Salsa/Sauces

[chastom]

does anyone use a pressure cooker when canning salsa, i did this yesterday ,not sure if its kosher.

the salsa taste great ,not sure how long it will last though?

[KarenO]

if the jars are sealed, for best quality use it within one year.
Pressure canning may be overkill in some folk's opinions as many would use a water bath or even just seal the jars without processing for acidic products like relish/pickles/salsas that contain vinegar.
long story short, Proper pressure canning would extend, not shorten the shelf life of your salsa. enjoy!
KarenO

[TomNJ]

I always pressure can my salsa. Pressure canning is much safer for salsa recipes that contain a fair amount of low acid vegetables and no vinegar. I am still using up my 2010 vintage (I tend to make more than I eat and I like to keep some reserve in case of a crop failure).

TomNJ/VA

[coronabarb]

If I was winging it and not using an approved recipe, I would pc it. Too many veggies might change the ph.

[chastom]

Thank you so much ,for all your input ,I feel much better about over processing rather than under processing

one last thing, making peach salsa ,can sub canned peaches for fresh ,and green toms for red toms ?
I new at canning .......

[loulac]

You received plenty of sensible answers, pressure canning certainly is safer, though not compulsory, as some varieties are less acid than others and might cause problems though I’ve never heard of any. How long can you keep your jars ? with veggies only, without any meat, several years. Canned preparations with meat will have to be eaten sooner.
If Santa Claus is generous in your area, why not ask for an All American pressure canner (see Amazon). You just pour a few inches of water in it and you sterilize at a high pressure quickly. I agree it’s overkill if you only use it for tomatoes but it’s fast and safe. Check your finances first !

[coronabarb]

I have never made peach salsa or canned it but I would guess that making that substitution and canning it would result in very soft peaches. I probably wouldn't be happy with the results. I would advise you to find tested recipes to use. If I find some advice on green tomatoes, I'll pass it along.

[chastom]

Yes I do have an all American pressure canner .

[Salsacharley]

I canned peaches in 2012 using both water bath and pressure and the peaches came out great both ways (this was my first effort). They have a little better consistency than store bought peaches, but they taste a gillian and a half times better. This year my trees didn't produce for some reason.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

I canned peaches in 2012 using both water bath and pressure and the peaches came out great both ways (this was my first effort). They have a little better consistency than store bought peaches, but they taste a gillian and a half times better. This year my trees didn't produce for some reason.

Sometimes you won't get enough chill hours for the tree to bloom.
Sometimes trees just take a break.
And sometimes the buds or blooms get bit by freeze or frost.
Last year for us was very mild so I bet it was chill hours.
So there is the answer to you statement for some reason.

As for canning salsa I have no opinion I wish to share at this time.
Good answers have already been given.

Worth

[clkeiper]

I just cleaned out my greenhouse this week and I picked almost a bushel of mostly green tomatoes. So, I looked for green tomato recipes in the internet and ran across a "Green Tomato Salsa" one. It was excellent I ended up making 33 pints this week. So I don't know why you can't substitute green toms for red ones, but I would use fresh peaches if I was doing the recipe. They may not have the right consistency after being canned twice. (maybe like syrup)

Here is a great green tomato salsa recipe and I am sure you could adapt it to use the peaches in it, too.

http://www.food.com/recipe/green-un-...canning-393491

I changed it a little bit. I put no onions in, my husband can't eat them, no oregano, I don't like it, no pepper, no cayenne pepper, and a little more sugar (just enough to take the sour out of it) nor did I follow the quantites to the "T"..I winged it with the ingredients I had or was too cheap to buy all of, like the red bell peppers. Here, they are $1.50 a piece right now.
Then I canned it in my pressure canner at 5lbs. pressure for 10 minutes.

[recruiterg]

I made a big, double batch of salsa about 6-8 weeks ago. I left it in my basement fridge in a large pot covered. The salsa still seems fine and I ate some the other day. But, I forgot to pressure can it. We sold our house and I was busy working on other stuff.

