Garlic wine jelly

botulismcanninggarlicwine

I'm currently experimenting with making various wine jellies to be served with meat and/or cheese. Cabernet + black pepper, mulled wine jelly, and so on. I then can the result in a water bath to increase shelf life. I submerge the (sterilised and filled) jars in boiling water for ~5 minutes and then let the water cool slightly before removing the jars. After a few hours (or overnight) I check that they have sealed.

I would like to make a jelly from white wine with garlic and possibly some rosemary. I also add sugar and pectin to make the jelly. Searching the internet reveals many recipes for such a jelly, but no note on how safe it is. Just because someone on the internet has done it doesn't mean it's a good idea. Is a wine jelly acidic enough that I don't need to worry about botulinum?

Best Answer

White wine is most likely acidic enough to be safe. The standard pH level quoted for botulism safety is 4.6; if your jelly measures lower than that (after cooking and canning, not before) then you're good to go. Remember that if you were planning to store all the jars for a while, you'll need to sacrifice one jar to test the pH. Until you have your recipe absolutely, absolutely dialed in (including the brand, variety, and vintage of wine), you'll need to test a jar from each batch.

Seriously, though... consider just buying a real pressure canner. They're not expensive, they're useful for a lot of things other than canning, and they're worth the extra guarantee of safety.