My grandma always made the best canned foods….
Now, if you’ve never heard of this vegetable spread, let me tell you now that it’s unbelievable. It’s delicious on bread or even as a topping on rice for a quick vegetarian meal. It is also excellent as a sandwich spread and perfect for your stockpile.
This recipe is for a large batch and is intended for canning. You can cut it back if you want a smaller batch for immediate consumption.
The basic ingredients for the recipe, with quantities, can be found below:
- 8 lbs fresh eggplants
- 6 lbs red peppers
- 2 lbs onions
- 2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
- Bay leaves to taste
- 2 cups tomato paste
- 2 cups olive oil
Over an open flame (gas stove or grill), completely blacken the skins of the eggplants and peppers.
Peel skins off immediately. The easiest way to get the last bits off is to do it under a slow-running faucet.
Puree each of the three vegetables separately in a food processor. Place each in a separate bowl when you are finished.
Place oil and onion in a large pot and sauté onions for about 4 minutes over medium-low heat.
Add eggplant and pepper.
Cook until a thin layer of oil remains on top, and when a spoonful of spread is removed, only the oil should run off the spoon, not the spread.
After the composition reaches the boiling point, add the tomatoes then taste and adjust salt, pepper, and bay leaves to meet your tastes.
After 1 hour at medium-high heat, let it rest for 30 minutes. Spoon the mixture into sterilized jars of your choosing. It is easiest if they are all the same size.
After placing the lids, put the jars in a preheated oven for one hour at 220°F. Turn it off and leave the jars in the oven to cool completely before storing them.
Store them in your pantry, root cellar, or any cold, dark place you have in your house. They should last for at least one year.
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Hi sounds like a great spread, some of the instructions are out of step, but I got that figured out. So to finish this process is it water bath or pressure canning…. and for how long?
Thanks
After placing the lids, put the jars in a preheated oven for one hour at 220°F. Turn it off and leave the jars in the oven to cool completely before storing them. Sorry for the confusion.
OVEN CANNING IS UNSAFE AND NOT RECOMMENDED ANY MORE. THIS SHOULD BE AT THE VERY LEAST WHATER BATH CANNED AND EVEN THEN I WOULD PROBABLY ADD A TEASPOON OF VINEGAR. ALSO IT’S NOT RECOMMENDED TO USE OILS WHEN CANNING, IT CAN EFFECT THE SEAL EITHER IMMEDIATELY AFTER PROCESSING OR AT A LATER DATE. GRANDMAS METHODS ARE NO LONGER RECOMMENDED.
I don’t get get it. You don’t can them? You go from having them in the oven with lids off to storing them. I’m sure I’m missing something.
After placing the lids, put the jars in a preheated oven for one hour at 220°F. Turn it off and leave the jars in the oven to cool completely before storing them. Sorry for the confusion.
That is really dangerous. You’re going give someone botulism.
They don’t “can” that thickened food because 1 – you don’t precook food that much when it will be correctly PRESSURE CANNED
2 – you can’t can eggplant anyway.
I am wondering if you meant, in the last step, to have the lids on for the 10 minutes in the hot oven? Usually canning, either water bath, oven, or pressure cooker, requires that the last step have the lids on. Your final photo, while very pretty, still has the lids off. Otherwise, sounds great. Is this a form of babaganoush?
thanks. Please send me an email answer.
After placing the lids, put the jars in a preheated oven for one hour at 220°F. Turn it off and leave the jars in the oven to cool completely before storing them. Sorry for the confusion.
So before canning, put in the oven. How do you can? Pressure Can?
After placing the lids, put the jars in a preheated oven for one hour at 220°F. Turn it off and leave the jars in the oven to cool completely before storing them. Sorry for the confusion.
When in the oven for last 10 mins do you put lids on so will seal?
If not when do you put the lids on?
After placing the lids, put the jars in a preheated oven for one hour at 220°F. Turn it off and leave the jars in the oven to cool completely before storing them. Sorry for the confusion.
I also want to know about sealing process?
these directions are very confusing ..are the tomatoes grilled also? you put the mixture into jars then say to put them into boiling water and show them upside down..boil first? then fill and boil?? then open and put in oven at 180 for 10 min.? then cool in oven? i do A LOT of cooking and this has my head spinning..lol
I would like your reepies
thanks Willie
This recipe and procedures need a serious rewrite.
The recipe seemed straightforward to me. You have a sterile product because it has just boiled/cooked an extended period; the jars you are using are sterilized so it sounds like hot packing. Place the lids simply means put the luds and rings on the jars (duh). Then to really ensure success the ‘canning process’ is the oven time which achieves high temps to make sure everything has stayed sterile and to make sure the lids seal. How is this confusing?
FOR ONE THING ITS TOTALLY UNSAFE..CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL STATE CO-OP…IM SURE THEY WILL TELL YOU ALL THE SAME THING.
In the article, it states that this is an old method from her grandmother and to do your own research and make your own choices. If you don’t like it, move on. Don’t be a Karen.
This is not shelf stable. Using an oven is not food preservation, or canning.
You people cannot follow Directions! Are you really that dumb? You are going to die, from lack of self sufficiency!
U r rude and have no business on this site, I surely ask myself what is wrong with you to post such an ignorant comment…shame on u….go away and don’t contaminate legit sites.
HMMMMM Hot water i.e. HEAT…makes it sterile and safe but the OVEN i.e. HEAT does not?
Yeah well you have pressurized heat over 220 degrees to wliminate botulism you fucking twat. Read a book sometime.
Well I’m in the process of making this I’ve been cooking it for hrs and never reached the stage where the oil separates or floats, mine looks like thick soup and not like the pictures of noticeable chunks, screw it I’m going to water bath can it…..u also need a certain amount of acidity to make it preserve every canned recipe calls for vinegar or lemon juice, I put lemon juice to make it safe to preserve, I think this recipe is missing alot of info and is flawed….sorry, I’m 58 yrs old and not a rookie in the kitchen
FINALLY..SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO CAN SAFELY!!!
It is not safe to use the oven canning method, nor is it safe to can eggplant. There are some foods that become so dense during the cooking and canning process that it is impossible with home canning equipment to reach a temperature at the center of the food in the jar that is high enough to kill botulism (which means that botulism could kill you!!) This recipe sounds delish and would be safe if frozen. Don’t risk killing yourself or your family over a few dollars of unsafe food.
I don’t know. You can safely can chunks of pumpkin and winter squash not puree though, so maybe if we don’t blend the egg plant instead cut it into little chunks and pressure can it for at least an hour. I think it would be safe that way
This recipe MUST be pressure canned. And since we don’t know how long it should be processed in a pressure canner, – and it has olive oil in it, which is not done with home-canning………….
Even if this were JAM made of ACIDIC food, which it isn’t of course, your recipe is dangerous. No one puts jars in the OVEN and considers them processed. This is a dangerous recipe.
I think what she is saying put the lids on before putting them in the oven. Then put the jars in a preheated oven of 220 degrees for 1 hour. After one hour shut oven off and leave the jars in until the oven cools down. Supposedly the jars will seal then you store them in a cool place.
I’m horrified. People will die from this. Remember Trini and Carmen’s restaurant and their salsa incorrectly “canned”? You dont’ even PRETEND to can this stuff. YIKES. Please delte.
The spread is called Ajvar. It is also known as “vegetable caviar.” I first found it in a little store that sold Albanian groceries.