138 replies to this topic

[Darlene]

Well, today is salsa day! I'm going to take pictures as I make a batch of salsa to home can. I'm going to use Annie's Salsa from the Garden Web because it is one of the best salsa's that can be home canned. Here's the recipe:

Note that it is pressure canned, because I cut the acid ingredients down by half. The original directions were to use 2/3 cup of vinegar and waterbath, but I wanted less of the acidic flavor and so cut the vinegar in half and process according to the Blue Book instructions for non-acidic vegetables. If you want to waterbath it, add that extra vinegar. If you want it mild, use the smaller amount of jalapenos.

ANNIE’S SALSA

8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained
2 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper
3 – 5 chopped jalapenos
6 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp pepper
1/8 cup canning salt
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar (for BWB or 1/3 cup vinegar for PC)
16 oz. tomato sauce
16 oz tomato paste

Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process at 10 lbs of pressure for 30 minutes for pints. Or BWB 15 minutes.

Makes 6 pints

NOTE: I cut the sugar out when I make this because I do not care for a sweeter salsa.

[Darlene]

First I place the tomatoes into a pot of water I had brought to the boiling point, to loosen the skins. Once the skins start to begin to split, I remove them from the hot water and place in a bowl or sink full of cold water to stop the heat from cooking the tomatoes.

(see attachment)

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[Darlene]

After the tomatoes cool in the cool water, I peel them and then dice them, placing in a collander over a bowl to drain out the juice in the tomatoes.

(see attachment)

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[Darlene]

I then put all the ingredients listed into a pot, with a few minor variations (I just can't ever leave recipes alone lol)...I don't put the sugar in, as I don't like a sweet salsa. I use lemon juice in place of the vinegar, and I also add a small can of chopped green chilis. I halved the amount of salt in the recipe from 1/8 cup to 1/16 cup (which translates into 1 tablespoon)...it was plenty salty enough for me at that measurement.

Here's a picture of everything in the pot.

(see attached)

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[Darlene]

I bring the pot ot a boil and then let it simmer for 10 minutes.

(see attached)

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[Darlene]

I filled the jars up (I came out with 7 3/4 pints of salsa), wiped the rims, placed the lids on, screwed the bands on and they were ready to go into the hot water bath canner.

(see attached)

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[Darlene]

I put them into my hot water bath canner, which is also a huge stock pot. I don't have an *official water bath canner*...I don't feel I need one because I can accomplish the same objective with things I already have here, and save the money I would have spent on that.

Right now, they are in there processing for 15 minutes.

(see attached)

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[Jewlzm]

ok got a question. Can I toss in a couple different types of tomatoes? Like the little yellow bell tomatoes with the long toms or does that change the acidity of it? Even if Im using the vinegar?

[Amishway Homesteaders]

gotta say it is so nice to 'see' what you are doing !
for anyone that is doing it for the first time any guessing is easy - just look at the photo and see what 'Da Boss' Did and you can't go wrong.

[Darlene]

TA DA!

I now have homemade salsa and a decent amount that didn't really take that much time (to my mind) and is better than anything I could buy out there...

This is so much fun!!!!!



lol

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[Genoa]

Okay, I'm confused (just a little) again---I'm assuming you used the full amount of vinegar (substituting lemon juice in your case) after all, since you WB'd insted of PC'd the salsa? Do you usually WB salsa, or did you just do it in this case because you wanted to show both methods of canning (PC for the chicken soup and WB for the salsa)?

If you've canned it both ways (WB and PC), what difference, if any, do you notice between the finished product? Sorry to be so picky about the details, but I'm viewing these threads as serious learning opportunities. And thanks.

[Jewlzm]

ok on a number scale 1-10 how hot is this salsa? Will I need an extinguisher? Are the jalapeno's seeded or not? I just got my ingredients out and Im raring to go:)

[Darlene]

Genoa, none of your questions are trivial, they're very valid questions and I'm glad you're asking them. Sometimes I'm not the best at explaining things cause I leave out important details lol...

