Salsa Canning

[larry_stewart]

With the over abundance of cukes, I started canning pickles. While picking up supplies I came across and picked up a Mrs Wages Salsa spice mix ( just add tomatoes kinda thing).

I got a bunch of pint sized jars and want to try my hand at making/ canning salsa.

My question is, has anyone tried the Mrs Wages Salsa product, and if so, is it worth using my homegrown tomatoes ? If not, does anyone have a tomato based salsa recipe that can be canned that they wants to share ?

 

[blissful]

I use the annie's canning recipe supported by the university extension approval.

I do this after I can plain tomatoes so I can use them, plain tomatoes in anything.
The ingredients for salsa are:

• 8 cups tomatoes; peeled, chopped, drained (not overly drained)
• 2 1/2 cups onion, chopped 1/4 inch
• 1 1/2 cups green or red peppers, chopped 1/4 inch
• 3 to 5 jalapeños, chopped 1/4 inch
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 cup fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup sugar (optional)
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 5 percent
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup tomato paste (optional)

From:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/canning/annies-salsa-recipe-zbcz1609

 

[letscook]

I tried Mrs Wages and didn't care for it. I use this one for years and can't keep on the canning shelf, the family grabs a jar every time they come over. Made triple batch this year The only thing I do different is I use all jalapenos. I have used a mix of assorted hot peppers with a good result but family likes just the jalapenos.
https://www.freshpreserving.com/blog?cid=zesty-salsa

 

[larry_stewart]

Decided to give MRs Wages and the other 2 suggested a try.
Didn't do a final taste test, but was tasted while cooking. All good recipes with similarities and differences. Excited to use up some of my tomatoes, peppers and onions.

 

[blissful]

I have a big batch of tomatoes to can tomorrow, just plain.
Larry let us know what you liked or the differences you found between things. I'd love hearing it.

 

[karadekoolaid]

One thing I learned while in Mexico is that salsa, whether it´s green or red, is a pretty simple thing. As long as it´s got zing and plenty of chiles, it´s good. A friend´s grandma taught my son how to make tomatillo (green) salsa: two handfuls of tomatillos, 1 huge onion, a bunch of cilantro, two or three serrano chiles. Bring to the boil, and when the tomatillos go a darker green, it´s ready to blitz into salsa. Red salsa? Use red tomatoes, onions, garlic, more chile peppers and something acidic, like vinegar. That´s it, more or less.
What I WOULD advise when cooking in a water bath is to cook for about 30 minutes, just to be sure there´s a proper seal on the jar.

 

[larry_stewart]

I have a big batch of tomatoes to can tomorrow, just plain.
Larry let us know what you liked or the differences you found between things. I'd love hearing it.

From what I noticed so far, the one you suggested had a more 'fresh 'tomato' tastes to it, the one Letscook suggested was a little heavier on the vinegar, and more pepper influenced and the Mrs Wages had that generic ' spice packet ' taste to it. All were good in their own way. I had to tone down the heat, as my wife isn't a fan of spicy. All this was based on tasting while cooking. Im looking forward to trying each now that they have cooled and he flavors melded together.

Like a horses ass, I thought Id remember which was which and decided to label them at the end, only to forget which one was which. Once cracked open Ill definitely be able to identify them by taste. Visually, a little more difficult.

 

[blissful]

karadekoolaid, yes it sounds right, good suggestions all around.
Larry, yes the one I use is very tomato-y, I don't add the paste but that's just me, and I cook with mr bliss in mind so, not very hot either. It's very tomato-y tasting.

 

[pepperhead212]

The thing I don't like about most water bath salsas is the high vinegar, to make the acid high enough. This is why I don't can salsas - I'll can some fire roasted tomatoes, for making a lot of different Mexican foods, or freeze some fire roasted tomatillos, for those kind of salsas. Nothing can replace fresh tomatoes in a salsa fresca, but frozen ones can sort of make do, in the off season.

Dried tomatoes and tomatillos do well in many Mexican sauces, but mostly the ones for cooking in, not condiments. Not traditional, but I have found that toasting them dry briefly, before soaking, as with chiles, gives it a really good flavor.

 

[letscook]

All looks good - Makes for an interesting tasting.

 

[GotGarlic]

The thing I don't like about most water bath salsas is the high vinegar, to make the acid high enough. This is why I don't can salsas - I'll can some fire roasted tomatoes, for making a lot of different Mexican foods, or freeze some fire roasted tomatillos, for those kind of salsas. Nothing can replace fresh tomatoes in a salsa fresca, but frozen ones can sort of make do, in the off season.

You can use bottled lime juice instead of vinegar if you want. It's still pretty acidic, but it tastes better, imo.

 

[blissful]

Larry, thanks for trying different kinds of recipes.
This morning I canned up a batch of white tomato salsa, and white tomatoes are really a light yellow. The salsa turned out good. If I don't label it, I'd mix it up with pineapple salsa canned last year.
I like having these on the shelf, for the color difference and less acid than red. We'll probably be growing white tomatoes and I'm still looking at some of the orange tomatoes we might want to try next year.

