There is a recipe for caponata in the "Small Batch Preserving" book, which has been tested for safety. I'd give you the recipe but I loaned it to a neighbor. But it does not contain raisins, and is water bath canned. I personally have made it according to the recipe, but opted to use a pressure canner instead and process it for 30 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure in pint jars. I add raisins in after opening, if I want them, and let it sit in the frig for a day before serving. If you want to water bath can something, it's critical that the pH be close to 4 - and as I don't particularly want to be messing with pH paper in my kitchen, I opt to pressure can. You also need to get it into the jars piping hot, to be surest that you have as safe a product as you can get it. The concern is killing botulism spores, which won't happen until you reach just over 250F. You can't do that in a water bath canner, obviously, because water boils at 212F. I cook mine down in the oven, and then put it in hot jars and pressure can right away. The eggplant gets dark, so it won't look quite the same as your fresh made, but the taste is great. Find the "Small Batch" recipe if you can. It has been tested and is safe.
probably you should check with a canning expert, it sounds to me like there may not be enough acidity for it to be safe. The guidelines for canning are pretty strict and important as toxins can grow in the anaerobic environment.
4 Comments