Topic: Storing curry bases - in jars

[greerbandb]

Hello, for ages i have made huge amount of curry base in the freezer, but recently I have now started to put them in jars.
This helps two fold, they are not taking up room in the freezer and they are ready to selve, like the cooking sauces you get for italian meals ect.
The down side is the initial cost of the jars (if bought new)and the pressure cooker. Once cooked you then have to bottle the sauce, then put it into the pressure cooker and cook it for a further 20 minutes, but this seals the jars and they last for months!

[Vindaloo-crazy]

I hope the jars go into the oven to sterilise them first?

[PaulP]

You probably already know this but you will need to heat the contents to +121 degrees C to kill any bugs, including any botulism spores.

Intersting method, though. I bought a 3.6 cubic foot freezer to store my curry products in. It works for me.

Cheers,

Paul

[greerbandb]

Sorry they are pre sterilised and the pressure cooker hetas it long enough to do us, no food poisoning yet, only got this tip from a persons blog who was travelling around in a yaught, and didnt want to eat in 'dodgy food areas'

The real bonus as I said was they are ready to pour without defrosting!

I use this for italian sauce and jams too!

Keeps for months, I have ate two year old food too! So technically saving in energy from keeping frozen for same amount of time

[greerbandb]

This is just an extract but not complete, so would need to follow all instructions for safety (Get a book or something on the subject first)

But this shows what temperatures are reached!

Safe Canning Methods

There are two safe ways of processing food, the boiling water bath method and the pressure canner method:
The boiling water bath method is safe for tomatoes, fruits, jams, jellies, pickles and other preserves. In this method, jars of food are heated completely covered with boiling water (212?F at sea level) and cooked for a specified amount of time
Pressure canning is the only safe method of preserving vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood. Jars of food are placed in 2 to 3 inches of water in a special pressure cooker which is heated to a temperature of at least 240? F. This temperature can only be reached using the pressure method. A microorganism called Clostridium botulinum is the main reason why pressure processing is necessary. Though the bacterial cells are killed at boiling temperatures, they can form spores that can withstand these temperatures. The spores grow well in low acid foods, in the absence of air, such as in canned low acidic foods like meats and vegetables. When the spores begin to grow, they produce the deadly botulinum toxins(poisons).

The only way to destroy these spores is by pressure cooking the food at a temperature of 240?F, or above, for a specified amount of time depending on the type of food and altitude. Foods that are low acid have a pH of more than 4.6 and because of the danger of botulism, they must be prepared in a pressure canner.