1st time canning salsa, lots of work (+pics)

[problemchild]

I had no idea what I was in for when I went to the market to buy tomatoes. It is a day long event making and canning salsa. Actually the canning part was the easiest.

In a nutshell

Buy Tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro, garlic, lime, vinegar, bell peppers.
Clean and seed all veggies.
Remove skin from tomatoes (boil for 30 seconds and plunge into ice water)
USE GLOVES when cutting peppers or so I was warned.
Chop all veggies fine
Put in large pot
Simmer for 60mins-4 hours with top on.
Just before finishing add tomato paste
Ladle into hot jars 1/4" from top
Wipe lids
Place jars into boiling bath for 15 minutes

I wont give the recipe I used as Im not so sure its any good. Some say the salsa has to sit in the jar for 3 weeks to blend the flavors. I hope so or I wasted a bunch of time and money. Next time I will follow this guys recipe.

[bob7122]

good job.

is it possible to can cheese?

[problemchild]

good job.

is it possible to can cheese?

No it would melt. The canning process is based on two things. High acid foods can be low temp canned in boiling water. Low acid foods need to be high temp pressure canned. Also high fat foods are forbidden as they harbor the botulism spore and protect it from heat destruction.

At least thats what Ive read.....

[rod]

Salsa looks good! I make mine a little differently and in a lot less time. The tomatoes and large peppers, I roast on the grill. It gives them a unique taste and the tomatoes are easy to peel. I leave the seeds in the peppers. Taking the seeds and slime outa tomatoes isn't too bad if you cut the tomatoe right and scrape the slime out. Lately, I've been using a heirloom tomatoe that is very meaty and not very many seeds. Anyway, Once the tomatoes and peppers are grilled, I dump them and some onion, garlic, cilantro, and a couple squeezes of a lime into a blender and hit the chop button.

Then I pour my salsa into a pot and add some vinegar, salt, and whatever else needs added (to my taste), and bring it to a boil. You can let it simmer for awhile if you want it to thicken up some too.

If you don't like vinegar in your salsa, you can always put a squirt of lemon juice into your jar before you hotpack it. Either method will keep Montezuma from getting revenge.

[FatCity67]

Looks good. I agree with the above poster though on roasting peppers and tomatoes and covering with plastic for a few minutes to release the skin. Much better flavor IMO.

Good to know in a zombie apocolypse you can still have chips and salsa.

[XDseb]

that looks pretty damn good. out of curiosity, how long can you expect the salsa to stay fresh?

[problemchild]

Can you give exact quantities? I read the proportions need to be exact and follow an exact approved usda recipe so botulism is not a concern. Acidity needs to be in a specific range. Are you following a recipe that is approved?

If you can post the recipe I will try to make it.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_salsa.html

Salsa looks good! I make mine a little differently and in a lot less time. The tomatoes and large peppers, I roast on the grill. It gives them a unique taste and the tomatoes are easy to peel. I leave the seeds in the peppers. Taking the seeds and slime outa tomatoes isn't too bad if you cut the tomatoe right and scrape the slime out. Lately, I've been using a heirloom tomatoe that is very meaty and not very many seeds. Anyway, Once the tomatoes and peppers are grilled, I dump them and some onion, garlic, cilantro, and a couple squeezes of a lime into a blender and hit the chop button.

Then I pour my salsa into a pot and add some vinegar, salt, and whatever else needs added (to my taste), and bring it to a boil. You can let it simmer for awhile if you want it to thicken up some too.

If you don't like vinegar in your salsa, you can always put a squirt of lemon juice into your jar before you hotpack it. Either method will keep Montezuma from getting revenge.

[fabguy]

Add ghost chili's. They make salsa GREAT

[Paper Boy]

Add ghost chili's. They make salsa GREAT

Yes yes they do.... I have two plants right now and one Lemon Pepper plant that is a hot citrus flavor that I may use for salsa next time I do a big batch.


problemchild have you seen the recipe in the ball book? That turned out really well for me last time I used it.

