh during the winter. Texture would be softer but all the flavors would come through.

Carol

It has no canning instructions because it is not a canning recipe...
Find something similar that is from a reliable canning resource and use it.
The University Of Georgia website is a good place to start , as well as is a current copy of the Ball Blue Book.

Thanks carol ,I think I will end up going the direction you mentioned and just make it fresh with frozen peppers.I just wanted to be able to can a bunch of it so I wouldn't have to make it all the time.

Linda, I have never seen anything similar and if you have to add more vinegar than is already in the recipe it wouldn't be something I was interested in doing really.I am trying to find out how to can stuff that there isn't canning recipes for ,not just copy old canning recipes.Someone had to have come up with the original canning recipes somehow so that is what I am trying to do myself,I suppose I need a ph meter.

The problem with just relying on the info from a PH meter is there is also variation in density, which affects heat penetration. There is also variation within the vegetables same vegetables crop to crop and variety as to how acidic each one would be.

-Robin

I am trying to find out how to can stuff that there isn't canning recipes for, not just copy old canning recipes.

Then there is your problem. You are apparently willing to trade safety for invention. Your choice. Your risk to take. Your risk to pass on to others that may eat your foods. But certainly not an approach to be advocated to others.

Someone had to have come up with the original canning recipes somehow so that is what I am trying to do myself

Yes, but are you a food scientist or have access to the lab facilities that were used to come up and test the recipes? How is your pH meter going to deal with the issues of density, computing processing times, or the inability of pH to remain stable over time in storage?

Sorry, but even the most experienced, most well trained home canners won't go that far out into left field and they have the knowledge to work with.

Dave

One option for canning things there aren't canning recipes for is to contact your nearest land-grant college or university with an extension service or food safety program. Many offer testing services (sometimes connected with small-business/farmers market incentives, etc.) for homemade formulations. The fees are reasonable. We have had a few members who have done that.

Be aware canning is a lot more complicated than pH. You have density issues which impede heat penetration; inconsistent pH of product depending upon growing conditions and variety; changes in pH over time (for example juices leach out of the peppers and raise the pH of the pickling solution); and the difficulty of arriving at an accurate pH when you have a product that is a combination of solids and liquid. For example, if you tested the pH of a relish by blending the relish and then testing the blended pulp, that pH would not be accurate because in the relish form there might be high pH (i.e. low-acid) chunks suspended in a low pH (i.e. high-acid) solution.

It sounds from your comments that you have a considerable learning curve; be prepared to invest a lot of time and energy in study just to become aware of the issues.

When you know enough to be scared of what you're planning, then you'll be getting close.

If you refrigerate this recipe, don't plan on long-term storage. A refrigerated pickle is possible, but its safety and refrigerator life are directly proportionate to the level of vinegar. This is low even for refrigeration.

Carol

Thanks again carol for the solid info,I had no idea colleges would do any testing of canned goods so I will be looking into that for sure.

The method you mentioned of blending then testing ph would be right inline with this recipe though,it is not relish it is a sweet chili dipping sauce with a texture similar to sweet and sour sauce.You blend everything to a fine pulp and boil it for 5 min, add the cornstarch and 2tbl of water mixture to thicken the sauce and simmer it for 2 more min .

I am not trying to reinvent the wheel and I know there are lots of safety issues with canning food but I am trying to figure out how to test them myself and adjust acidity.

So it is not a very dense sauce at all therefore if I tested the blended mix and it was low enough ph to can could I not open a new jar every month over the winter and tested ph of the jar to determine any increase in ph over time?

would that not be a safe way to test that the ph remained the same over time?

I would rather not speculate on that. I'm not a food safety professional.

I'd encourage you to contact your nearest Extension service and ask them to field your question.

Unfortunately, due to severe reductions in funding, many of the services previously available to home canners are no longer there.

I'm wondering how familiar you are with existing sources of tested recipes. For example, the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving offers a safe-tested Singapore Chili Sauce that calls for vinegar, sugar, chopped hot peppers, golden raisins (optional), garlic, grated ginger and salt.

Actually, that sounds better to me for a dipping sauce than what you posted.

There are a number of reliable canning books currently in publication with a plethora of options far beyond what can be found online. And far more reliable.

