Canning Sweet and Sour Sauce: A Simple Guide to Homemade Flavor

Canning sweet and sour sauce at home is a fun and rewarding project. It allows you to create your own version of this popular condiment that can perfectly complement a variety of dishes. You can enjoy the fresh taste of homemade sweet and sour sauce while preserving it for later use.

Knowing how to safely can your sauce means you can store it for months, adding delicious flavor to your meals anytime you want. With simple ingredients and easy steps, you’ll see that making this sauce is not as hard as it seems.

Get ready to bring a burst of flavors to your pantry. This guide will equip you with everything you need to make your own sweet and sour sauce and preserve it through canning. Enjoy the satisfaction of homemade goodness!

Canning Basics

Canning is a great way to preserve sweet and sour sauce. It is important to focus on safety and the right tools for the job. This will help ensure your sauce stays delicious and safe to eat.

Understanding Canning Safety

Safety is the most important part of canning. You need to prevent bacteria from growing in your jars. Botulism is a serious risk when canning low-acid foods. Sweet and sour sauce usually has some acidity, which helps.

Make sure to use a pressure canner for low-acid foods. If you use a water bath canner, be careful with timing and recipes. Always follow trusted recipes from reliable sources. Check the seals on your jars after cooling. If a jar does not seal properly, refrigerate that jar and use it soon.

Required Equipment for Canning

To can sweet and sour sauce, you need a few key tools:

• Canning jars: Use glass jars with two-piece lids.
• Pressure canner or water bath canner: You can use either for this recipe, but this recipe uses instructions for a water bath canner.
• Jar lifter: This helps you safely take jars out of hot water.
• Funnel: A wide-mouth funnel makes filling jars easier without spills.
• Bubble remover: This tool helps release air bubbles inside jars.

Make sure everything is clean and sanitized before you start. Gather your ingredients and tools to have a smooth canning process. Always follow instructions for your equipment to ensure best results.

Preparing Sweet and Sour Sauce

Making sweet and sour sauce is a fun and simple process. You will need specific ingredients, proper cooking techniques, and the right methods for bottling. Let’s go through each part to help you create your own delicious sauce.

Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups tomatoes (peeled and chopped)
• 2 cups onions, chopped
• 2 cups bell pepper*
• 1 (20 oz.) cans pineapple chunks (drain, reserve the juice)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups vinegar (5% acidity)
• 1/2 cup sugar or Stevia
• 1/2 cup Clear Jel

Note: You can use any color of bell pepper you like for this recipe. I used yellow and orange bell peppers, and the sauce turned out to be a beautiful orange color, just like store bought sweet and sour sauce. I think if you used green peppers, the color of the sauce would change.

Related Article: Canning Mushrooms: A Simple Guide to Preserving Flavor and Freshness

First chop the tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers. This vegetable chopper does an amazing job of chopping vegetables for you. I couldn’t live without mine!

In a large sauce pan or dutch oven, combine chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, pineapple chunks, and chopped bell peppers. Bring to a boil. Add sugar and vinegar. Return to boil.

In a separate bowl, combine the 1/2 cup sugar and Clear Jel. Clear Jel is the thickener for this recipe and will give you a nice thick sauce.

Stir the pineapple juice you saved from the can to the Clear Jel mixture and mix well. Stir the Clear Jel mixture into the boiling tomato mixture. The sauce will thicken quickly.

If you like a chunky sweet and sour sauce, then you can either can it now or let it cool to freeze it. If you want a smooth sauce, use an immersion blender to blend it right in the pan, or you can put it in the blender. I decided to blend mine and the immersion blender worked great.

Freezing Sweet and Sour Sauce

If you are going to freeze the sauce, let the sauce cool and freeze it in freezer containers like these inexpensive freezer containers.

Canning Instructions

If you are going to can the sauce, pour the hot sauce into sterilized pint sized canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. You can easily measure the headspace with this canning funnel.

Process in a boiling water canner for 30 minutes. Remove jars from boiling water canner and let cool until lids seal.

Label your jars with the date and enjoy your homemade sweet and sour sauce whenever you like!

Follow my canning and preserving and favorite recipes boards on Pinterest.

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