Ok, first it is a very uncommon recipe likely made by only those working in the Ball testing kitchen. Not many have access to or interest in tamarinds. ;-) So the odds of finding any one else here who has made it and that can compare their resulting amounts to yours is slim to none. But I will add that trying to double complex and/or niche' and unusual recipes such as this is NEVER recommended. Doing so is almost always going to result in failure. Instead you make multiple batches per the recipe. Doubling, much less tripling recipes is just asking for problems. It sounds good in theory but seldom works in actual practice.

Second, the Ball "New" book has had little exposure, little use by US canners. That's because (a) it isn't truly a Ball USA Publication but a compilation of recipes from many various sources and published by Jarden (Canada) so includes many recipes seldom made by US canners, and (b) has had several different mistakes noted in it in the short time it has been out.. It's dependability is somewhat questionable (as you have discovered).

So never having worked with tamarinds what follows is all supposition so take it for what it is worth. As written I would agree that 1/2 pint jars is correct simply because such mixtures are far more commonly canned in 1/2 pints and the processing time given is far more likely a 1/2 pint processing time.

I don't know of any reason why subbing the frozen pulp for the fresh pulp would pose any problems simply because any other fruit can be subbed in that manner with no issues.

But I do not understand the reason for adding all the extra water that you added. Had you simply added 1 cup of the frozen tams to the fresh you had or simply used 2 cups of the frozen tams so you had the full 2 cups called for the recipe would have been safe (according to the book anyway). In fact you likely could have used less water as the frozen tams would be somewhat juicier just from thawing (less water is always better/safer). Tams are acidic but tartaric acid is a weak acid so all that extra water could easily push it over into the too low-acid range IMO. Without testing there is no way to know.

So if the end result you made is edible then I would recommend freezing it rather than canning. Then if you wish make a fresh batch stick with the recipe but use the frozen tams - NO DOUBLING.

Hope this helps some.

Dave

Thanks, Dave. Yes, that helps a lot.

I added the water to the frozen pulp because I added it to the uncooked tamarinds and I try not to change recipes, which doesn't make sense in hindsight. The purpose of the water for the uncooked tamarinds was to help process them into a pulp, but I was concerned that it was also to dilute the pulp, which is why I diluted the frozen pulp, which was in fact watery as you surmised. Since water is less acidic than tamarind, then that doesn't improve safety. Correct?

The end result was runny, but very yummy, and is going into the freezer now. It will be used up within a month.

I'd like to make another batch and will not double it, as you advise. I looked in two places (one here -- http://www.orientaldetox.com/ph-of-foods.html) and tamarind is shown as 3.00 acidity. It doesn't differentiate between sweet and sour tamarind, both of which we have locally. Does 2 cups of tamarind pulp (which was quite runny) and 1 cup or less of water make sense and seem safe? Or does reducing the water concentrate the sugar and spices. If the recipe is meant to make 4 half pints, then I need 4 cups total product.

And I did not know that Ball isn't always Ball. I have severely restricted my use of books because of not trusting them, so this is disheartening.

"Since water is less acidic than tamarind, then that doesn't improve safety. Correct?"

Water is VERY alkaline average of 7-8 pH. So the less water used the safer the recipe.

"Does 2 cups of tamarind pulp (which was quite runny) and 1 cup or less of water make sense and seem safe?"

Safe yes but it will slightly change the flavor, make it sweeter. Concentrating the flavor of the sugar and spices poses no safety issues.

" If the recipe is meant to make 4 half pints, then I need 4 cups total product."

Don't make recipes or adjust them based on how many jars it is supposed to produce or how many jars you want. That can be very misleading and even dangerous. There are so many variables in any recipe that the # of jars it is supposed to produce is nothing more than an estimate with a margin of error of +/- 2. 10 people can make the same recipe and end up with 5 different # of jars. I posted a year or so back about an experiment I did in one of the canning classes I teach. I had each of the students measure out 4 of the most common measurements - 1 cup, 2 T, 1 tsp., and 12 oz. We then weighed their results and they were amazed at the differences from one person to another.

Technically Ball USA and Jarden Canada are the same in that Jarden Canada owns Ball. But it pays to note the publisher because in actuality Jarden is not bound by USDA guidelines as Ball is. So Ball does its own testing and its publications adhere to USDA guidelines. Plus Ball is subject to much more peer review. Jarden publications use a somewhat looser approach. I'm not saying they are unsafe, just that their recipes and instructions need to be carefully evaluated.

Dave

Thank you for this education. Even after canning for several years and doing many, many jars a year, I am still always learning. In light of the difference in weights you've mentioned, I expect I will give the original recipe one more try, as written. If still a no go, Bernardin has an alternate that utilizes a dried block of tamarind, which I expect I can find somewhere locally.

Rather than using 1 cup of water, which you believe would be safe, I wonder if it would be preferable for this recipe to use the 2 cups of frozen pulp, plus the sugar and spices, and no water. Then dilute when ready to use.Or would the consistency not be thin enough for good processing? That would yield 4-5 half pints per batch I am guessing, which is enough to be worth making.

The point of making this shelf stable is that tamarind sauce is delicious but very expensive, and it's usually filled with junk fillers. That's makes shelf stable homemade is so appealing. A tiny apartment with big closets works great for lots of canning, but doesn't help when it comes to freezer space!