Homemade Salsa, Canning

Over the summer we’ve tried to make salsa for canning. Now making fresh salsa isn’t that big of a deal. Fresh tomatoes, peppers, onion, cilantro, and volià you have fresh salsa. However, when it comes to canning salsa, it is not so easy. We followed a couple of recipes on the Utah State canning guide, but man did they turn out watery and nasty. Blech. I was reluctant to do what I call a cheaters method, but it works. Instead of trying to get the right balance of peppers and garlic and seasoning, cut straight to Ball’s Fiesta Salsa Mix. I know, I shouldn’t be hawking products for free like this, but it’s seriously some awesome stuff.

We bought a 20 pound box of fresh Roma tomatoes from a local farmer’s stand. Now I cannot emphasize using Roma tomatoes over early girl or some other type of slicing tomato. The Roma tomatoes we used were 99% flesh with very, very little slimy juice. This means, meaty, chunky, delicious, thick salsa. We used the boiling water method to peel the tomatoes, diced them up, and cooked them in a large stock pot with the Ball Salsa mix and some vinegar. It couldn’t be easier. Once our salsa was ready, we canned using the water bath method. Now if only I could mass produce tasty tortilla chips to go with my salsa…

Homemade Salsa, Canning

Servings: 2 pints
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Ingredients

2 to 3 lbs fresh roma tomatoes
3 tablespoons red or white vinegar (5% acidity)
1/4 cup Ball® Fiesta Salsa Mix

Directions

Prepare water bath canner, jars, and lids. Don’t forgot to add ½ cup vinegar to canner water to keep your bottles looking nice.
Place a pot of water on the stove and let it come to a rolling boil.
Using a sharp knife, slice a shallow X into the bottom of the tomato (opposite the stem side).
Depending on the size of your pot, gently place several tomatoes in at once.
Boil the tomatoes till you see the X begin to split open wider, or for 30-60 seconds, whichever comes first. Do not boil them for longer or they will begin to soften and cook.
Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and place them directly into the bowl of ice water and let them cool off. This will help to stop any “cooking” that has started.
Peel the skin off the tomatoes.
Finely dice the tomatoes.
Combine the diced tomatoes, vinegar, and salsa mix in a large stockpot.
Heat the tomatoes just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Ladle hot salsa into hot jars leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Remove air bubbles, wipe rim and place hot lid on jar, screwing band down until fingertip-tight.
Place jars in canner and return to a boil. Process for 35 minutes (0 – 1,000 feet elevation), 40 minutes (1,000 – 3,000 feet elevation), 45 minutes (3,000 – 6,000 feet elevation), and 50 minutes (above 6,000 feet elevation).
Turn off heat, remove canner lid and let jars sit in the hot water for another 10 minutes. This will prevent too much of the cherry filling from pushing itself out the lids as it is cooling.
Transfer jars to a towel-lined surface and let stand until completely cool, about 24 hours.
Check lids and refrigerate any jars that are not sealed.

Homemade Salsa, Canning