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Pesto is to Italians as Adjika is to Slavic people. What is Adjika (adzhika in English)? It’s like a semi-spicy salsa, similar to Italian Red Pesto. It’s used to flavor food. I like to spread it over pork. I recently discovered adjika is awesome with fajitas and tacos!
This is a canning recipe. This makes 7 (1 pint) jars of adjika. i.e. 14 cups. It’s not hard to make, considering all of the ingredients are just whirled in a food processor and you don’t have to seed the jalapenos – SCORE!
Ingredients for Mom’s version of Adjika:
1 lb (about 2 large) Carrots, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
1 lb (about 5 medium) Apples, peeled and cored
1 lb (3-4 large) Bell peppers – Red or Yellow, chopped into 1″ pieces
5 lbs (about 10 cups) ripe tomatoes, sliced into quarters
1 cup oil (olive, canola or vegetable oil)
150 grams (2/3 cup or about 24) large garlic cloves
150 grams (2/3 cup or about 14 medium) jalapenos, stems removed (If you like your odjika spicy, use a few more jalapenos)
2 Tbsp Salt
Home Canning Tools:
- 7 pint-sized jars with lids. I purchased them at Walmart.
- Large Stock Pot (20Qt+) with Rack (or purchase a canner)
- Jar lifter to safely transfer the jars
How to make Mom’s Adjika:
1. Using a food processor: Mince carrots and put them in a large soup pot.
Mince apples and add them to the pot
Mince bell peppers and add them to the pot
Mince tomatoes and add them to the pot.
2. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, stir and bring to a boil again and repeat a few more times until the mixture is heated through and boiling consistently when stirred. The mixture is very thick so it takes a few stirs to heat it through.
3. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally.
4. Mince the garlic and jalapeños together in the food processor.
5. Add Oil, Salt, Garlic and Jalapeños to the pot and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes.
6. Prepare the cans (see canning process).
Canning Process:
1. To sterilize your clean jars: wash them and let them dry in the oven at 215 for about 20 min or until completely dry. Boil the lids 5 min.
2. Transfer your boiling hot adjika to the jars using a glass measuring cup and a funnel (least messy method) leaving about 1/4″ space.
3. Screw the lids on enough to keep a tight seal in place but don’t over-tighten them since air bubbles need to be able to escape.
4. Place packed cans into the canning pot and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and process 15 minutes. Remove from the pot with jar lifter and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid – it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate adjika and enjoy within 3 months.
Current Canning Guidelines:
We updated this recipe in 2019 to match the most recent canning guidelines here which recommend processing in water rather than the oven. It’s a great resource to answer frequently asked canning questions.
Mom’s Adjika Recipe – A Russians’ Pesto! (Аджика)
Ingredients
- 1 lb about 2 large Carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
- 1 lb about 5 medium Apples, peeled and cored
- 1 lb 3-4 large Bell peppers - chopped into 1" pieces
- 5 lbs about 10 cups ripe tomatoes, sliced into quarters
- 1 cup oil, olive, canola or vegetable oil
- 150 grams 2/3 cup or about 24 large garlic cloves
- 150 grams 2/3 cup or about 14 medium jalapenos, stems removed
- 2 Tbsp Salt
Instructions
- Using a food processor, mince carrots, apples, bell peppers, tomatoes and put them in a large soup pot.
- Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, stir and bring to a boil again and repeat a few more times until the mixture is heated through and boiling consistently when stirred. The mixture is very thick so it takes a few stirs to heat it through.
- Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally.
- Mince the garlic and jalapenos together in the food processor.
- Add Oil, Salt, Garlic and Jalapenos to the pot and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes.
- Prepare the cans.
Canning Process:
To sterilize your clean jars: wash them and let them dry in the oven at 215 for about 20 min or until completely dry. Boil the lids 5 min.
- Transfer your boiling hot adjika to the jars using a glass measuring cup and a funnel (least messy method) leaving about 1/4" space.
- Screw the lids on enough to keep a tight seal in place but don't over-tighten them since air bubbles need to be able to escape.
- Place packed cans into the canning pot and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and process 15 minutes. Remove from the pot with jar lifter and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid - it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate adjika and enjoy within 3 months.
Signs of Spoiled Canned Food:
With any type of canning, we follow this advice: “When in doubt, throw it out”
Discard and do not eat or taste any canned food if you notice any of the following:
- the jar is leaking, bulging, or swollen
- the jar looks damaged, cracked, or abnormal
- the jar spurts foam or liquid upon opening
- the canned food is discolored, moldy, mushy, slimy, or smells bad
My partner is Russian, and his mom has made adjika for us a couple of times. Now that we have a garden growing a ton of tomatoes, I thought I’d try making it for myself. This recipe was really good! The only thing is that the amount of jalapenos made it REALLY spicy (at least for us- we don’t like spicy foods), so I’ll definitely be cutting that down next time I make it. But otherwise, it’s perfect!
That’s wonderful, Kayla! Thank you for the feedback!
Hi Natasha,
I have a question are you able to cut the amount of garlic you would use for this recipe? Cause in my family we have sensitive stomachs to garlic and we would usually skip out on it but It would probably change the recipe dramatically if you don’t add it.
Hi Katie, the garlic really helps the flavor here, but I imagine it may work without it or less of it too. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
My daughter and friends loved the “Mexican ketchup ” only found in Russia. They cannot find it in US, nor is it a Mexican ketchup or Hispanic ketchup.
Any recipe for it? Thanks.