 

[larry_stewart]

So far , the first batch tasted really good. Actually snacking on it right now. I wanted to do a side by side by side taste test but I can only at so much salsa. Im excited because I finally found a way to use up my peppers. I still have grilled peppers in the freezer from he past 2 years. In general, I dont use peppers all that often, but this was perfect. I almost cut down the amount of pepper plants I grow each yea, but now I've decided not to ( although I will be cutting eggplants. I don use them much and I have hit or miss success)

 

[larry_stewart]

I use the annie's canning recipe supported by the university extension approval.

I do this after I can plain tomatoes so I can use them, plain tomatoes in anything.
The ingredients for salsa are:

• 8 cups tomatoes; peeled, chopped, drained (not overly drained)
• 2 1/2 cups onion, chopped 1/4 inch
• 1 1/2 cups green or red peppers, chopped 1/4 inch
• 3 to 5 jalapeños, chopped 1/4 inch
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 cup fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup sugar (optional)
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 5 percent
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup tomato paste (optional)

From:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/canning/annies-salsa-recipe-zbcz1609

Quick question. When making this recipe, for the 2 cups of tomato sauce, do you use those cans that say ' tomato sauce'. or do you use something you prepare home made ? I made this recipe last year and loved it, but not sure what I did. (Not that I necessarily did what you you normally do, just curious what you do (Im starting to not make sense)) ?

 

[blissful]

Quick question. When making this recipe, for the 2 cups of tomato sauce, do you use those cans that say ' tomato sauce'. or do you use something you prepare home made ? I made this recipe last year and loved it, but not sure what I did. (Not that I necessarily did what you you normally do, just curious what you do (Im starting to not make sense)) ?

For the first couple of years I just used diced tomatoes, (no sauce or paste) which produces a more 'liquid with chunks' kind of salsa.


Then I started using the sauce and paste. What I do, is cook down a quart or two of the diced tomatoes (but put them through the blender), and cook those down to reduce the moisture, while I'm preparing jars, waterbath canner, dicing tomatoes peppers, etc. I guesstimate 2 cups sauce and 1 cup paste, from the cooked blended tomatoes--it should start to mound. Then this gives the salsa a much more substantial sauce with chunks, less watery.


(tip: use a large kettle with a triple bottom to cook down the blended tomatoes, it just goes faster.)



If you are buying the sauce and optional paste, I'd use plain tomato sauce and plain tomato paste. (I have a canned paste, and a canned thick sauce of plain tomatoes, but I don't like to uncan items in order to can items..UNLESS, I've canned something and it didn't seal, then I will use that.)

 

[larry_stewart]

Thanks. With the influx of tomatoes, and having sauced enough for a year, its time to move onto other things to make and store for the year. Will be making salsa, although I had my worst pepper year ever. Everything I did ( which was the same thing Ive done year after year) has failed, so I have to buy peppers for the salsa. Ill also be dehydrating, making some tomato paste, freezing some skinned /pealed tomatoes for soup throughout the off season.

 

[blissful]

Thanks. With the influx of tomatoes, and having sauced enough for a year, its time to move onto other things to make and store for the year. Will be making salsa, although I had my worst pepper year ever. Everything I did ( which was the same thing Ive done year after year) has failed, so I have to buy peppers for the salsa. Ill also be dehydrating, making some tomato paste, freezing some skinned /pealed tomatoes for soup throughout the off season.

It's too bad Pepperhead doesn't live closer, maybe a trade could have been made, for peppers with something else. My good friend north of here, she is still working, so until she retires, we probably won't be trading garden surpluses. We bring fallen apples for deer to one of our gardening friends, and sometimes they give us sunflower heads. Today the spearmint needs to get cut for drying, but I have enough so that went to the gal next door, for tea in winter. A friend near madison needs some seed garlic but we only have enough to give out about 2 lbs (the rest we'll need), but she might have a bushel of tomatoes for me, so we'll make a trade.



Some years, the biggest producers from one year, are the worst the next year. (farmers know this) We usually have a ridiculous amount of tomatoes, but not this year, we'll get by knowing some of last year's canned tomatoes will even things out for us. Instead I'm hoping for more canned corn and green beans, possibly squash. It all evens out over the years. I'm hoping we get a good bunch of green peppers to ripen to red, for chopping and freezing, since I use that all winter. Our onions are flopping this year.


Sorry your peppers let you down this year.
Also, if you are deep in tomatoes, consider ketchup, and if you can get hot peppers, a tomato based hot sauce, for canning.

 

[taxlady]

I second the idea of ketchup. I don't care much for the store bought stuff. One year I got a great bargain on tomatoes. I canned tomatoes. I canned tomato preserves. I still had a lot of tomatoes and my ex-DH did use ketchup, so I thought I would give that a try. I used the recipe in the 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking. I liked it so much that I was putting it on lots of stuff, even my eggs.

 

[larry_stewart]

Id definitely like to give ketchup a try, never did it before. I conquered mustard earlier this year, so why not ketchup

 

[blissful]

Ketchup recipe: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_ketchup.html


A sugar free salt free version: https://www.healthycanning.com/tomato-ketchup


Sugar and salt are optional to ketchup so make it for your taste. We under salt everything, and add salt at the table .....
Sugar can be substituted with artificial sweetener, like liquid stevia, or with honey, or omitted altogether.