Yes, I used 1 cup of lemon juice instead of 1 cup of vinegar. When I make fresh salsa, I always use lime or lemon juice instead of vinegar...I just like the natural taste better.

Yes I usually water bath salsa...although I have pressure canned it. The pressure canned salsa vs the water bath salsa is more cooked, if that makes sense. I prefer a less cooked salsa.

jewlz, I like spicy things, so on a scale of 1-10 for me, it would probably be about a 5 or 6...to others that don't like spicy things, my 5 or 6 would be a 10 for them...yanno what I mean? Yes, I seeded the jalapenos, it was a pleasant enough heat without them, and as I'm sure you know, you can have 2 identical jalapenos and one will be alot hotter than the other one...flukes in Mother Nature I guess.

[Jewlzm]

ok so for my non heat eating part of the family they would need 3 jalapenos and for me and my heat loving daughter .. we would get the 5:) Gotcha

[Darlene]

lol you are too cute jewlzm...

lol

[Jewlzm]

Hey Dar. About putting some of the yellow pear tomatoes in...would that work or would I have to add more vinegar to do that? I like all the pretty colors:)

Im starting the water for blanching YEEE HAWWWW!

[Darlene]

The recipe calls for 8 cups of chopped tomatoes...if it were me, I'd use any kinda tomatoes I wanted, and make enough for 8 cups, so your yellow ones would really be pretty in your salsa!

[Genoa]

Thanks for the answer. I would prefer the fresher tasting salsa, as well, so I guess its WB for me! And I like the idea of using LIME juice. My son lived in Mexico for several years and my husband worked there off-and-on for almost a year. The parts of Mexico they were in used lime on almost everything, and it always seems natural to include with any Latin-type foods. Of course, most of their food was not particularly hot, but I developed a taste for spicy food as a child--so it will definitely be the 5 jalapenos for me. My poor husband and kids eventually learned to adapt to liking spicy foods as well.

Now here's another question, that I think is appropriate to this discussion, concerning gloves to use when making salsa. I learned the hard way the effects of cutting up hot peppers without gloves. (I know some can tolerate it, but I had burning hands for 12-18 hours afterward!!!) I have a few food-handling type gloves, but I find them cumbersome to work with because they are so loose fitting; so I'm wondering whether I could use the gloves I buy in bulk from Costco for cutting up the jalapeno peppers. They are listed as "powder-free textured latex exam gloves," and on the box it says they are suitable for "first aid," "health care," "baby care," "household," "automotive," and "pet care" purposes. I also use them for gardening, as I prefer them to the bulkier garden gloves. The packaging doesn't say anything about cooking, one way or the other. No one in my family has latex allergies, so we're okay with that. Does anyone know whether there would be any other reason not to use these gloves. They fit well and would make working with food so much easier.

[westbrook]

Quote:

ok got a question. Can I toss in a couple different types of tomatoes? Like the little yellow bell tomatoes with the long toms or does that change the acidity of it? Even if Im using the vinegar?

Yes you can use any type.. because the hybrid tomatos don't have the acidity the old heirloom ones do, we have adjusted our recipes to add vinegar or lemon juice. All new recipes have been adjusted for this (usda, ball blue book and so on)

Wouldn't yellow salsa be pretty!

[Nana]

Genoa, I use those exact gloves, or others just like them whenever I do anything that might get my hands dirty. I use them in my kitchen when I'm battering chicken or fish for frying, I use them to mix meatloaf or knead bread, make biscuits, cutting vegetables, doing dishes or scrubbing the stove. You name a messy job, and I've probably used those gloves to keep my hands clean. I've used them for many years with no problems, so if your hands burn when handling peppers, those gloves are probably the best thing for you.

In case no one has guessed, I really can't stand to get my hands dirty!