jalapenos, sugar, vinegar, onions and maybe carrots The carrots throw me as i don't recall any recipe with them in it although there are some they could be added to I suppose. It sounds to me like a pickling recipe and NCHFP has several different ones available: Marinated Peppers - http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/marinated_peppers.html Pickled Jalapeno Rings - http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/pickled_jalapeno_rings.html Pickled Mixed Hot Peppers - http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/pickled_hot_peppers.html There is also the Cowboy Candy recipe here that is sweet pickled jalapenos - sort of a Bread & Butter pickle recipe with onions included and you could always add some shredded carrots. Cowboy Candy - http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/harvest/msg0522421820698.html Then there is the NCHFP recipe for Mixed Pickled Vegetables - http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/pickled_mixed_veg.html It has the onions and the carrots and you can sub jalapenos for the sweet peppers in it and leave out the cauliflower if you wish. Hope this helps. Dave

I don't know if you want to pack them in water and pressure can or pickle them. I hear they are good in the marinated peppers recipe. It does have oil, but also plenty of acid to make it safe. These recipes are tested for safety. You can look at the plain ones under vegetables and the others under the pickles section. Here is a link that might be useful: National Center for Home Food Preservation.

The issue with the oil Bart is that it insulates any bacteria in the food, bonds with the surface molecules to insulate the bacteria or fungus from the heat penetration. It takes higher heat for a longer time to penetrate oil coated bacteria and fungus. There are a couple of tested and approved canning recipes that include some small amounts of oil but they are with more acidic food than peppers. If you cut the water or better yet upped the vinegar to 4 cups then the recipe would meet the minimum requirements for safe storage. So this sauce, if not canned and just kept in the fridge (and with more vinegar) would be ok but canned in a vacuum jar (an anaerobic environment) wouldn't be considered potentially unsafe and there would be no way to insure all the bacteria/fungus had been killed so toxins could develop. And with such a weak vinegar solution you would also lose some of the acid protection even if stored in the fridge. In anything less than a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water listeria can grow within 3 weeks even in the fridge. The recipe has another potential issue or 2 in that it is 1) pureed low-acid vegetables which normally require pressure canning and 2) isn't bottled hot. It is allowed to sit at room temp till cooled allowing for further air contamination and bacterial growth. So to use this recipe and make it as safe as possible I'd recommend reduce the oil in half, then blot and drain the sauted vegetables well. Add them back to 2-4 cups of water and cook for 20 mins. Cool, covered, just until cool enough to puree and add 2-4 cups (duplicate the measurement used for water to get desired consistency) of vinegar to the puree. Then reheat the pureed vegetable and vinegar mixture to just below boiling. Then jar in sterilized jar and store in the fridge for up to 3 months. Do not can it. Would that work for you? Dave

Thank you all for posting. You have, for the most part, answered my question. I completely understand your concerns in not saying "it's ok to do it this way, it won't hurt you". I understand the "probablys", "supposes" and "my guesses" are to be followed at your own risk. You have provided alot of insight on canning safety that I wasn't aware of in the past. That being said, I think I am going to do the following: try to find a "tested and safe" similar recipe on a reputable canning site (if you know of any links, please post them), (but if not, use my friend's original recipe), and add less peppers, less flour and cook them longer and use the coarse mustard. I may also try acidifying them overnight like Carol stated. I do think I am going to decrease the sugar though, but not by much. I will also use common sense before eating it. Obviously, if the lid has popped, or has visible bacteria, mold or other growth, smells, looks or tastes funny, then I will without a doubt, pitch it. I will also eat very small amounts the first time after storage until I'm sure it hasn't made me sick. This will also be stored in a very cool basement at all times and will soley be for my use only. I will also be using my past experience when canning this. The original recipe (which I can't find but can get) was given to me by a friend who has been making this for decades, as well as his mother before him, and they have never stated sickness or contamination with any of their batches. I have made this myself the past 3 years and have never had a batch go bad or have gotton sick. So my line of thinking is, although not "tested and safe", if I decrease the amount of ingredients that cause botulism (aside from the sugar), and increase the ingredients that help prevent it, I "should" be at least as ok as I was with the last recipe, if not in better shape. If you feel my logic is seriously flawed in some way, please speak up...I will proably start this recipe tomorrow. Thanks again, and if anyone has any known safe canning sites with good recipes, please post them for me. P.S. Anyone have any safe ideas for preserving habaneros? I also have a ton of those with no idea what to do with them! Might just freeze or pickle them but I really wanted to be a little more creative than that ;)