Carol

You should NOT ever try to test acidity at home.
Not even those of us who are trained in food preservation and food safety test our own recipes.
That is the number one canning guideline, NEVER can your own recipes.
You should freeze anything that is not from a reliable, safety tested recipe designed for canning.
Also, you truly should not add any cornstarch. Plus, there is not nearly enough added acid to can that.
Dave is totally right in what he has said to you.
Did you know that in the labs when they test foods for canning it takes between $10,000 and $50,000 per recipe ?
Please, leave that job to the food safety scientists.

Well continuing with the question of testing acidity is like beating a dead horse I suppose plus I don't want linda to have a stroke.

Carol, if you have any sauce canning recipes for a thick sauce not a watery one I would very much appreciate it if you would post it for me if you get a spare minute .

Your recipe as posted is so basic and quick and simple to make and in such small quantities that I honestly can't see why or how canning it could be of any benefit.

Why don't you just do as all the rest of us do when we have a favorite recipe that cannot be safely canned as is - we can the basic ingredients as allowed and then just add the extras at prep time.

You can can peppers and garlic with no problems. Then you just mix in the vinegar, sugar, water, salt and cornstarch at serving time. Might take all of 2 mins. to make. But it would be safe.

We don't "have strokes" but some of us simply cannot comprehend why a few folks are so insistent that their recipe simply must be canned despite all the safety guidelines against it. Especially when there are literally thousands and thousands of safe tested canning recipes available. It just isn't logical.

But it sure is distressing to those of us who do care about the safety aspects of home food preservation.

Dave

Well said, Dave, well said !
Good luck to you, cheeze, is all I can say.
We have told you what is safe and true, what you do is now up to you.

I am all for RACC - risk-aware conscious canning. That's modified from a website which used the term risk-aware consentual cooking.

We give you the feedback and point out the issues but you're the "decider." We care a lot about food safety, but we're not the canning police.

I just got a call from my BIL. He wanted my MIL's recipe for pickled beets. I pointed out that it was an old Kerr formula and doesn't meet current standards. He said, "I don't care if it meets current standards or not."

So I gave him the recipe. It's a kind of canning libertarianism. He cans the way he wants and I don't eat it.

If you want to test the pH, even if just out of curiosity, then that's your choice. I have a feeling it will be quite high. There's a lot of water activity in your recipe.

Dave alluded to another issue to consider that I don't think gets enough attention the cost. The cost of canning includes lids, jars and energy (yours and the fuel). In this case the cost is high because you'd be (hypothetically) canning a single-use easy-to-make product.

In preservation terms it would be more rational to freeze the peppers or can pickled peppers which can be eaten as a pickle, integrated into corn salads or other dishes or whirled up with the ingredients you post for the dipping sauce.

For example, in Linda Ziedrich's Joy of Pickling she offers a Southeast Asian Chile-Garlic Relish, which keeps refrigerated for up to a year or even longer in the freezer.

This Vietnamese relish can then be used as a base for kimchi, salsa cruda, guacamole, Chinese-style hot bean sauce for stir fry, quick pickles or a Sweet-Chile Garlic Sauce for spring rolls or as a baste. Now that's efficient.

There are wonderful reliable recipes out there in books you may not have seen. Linda Lou mentioned a couple. The recipes are imaginative and reflect a wide variety of ethnic traditions, not just American Midwest. You can find tested formulas for everything from Moroccan Harissa to Asian Plum Dipping Sauce.

It isn't necessary to re-invent the wheel.

Here is the recipe I mentioned in the last post from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It's offered as a point of comparison. I have added some notes about safe modifications. There is no water. If a smoother texture is desired, this could be pureed at time of opening.

Singapore Chili Sauce

Makes about 12 4-oz jars or 6 8-oz jars

2 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar (can be reduced)
4 cups chopped hot red chili peppers (from approximately 1 pound unprepped)
1 1/2 cups sultana raisins, rinsed (golden raisins - optional)
1/4 cup chopped garlic (can be reduced)
1 T. grated ginger (can be reduced or powdered substituted)
2 tsp. salt (can be reduced)

1. Prepare canner, jars and lids
2. In a large non-reactive saucepan, combine vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and boil gently 3 minutes. Add peppers, raisins, garlic, gingerroot and salt. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently until vegetables are heated through, about 5 minutes.
3. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot sauce. Wipe rim. Apple lids and rings.
4. Place jars in canner. Process 10 minutes. Remove lid. Wait 5 minutes, remove jars, cools and store.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Carol