My question is as follows:

Should I,

A) Throw the salsa away?

OR

B) take it up to the stove, boil it for 15 minutes, then pressure can it?

As long as I reheat it to boiling, will it be safe to use if I can it? Will boiling & pressure canning kill any problem bacteria/other stuff?

[Patihum]

6 to 8 weeks is more than a little iffy. Don't think I'd chance trying to can it at this point.

[Worth1]

I would be concerned about the metal that the pot was made from.
The acid in the salsa can eat away at the metal and leach it out into the salsa.

Even if you were going to put it in jars there is no reason to boil it first the pressure cooker will kill anything.
If there is enough acid in the salsa you would just need to hot water bath it anyway.

I have seen the big salsa producers go from a boiling pot to sterilized jars with no hot water bath.
6 to 8 weeks is a long time for something to sit without preserving in my opinion.
I got food poisoning in Italy and let me tell you it is no holiday.
My body reacted violently for about 3 days, I thought I was going to die.

Worth

[coronabarb]

Hot off the presses from NCHFP at the Univ of Georgia...a new tested and approved salsa recipe that gives you some choice in what you want in it.

Choice Salsa
yields about 6 pint jars

6 cups peeled, cored, seeded and chopped ripe tomatoes (or green tomatoes or tomatillos)
9 cups diced onions and/or peppers of any variety
1 1/2 cups commercially bottled lemon or lime juice (not vinegar)
3 tsps canning or pickling salt

Wash and rinse pint or half-pint canning jars; keep hot until ready to fill. Prepare lids and ring bands according to manufacturer's directions.

To prepare tomatoes: Dip washed tomatoes in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until skins split. Submerge immediately in cold water. Peel off loosened skins and remove cores. Remove seeds and chop (1/4-1/2 inch pieces)

To prepare bell peppers: Wash and core bell peppers. Remove the seeds and membranes before dicing (1/4 inch pieces)

To prepare hot peppers: Wash and remove stems of hot peppers. Keep or remove as much of the seeds and membranes as you wish, depending on the pepper heat of the salsa that you desire. Dice peppers (1/4 inch pieces)

Combine prepared ingredients in large pot; add lemon juice and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring. Reduce heat and simmer salsa for an additional 3 minutes, stirring as needed to prevent scorching.

Fill hot salsa into prepared hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and re-adjust headspace to 1/2 inch. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and bands. Process in a boiling water canner according to the recommendations given. Let cool undisturbed 12 to 24 hours and check for seal.

Recommended process time for Choice Salsa in a boiling-water canner
Style of Pack - Hot
Jar Size - Half-pint or Pint Jars
Process time at altitudes of:
0-1000 ft - 15 minutes
1001 - 6000 ft 20 minutes
above 6000 ft - 25 minutes

This is a fairly acidic salsa but was tested with a wide variety of tomatoes, peppers and onions to ensure the necessary acidification for boiling water canning and still allow for some consumer choice in the ingredients. Peppers used may be sweet bell peppers (of any color) and/or hot peppers.

The purpose of the commercially bottled lemon or lime juice is to standardize a minimum level of acidity in the recipe. For the purposes of our testing, we used lemon juice as it was deemed the most acceptable flavor for the proportions in this particular recipe. For safety reasons, do not substitute vinegar for the lemon or lime juice. Do not use bottled key lime juice.

Do not alter the proportions of tomatoes, vegetables and acid because that might make the salsa unsafe when this canning process is used. The chopped tomatoes and diced peppers and/or onions are to be measured level in dry measuring cups; the lemon or lime juice is measured in a liquid measuring cup. We did not test other vegetables for flavor or acidity.

Refrigerate any leftover salsa after filling jars. Refrigerate the canned salsa once jars are opened for use.

Developed at The University of Georgia, Athens. Released by Elizabeth L. Andress, Ph.D., Department of Foods and Nutrition, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, August 2013