Canning Salsa - Recipes with Fresh Tomatoes

If you love salsa and never want to run out of it, what do you do? Do you make it and store it? Or do you run out to the market and get some ready-made? As you know canning involves the use of lots of preservatives. Then why not make the sauce at home and can it yourself? The following paragraphs highlight some recipes that you can easily make at home. They will be an instant hit with your family and you will be able to enjoy it as and when you please.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes, 4 quarts (peeled, cored, and chopped)
• Onions, 3 cups (chopped)
• White vinegar, ¾ cup
• Garlic, 2 cloves (crushed)
• Jalapeño peppers, 2 (seeded and chopped)
• Green chillies, 2 (seeded and chopped)
• Pickling salt, 1 tablespoon
• Black pepper, ¾ tablespoon
• Sugar, ½ tablespoon

Procedure

• Take a large saucepan, enough for the huge quantity of tomatoes. Put in the tomatoes along with all the ingredients in the pan and bring the entire mixture to a boil.
• Once the mixture starts boiling, lower the heat and allow the salsa to simmer for about an hour or more till the mixture thickens.

• Once the mixture thickens, pour it hot into the storage cans, allowing some head-space.
• The salsa is ready for canning.

The canning process requires a water bath canner. This is the most important process which needs to be followed right. Failure to do so may result in being unable to store the entire batch of salsa

• In the canner, introduce a rack on which you can keep the jars of salsa. This rack will not only avoid the jars from touching the bottom of the canner, but will also allow the heat to reach all the sides of the jars.

• Place the sealed jars onto this rack when the water is simmering. If you feel the need to add more water into the canner, add boiling water and take care not to pour it directly over the jars.

• Cover the canner tightly. Let the water boil for the time required by the process.
• Once the time is up, remove the jars immediately to avoid spoiling the salsa.

• Next comes the cooling of the jars. Place the jars on a cooling rack in a cool and dry place. Avoid the use of a table fan to cool the salsa. The jars will need at least 24 hours to cool properly.

• Once you are certain that the jars are cooled, check them for the seals. If you find any jar which is not sealed properly, either refrigerate it and use it immediately or else reprocess the salsa once again within the next 24 hours.

Salsa can be made at home with loads of tomatoes and ball salsa mix seasonings that are available in the markets. The recipe, if made at home, needs to be stored by using lemon juice as a preservative. If you want to use the ready-made ball mix, then vinegar needs to be used instead of lemon juice.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes, 10 pounds
• Onions, 2 cups (chopped)
• lime juice, 1½ cups
• Jalapeños, 4 (seeded and chopped)
• Garlic, 3 cloves,
• Sugar, 1 tablespoon
• Black pepper, 1 teaspoon
• Cilantro or oregano (optional)

Earlier, hot water canners were used to can tomatoes, salsa, sauces, etc. However, people have discovered that using a pressure canner results in better quality. It is used in low acidic foods, i.e., food with pH level of above 4.6. For recipes with fresh tomatoes, lemon juice, vinegar, and citric acid are used as preservatives. The following recipe can be made hot with the use of Serano chili pepper.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes, 5 pounds
• Black pepper, 1 teaspoon (crushed)
• Vinegar, 1 cup
• Chili peppers, 2 pounds
• Onions, 1 pound (chopped)
• Salt

Procedure

• First prepare the chili peppers. In order to do so, wash and dry the peppers and make a slit on either side of each chili. Now place the chilis in the oven and let them blister nicely for about 8 minutes at 400 degrees F. Cool to peel and seed the chilies and chop them up later.

• While the chilies are cooling, skin the tomatoes and chop them roughly. In a large sauce pan, put in the tomatoes, the chilies and all the other ingredients and bring it to a boil. Let the mixture boil for about 10 minutes while stirring from time to time.

• Cover and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.
• Pour the mixture into the jars and shut off the lid securely.
• Process it in the pressure canner and let the jars cool. Check for broken seals once the jars are cool and store them in the pantry.
• To make this a mild recipe, substitute the chilies with jalapeños.

Store these cans in a cool place. Exposure to dampness, sunlight, and temperature changes will make the salsa go bad. It is always better to use up the entire batch within a year of making it. Hence, it is advisable not to make a huge batch, else you might end up discarding some of the salsa. These were some canning salsa recipes with fresh tomatoes that can be made easily at home and can be stored for future use.