Italian Giardiniera

HOSS · Oct 1, 2012

I am working on my first attempt at making Italian style giardiniera. I got my peppers, carrots, cauliflower, garlic and celery chopped up and marinating in salt water over night. Tomorrow I will add in the canola oil, black pepper and oregano and let that marinate for another day. The recipe says to refrigerate it in a bowl another night and then I can put it into jars but it still has to be kept refrigerated. I buy this stuff (Morrelli brand) at the store and it is in jars but does not have to be refrigerated until after opening. Any ideas on how I can "can" this stuff in pint jars that will be preserved like pickles, beans or any other canned product?

Maybe our resident Italian, 3-way, can chime in here with any old family recipes for giardiniera. I love that stuff on just about everything. I put some jalepeno peppers in this batch to add a different heat and flavor. I am looking forward to trying it out on a big sub sandwich :cboy:

ga.prime · Oct 1, 2012

Very interesting, HOSS. I like the Mezzetta brand. It's great on a muffulletta.

CottageFarm · Oct 1, 2012

The only way to can it with the oil as an ingredient is to pressure can it, but you'll loose most of the crispness of the veges.
You can water bath can it by pickling only, and then add the oil at service time (I would recommend EVOO over the canola in that case). Flavor and texture can still be very fresh.
Fermenting may be an option, but gets much more complicated, time consuming, and still carries alot of baterial risks.
Commercial canning operations can do some things that don't always translate well to a home facility. Preserving and canning in oils is one of them.
If you're interested in either of the first two options, (I recommend #2) I can find the necesssary instructions for you, and help modify the recipe for safety if needed.

HOSS · Oct 1, 2012

Cottage, I would definetly be interested in option #2. I pickled some pepper rings a couple of weeks ago in a vinigar brine and then added 2 tbs of olive oil when I put it in the jars. It turned out really good. The giardinera, however, is not as tasty when it is real vinigary but better when heavy on the oil. Can I pickle the pepper mix and then can them in oil? Thanks.

CottageFarm · Oct 1, 2012

Sorry Hoss, water bath canning in oil is a big no-no. It's a magnet for botulism. While I've run across some recipes using small amounts of oil, I've never been comfortable with them because the oil will still tend to float to the surface creating the ideal environment for botulism outgrowth. The only way I could see this working safely is to pickle it, and add the oil after opening the jar to serve.