Hi Victoria! I do not have a recipe for this.
I’ve been making a batch or two of this each year for a few years now, since I’ve been able to have a garden. I prefer it over salsa at this point.
Food purists cover your eyes now, but one of my favorite uses for it is in adjika-black bean-potato enchiladas.
Thank you for all the excellent recipes.
Thank you! So glad you love this recipe.
Absolutely delicious! I will definitely make it again. Thank you for sharing your mother’s recipe!
Hi Carol! I’m glad you loved the recipe, thank you for the review.
Are you sure it’s 14 medium jalapeños?
It turned out extremely spicy my face is burning.
Hi Anna, that’s how much we used; it should make about 14-cups. I would weigh them to ensure you have true medium jalapeños.
Is it safe to can foods with oil?
Hi Tamara, if canned appropriately, this adjika has a shelf life of at least a year.
Hi Natasha I am pretty sure adjika is Georgian pesto to be specific Abkhazian.
Thanks for the info, Kristine
If sealed properly, what is the shelf life for a can of adjika?
Hi Viktoriya, if canned appropriately, it has a shelf life of at least a year.
Follow it exactly. Turns out 👌👌
Happy to hear that, Lesya. Thanks for the review!
Adjika is 100% Georgian. It may be popular in Slavic countries but it’s a Georgian dish. Please include the dish’s roots. Thank you!
For authenticity: no Georgian in the history of this recipe has ever put apples in it. The sweetness comes from bell peppers. And jalapeños are never used in Georgia, pretty sure they’re not imported either. We use red chillies to spice it only.
Hi there Mari! So Natasha wrote on the title that this is her mom’s recipe so she doesn’t have to include the origins and she can use apples and she can use jalapeno peppers ☺️
I tries this recipe it’s delicious! Wouldn’t change a thing. If people want the original Georgian recipe than they can google and try another recipe. There are alot of other great adjika recipes out there. 🙂
Definitely recommend you to try this one Mari, it’s delicious 🤤
Amazing that people can add their own spin on recipes, and it taste amazing and they want to share! Thankful that there isn’t just one recipe out there on the World Wide Web for every “proper dish”. 🤪
Hi Natasha,
I love this recipe and make it ofte, but don’t typically store it. I exclude the jalapenos and apples. Is it still ok to store at room temp for a while?
Sorry I forgot to mention I meant storing it for a while even if it doesn’t have the apples and jalapenos.
Hi Jessica, The apples help to balance it and it is important in this recipe. You absolutely can reduce the amount of jalapeno but I haven’t tested that with omitting it completely.
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for your quick reply! Sorry just for clarification, are the apples necessary for canning the recipe?
Hi Jessica, I haven’t tried it any other way so I can’t advise on that.
Hi Natasha,
I added all together at once would that change the taste or not?
Thanks
Zhenya
Hi Zhenya, I highly recommend following the recipe as written for the best flavor and texture.
Natasha, how large should be the cooking pot? Will 6 quarts be enough? How thick? Dutch oven or stainless steel to prevent from burning? Thank you!
Hi Iryna, I recommend reading out “What you will need” section in the recipe blog post. We include the following which will be helpful “Large Stock Pot (20Qt+) with Rack (or purchase a canner)”
Thank you Natasha for this recipe and for your blog. Adjika turn out very good! I tried many other recipes from your site and so far I love it.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Great recipe, my husband thought it was the best BBQ meat he’s ever had (he is familiar with North American BBQ style only). A keeper, thank you Natasha!
Oh My. I added this comment to the wrong recipe… I meant to comment on the shashlyk recipe marinated in wine. So so sorry.
For what it’s worth, this adjika recipe is one to one like my mom’s and it is great!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that recipe! Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂
This looks nice but what do you use it for?
And would it work to freeze it?
Hi Nunu! It’s like a semi-spicy salsa, similar to Italian Red Pesto. It’s used to flavor food. I like to spread it over pork. I recently discovered adjika is awesome with fajitas and tacos!
I add it to foods or with roasted vegetables as a spicy sauce. My mother in law puts it on lamb and meats. Recently I used it with veggie crumbles to make vegan sloppy joes. Came out pretty fantastic.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Just made this and I cannot believe how “perfect” this recipe is! In-laws from Ukraine and Odessa both totally approved. One even snagged a jar on their way out. Me being vegan, this is a great addition to grains, roasted veggies, etc. Thanks!
Wow! That’s so great, Morgan! Thank you so much for the fantastic review! I am smiling big reading your comment 🙂
I cut the recipe in half, because I don’t have a method of canning here in Japan. I need to look on Amazon and see if I can purchase mason jars and a bigger pot with the rack. But I think halving the recipe may have messed up the balance. I feel like I put too many carrots even though I cut it in half exactly. However it is still very good. I will try again and see if I can quarter it because even half makes way too much for someone who doesn’t have the proper tools to can. Thank you for your recipe. I lived in Kyiv for over year and absolutely miss the blend of Ukrainian and Georgian food they serve there.
Hi Jillene, if your carrots are very large, you might use less. I agree, this does make a huge batch but thankfully it has a good shelf life 🙂
I asked my husband this morning if we had enough Roma tomatoes left in the garden for canning today. I will give this a try. I have used the water bath canning method for years, but you need to add a tsp. of bottled lemon juice to the jar before adding the tomato product, this balances the acid level in the tomatoes.
Thank you for sharing that with us Christine! I hope you have enough tomatoes in the garden to make this!