[Iskra]

I don't even skin the tomatoes.

As some of the guys above said, fire roasting is GTG.

For 1 mason jar:
Halve and scrape the seeds & insides out of:
4 large Anaheim peppers
4 small jalapeno or serrano peppers
4 roma tomatoes
Halve but don't scrape:
4 large green tomatillos

Roast all the above on a grill until a little blackened on both sides

At the same time:
Halve, scrape, and dice 4 more roma tomatoes
Dice 1/2 of 1 white onion and about 1/3 of the garlic in a whole clove

Take all the roasted veggies and put them in the blender on puree. When that's done, add about 1 TBSP olive oil, 1 TBSP vinegar, and 1 TSP salt. Stir well. Add the diced veggies, and stir it all together. Spoon it into your mason jar 1/4" below the top and boil the jar for 15 minutes.

This recipe is very scalable. I basically make more every time I see tomatillos at the store. We go through a lot of it.

If you want to eat it fresh, skip the oil, vinegar, and boiling. More heat - add a couple habaneros. Less heat - skip the jalapenos or serranos and go for 2 more large anaheims instead. No heat at all - use bell peppers. Want sweet? Add diced peach or mango. More flavors - try cilantro, cumin, or white pepper. These are some of the easiest and most satisfying things to make on your own.

[problemchild]

Looks like a great recipe. I would make that as a fresh recipe for the fridge. But it does not look to have enough acid for canning based on what I have read.

I don't even skin the tomatoes.

As some of the guys above said, fire roasting is GTG.

For 1 mason jar:
Halve and scrape the seeds & insides out of:
4 large Anaheim peppers
4 small jalapeno or serrano peppers
4 roma tomatoes
Halve but don't scrape:
4 large green tomatillos

Roast all the above on a grill until a little blackened on both sides

At the same time:
Halve, scrape, and dice 4 more roma tomatoes
Dice 1/2 of 1 white onion and about 1/3 of the garlic in a whole clove

Take all the roasted veggies and put them in the blender on puree. When that's done, add about 1 TBSP olive oil, 1 TBSP vinegar, and 1 TSP salt. Stir well. Add the diced veggies, and stir it all together. Spoon it into your mason jar 1/4" below the top and boil the jar for 15 minutes.

This recipe is very scalable. I basically make more every time I see tomatillos at the store. We go through a lot of it.

If you want to eat it fresh, skip the oil, vinegar, and boiling. More heat - add a couple habaneros. Less heat - skip the jalapenos or serranos and go for 2 more large anaheims instead. No heat at all - use bell peppers. Want sweet? Add diced peach or mango. More flavors - try cilantro, cumin, or white pepper. These are some of the easiest and most satisfying things to make on your own.

[Iskra]

Between the vinegar and the tomatoes themselves, there's plenty of acid. Tomatoes are full of citric acid (and vitamin C). Could be that's why this recipe leaves the skins on too? I got it from my mother-in-law who grew up in South Dak canning absolutely everything they could.

[rod]

I had a receipe once, but I lost it. It was for a cake I think. I just make salsa with whatever I have in the garden and can it. Tomatoes have a ph balance below 4.6, but just barely, and are safe to can in a water bath. When you add stuff to tomatoes, the ph goes above 4.6 sometimes and you need to bring that balance back down. High acidic ingredients like vinegar and lemon juice do the trick nicely. A tablespoon of lemon juice in each pint sized jar is what I usually do. You can also use that citric acid powder stuff.

[dandechino]

Very impressive. Start growing your own veggies- seal in the fresh flavor.

[HIG541]

hey problem child,

i think i just met you over at the 99 ranch asian market lol! some dude came up to me with a bag full of tomatoes and a huge smile telling me that they are 49 cents a pound and i need to get some right now! then he went on to say that he's gonna make a ton of salsa LOL! after seeing your salsa canning post, I figured it HAD to be you. I think he saw the only other white guy there and wanted to make sure i knew what was up hhahahha