I had a look at books on preserving and also on the internet. I found wonderful recipes of capsicum, sometimes grilled, with herbs and spices in oil. The pictures looked good. The writers promised this would taste good. Great!
But then, as I kept looking, a message
began to come out loud and clear. One
forum even said it in no uncertain words.
Oil does not preserve food. Books and web sites that do not point this
out are omitting a really important fact.
Why? Because preserving in oil
could lead to the development of bacteria, for instance C. Botulinum, which
could kill you.
In order to preserve food the pH (acidity)
of the food needs to be 4.6 or below.
Commercial producers of foods in oil (such as sundried tomatoes) are by
law required to rigorously test the pH of their products.
Foods that are low in acid (all vegetables)
need to be preserved in vinegar. It is also good to add lemon juice. Lemon juice you buy in bottles is preferable
as the acidity of fresh lemons varies depending on type and state of ripeness.
Phheww.
I had to share this with you. Of
course I was the only person in the world who did not know this. Well, no.
I found quite a few instances on forums where people wanted to know what
they had done wrong when their great looking bottles of capsicums in oil turned
out to be fermented when they opened them.
Well, whatever you do, do not eat them or the oil they were preserved
in. You could die.
The Food and Agriculture department of the
CSIRO put together a very readable factsheet on ‘Preservation of vegetables in
oil and vinegar’. You can find it at http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Food-and-Agriculture/preservation-in-oil-vinegar.aspx
For my capsicums I might use a
recipe with vinegar and lemon juice.
Bon
appetit !
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