I would like to pressure can grilled paprika, which is a traditional Bulgarian preserve and looks like this:
Normally this is done by grilling the paprika on very high heat for a short amount of time, after which the skin is removed and the paprika are put in a jar and topped with the juice and maybe water. The closed jar is then water bath cooked for 30-45min. The result is great and not mushy.
Until now, I have always canned them without a pressure canner, but now I want to switch to a pressure canner in order to alleviate the danger of botulism, even though the produce is skinned, to be on the safe side.
Since there are no official recommendations for canning already cooked / grilled paprika, which recipe should I choose? Will the end result be mushy, because of the higher temp? Or will it be similar to what I have done in the past with a water bath? How long should I put the jars in the pressure canner? I have different sizes of jars, but most are about 125-250ml in volume.
Best Answer
The book Putting Food By recommends canning pints or half pints (about the range you have) of hot-pack pimentos at 10lbs pressure (240F/116C) for 20 minutes (sorry for the American measurements, it's an American book). They also recommend putting a small amount of acid in the canning liquid, like 1tsp white vinegar per pint.
By "hot-pack" they mean grilled, skinned, and put in the jar while still warm, with warm liquid.
Added in response to comments:
Per the asker's comment, healthy canning recommends 35 minutes at 10-11lbs pressure.
So I decided to look in the USDA guide, and see what the tie breaker is, and their recommendation is 35 minutes as well.
So I'm not entirely certain whether the Putting Food By recommendation is dated (this is the 1982 edition), or whether the 20min time reflects the addition of a small amount of acid to the canning liquid.