Topic: bottled courgettes in oil - problem

[bennettsleg]

my courgettes are still cropping so I decided to preserve some in oil.  They were cut in half (as they were only small) oven roasted, put into a parfait jar, covered with hot oil and sealed while still hot. 

That was about 2 weeks ago.

The jar is leaking oil and I opened it to not only have a look but try to stem the flow.  There was alot of air pressure under that lid.  Is this normal or do I just chuck the lot out?

Stumped and grateful for some input on the current situation and some pointers for next time (cos they're still cropping!)... ???

[supersprout]

If there's pressure after potting, that means the food is fermenting and should be discarded :'( but on the bright side it's a fail-safe signal - I remember a few jars 'blowing' every year at home :o

On BBC's Return to Italy a lovely old Italian lady was preserving courgettes in oil. The first stage was to 'cure' them for a couple of minutes in boiling vinegar, then lay out on a cloth to dry, add garlic and herbs, then cover with cold olive oil:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/preservedcourgettes_82377.shtml

The Italian method/recipe would raise the acidity of the food and sterilise the cut surfaces, which would probably prevent fermentation under oil next time, but only short term - it doesn't have a very long shelf life, probably because of the high water content of the vegetable.

Glad you asked this question bennetsleg cos I meant to look up the link :D good luck with the next batch :)

[jennym]

Do be careful when preserving things, definitely wouldn't use them. You will note that the recipe that supersprout shows contains vinegar - there is a general rule that if good vinegar is used in the proportion of 1/3 of the weight of the solid matter, it will increase the acidity to a level high enough to preserve.