Canning Salsa!

I LOVE SALSA!!!

One of my goals for the summer was to have a small garden that I could grow my own veggies to make salsa. I have tomatoes, onions, and 2 kinds of peppers. Everything was growing nicely, but I was having a hard time getting enough tomatoes all at the same time. I would get 3-4 a week, but by the time I would have enough, the others would be gone (read as: eaten). I had a day off, so I decided to get a little help from my friend Emily's garden and the farmer's market. I had enough onions and jalapenos (a few tomatoes), but I got most of the tomatoes from the farmers market and some banana peppers from Emily. This was my first time canning solo, so I was a little nervous. It all worked out well and I ended up with 11 pints and 1 quart (plus a little for sampling of course).

The recipe is from my good friend Andrea and her mom, Tammie. I love this recipe and it makes a BIG batch (this time I did a half batch and still made plenty, the recipe below is a full batch)

10 quarts tomatoes- cooked and peeled
10 1/2 cups onion
3 cups jalapenos (I keep the seeds in to give a little more heat)
2 cups medium/hot peppers (Ancho peppers, banana peppers, or whatever you like)
5 cups green bell peppers
6 Tbs canning salt
11 Tbs sugar
3/4 cup garlic
3 cups vinegar

Combine all ingredients into LARGE pot or roaster (I use my 18 quart electric roaster oven) and cook down until the desired thickness. The longer you cook it, the thicker the salsa will be. Cook in hot water bath for 15 minutes, then let cool until sealed.

Now the details

It is important to have all the right tools before starting. I use a measuring cup and funnel to transfer the salsa from the roaster to the jars. The middle tool is to help measure head space and get out air bubbles. It is also handy to have the jar tongs  to hold onto the hot jars while placing them into the hot water bath. The last tool on the right has a magnet on the end and helps get the lids out of the hot water (shown later)

 Probably the most time consuming part of the process is getting the tomatoes ready. It is kind of fun though to get the skins off. The first step is picking off any stems and putting the tomatoes in hot/boiling water. You will know they are done when the skin starts to split.

When the skins start to split, transfer tomatoes into a bowl of icewater and wait until they are cool enough to handle. The skins will be super easy to peel/slide off. Core the tomatoes and then dice them to the desired size. I like my salsa a little chunky, and I leave the pieces a little bigger than I want them to end up because as the salsa cooks, the pieces will break down a little bit.

Once all the ingredients are cut up and ready, combine in a large pot or roaster oven. Cook until the salsa is the desired thickness (longer cooking=thicker salsa).

When you are ready to fill the jars, you have to use HOT AND CLEAN jars and lids. I ran my jars through a cycle in the dishwasher just to make sure they were hot and ready to go. Never try to use any other jar than canning jars (I use Mason or Kerr). Also, check the lip/rim of the jars to make sure there are no cracks or they may not seal correctly. Be careful to wipe the lip of the jars before putting on the lids and rings on in case any salsa dripped on them (like I said, they have to be CLEAN). Boil the lids in water and once the jars are filled with salsa, place a lid and tighten a ring on the tops.

Place jars in a hot water bath and make sure water covers the tops. Boil for 15 minutes and then remove jars from water. Place on counter or table and let the jars sit still for at least a couple hours (or until cool). You might hear the jars "pop"... this is just the seal setting (nothing to worry about). After jars are cool, test the tops of each jar to make sure the middle will not flex up or down. If it does, the seal is not set correctly and the salsa will not keep (you will just have to eat that jar of salsa first and store it in the fridge)

 Tada! You will then have delicious homemade salsa :) Enjoy!