# Eggplant chutney explosion...



## Astrid (Nov 13, 2010)

I don't understand! I made some eggplant chutney (brinjal chutney) from a recipe I found and canned it at 10lbs pressure for 75mins using my AA canner. The lids had sealed, I checked every one of them before putting them in my pantry. 
A few weeks later, every jar was open and the contents were fizzing out!! How in the world could they ferment after they had been processed like that?


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

I would have to see the recipe ingredients to know for sure but one of the likely explanations is all the oil in low-acid eggplant. If you added additional oil then the issue is only compounded. I'm sorry it happened but it is a good example of why the belief that just because you pressure can something it is automatically safe is mistaken. How much acid was added to the recipe?

If the density and/or the pH of a mixture isn't properly adjusted to begin with then it honestly doesn't matter how long you pressure can something. The bacteria still survive because they are insulated from the heat by the oils or by the density of the mix. And if insufficient acid is added they grow quickly. This is why, with only a couple of exceptions, oils and fats are not approved in canning and especially so when dealing with low-acid vegetables.


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## Astrid (Nov 13, 2010)

This was the recipe I used... Any thoughts?


Ingredients

* 1kg eggplant, cut into 2cm cubes
* 1 tbs salt
* 2 small red pepper, deseeded, cut into 2cm pieces
* 250g brown onions, halved, cut into thin wedges
* 150g (about 6) fresh dates, pitted, roughly chopped
* 500mls (2 cups) white wine vinegar
* 250 g (1 1/4 cups, firmly packed) brown sugar
* 2 small fresh red chillies, finely sliced
* 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 2 tsp cumin seeds


I would have thought the salt and vinegar would have killed all kinds of things and I also pressure canned it...


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## katydidagain (Jun 11, 2004)

I'm not a canning expert so take the following with a healthy grain of salt; I will probably be proved wrong but I don't PC and only put up things I know can be safely water bathed. I never use white wine vinegar because it's not very acidic and more expensive so I would have opted for white vinegar and covered the tarter taste with extra brown sugar.


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## Astrid (Nov 13, 2010)

I've done a lot of canning but this was the first time this happened. I just can't figure out what the problem was. If the recipe is to blame, I'd really like some other suggestions. 

I'm not crazy about white vinegar... would apple cider vinegar made a difference do you think?


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Commercially made cider vinegar would work.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

judylou said:


> ... one of the likely explanations is *all the oil* in low-acid eggplant.




http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-eggplant-i11209


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

It is the 1 gram of lipids and 6 grams of carbs Sally and the effect that cooking has on unsaturated fats vs. saturated fats. And I agree that commercial 5% cider vinegar would work well. It is more acidic than many wine vinegars.

In this case I think the problem was a combination of the the low acid wine vinegar and the small amount of it to the large amount of low acid vegetables. All of the approved chutney recipes call for at least 1/2 again as much vinegar and it must be 5% and several call for 2x that much. And density issues too. That is a very low ratio of liquids to solids when compared to tested/approved chutney recipes. JMO


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## Astrid (Nov 13, 2010)

Thats good advice. It was the first time I'd used that recipe for canning... Thanks for all the help.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Astrid, it sounds like you would be a good Wine maker!


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

It was too thick and dense and there was not enough acid. Eggplant is one of those things that is hard to safely can. As far as I have seen there are only a couple recipes that I would trust to can with eggplant in it. 
Just for your safety, there could be potential botulism in those jars and should be treated and disposed of in the safe manner for dealing with botulism... 
Would not want you to get sick.


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## katydidagain (Jun 11, 2004)

I wonder what would happen if the eggplant were cut smaller and the vinegar replaced. (Perhaps a bit more sugar added.) Okay, not as chunky a chutney as possibly desired but possibly safe to put up?


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

When processing a recipe a person should look at the source where the recipe came from. Was this a cooking recipe someone tried to turn into a canning recipe ? It is never safe to take a cooking recipe and can it. There are seperate recipes designed for each thing. 
Then, was the resource the recipe found in done by people who have food preservation safety training ? There are tons of books out there and tons of information online that are written by folks who have no training in food preservation.
Would you take your car to the eye doctor for a check up ? No, of course not. So, please, use reliable resources for canning recipes.
Cutting the pieces smaller would make it more dense as it cooked down and if this is a cooking recipe, there is nothing to insure the safety of canning it. In that case, it should be frozen.


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## Astrid (Nov 13, 2010)

Lucy, we definitely composted the contents of the fizzy eggplant mess. The biggest problem was cleaning up my pantry with the goo and gunk on everything. I was trying to duplicate a chutney we bought from our grocery store that costs almost $5 for an 8oz jar!! 
7thswan... I do ferment other things, but only lactic acid fermentation such as kombucha and beet kvass. This stuff smelled pretty alcoholic, but had an strong odor of vomit attached!


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

Well, composting wasn't what I had in mind when I said safely disposing. If there was botulism present, you do not want to do that. 
It should all be done according to these guidelines... the food should have been detoxified.
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/store/store_home_canned.html


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## Astrid (Nov 13, 2010)

I'll have to think about that Lucy, we put it in the middle of a steaming compost pile. I thought about burying it, but thought it would be better in the middle of our cooking chicken manure...


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