packaging an uncooked/raw hot sauce

Question

I make a hot sauce with peppers,parsley,garlic,salt and olive oil. I have to freeze it in jars otherwise it ferments. Is there a way to package a raw/ uncooked product without fermentation?

Answer 1

Without the olive oil it would probably be okay to pressure can (although without knowing the full recipe I can't give any processing details). In canning though some spices go a bit funny and can change in taste so that would be something to watch out for.

The biggest thing though is that canning is NOT appropriate for this sauce because of the olive oil. High fat and oily products are not safe to can despite what may be seen on youtube/pintrest. The oil affects the heat penetration and there is no guaranteed way to know when the heat has fully penetrated. Furthermore, grease coats the botulism spores and protects them from heat. Botulism toxin (produced by spores that have not been "killed") are the main (deadly) health concern with improperly processed canned goods.

I would advise freezing. Possibly it may work to add a number of preservatives to it but... that would probably change the taste quite a lot.