Salsa time :)

[eyeguy 54]

My stuff is still growing so hit the local farm market and store for a couple things. Fun on Friday for me.

[Moose]

I sliced up some jalapeno peppers for fresh salsa last night and forgot about the gloves. Then touched my mouth later and quickly remembered my mistake. Good thing I didn't need to use the restroom before figuring it out.

[Cicada]

No limes?

[hockeybc69]

No limes for this cat in salsa.

No liquid smoke?

[eyeguy 54]

I put a bit of smoke in when I open a jar sometimes. Mrs doesn't care for it. Thinks I am addicted to smoke... LOL been doing the recipe for 25 years. still my favorite. cayenne pepper and brown sugar also. forgot to put in pic. 23 pints this batch.

[eyeguy 54]

Get a big pot.

6 cup onion

6 cup green pepper

8 jalapenos

7 clove garlic

3 cup celery

all chopped up or zapped in a processor

saute in 1/2 cup veggie oil till tender

30 nice tomatoes ( more if using romas)

dip maters in hot water for 45 seconds and peel and take out top of core

quarter and throw in pot. ( I use mixer and zap it)

add the following

4 T brown sugar

2 T chile powder

1 T oregano

2 T salt

1 T cayenne pepper

3 12 oz can tomato paste

simmer for 90 minutes then put in jars and do a water bath.

Yields 20 to 25 pints

[eyeguy 54]

batch # 4 ! i am a salsa machine!!!!!!

[Big Dave2]

Looks great! How long do you keep it in the water bath?

[eyeguy 54]

I bring it to a boil then turn the burner off and just let it sit till it cools. usually sits 8 hours or so and they will all be sealed. 93 pints this year. yowzaaaaa! I can only get 17 or 18 in the canner so the 4 or 5 extra I keep the salsa hot, put in jar and just let sit with lid and screw on top. most seal in an hour or 2 and i store with the rest. if they don't pop seal I just keep in fridge and use them first.

[eyeguy 54]

added 2 tablespoons liquid smoke in this batch. mmmmmm!

[delcecchi]

All that stuff with the tomatoes and no extra acid like lime juice? Hot water bath or hot pack sounds a little iffy to me, from a food safety point of view. Of course I am pretty risk averse when it comes to that sort of thing.

Here is a link to a leaflet from our cheesehead buddies.

http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/B3570.PDF

Everybody says to add lemon or vinegar. And process for 15 to 20 minutes in boiling water.

[flipper]

Del,

I would never suggest anyone do other than what the universities suggest. That being said, my wife and I have been canning tomatoes and salsa using the open kettle method for over 30 years and have not had a jar go bad yet. She keeps things meticulously clean and we sterilize the jars in boiling water just seconds before putting the salsa in them. At my suggestion we put some citric acid or lemon juice in the mix towards the end of cooking.

I would not want to suggest that others should do it the way we do. Botulism is a bad thing. However, we are confident that our way works for us and we feel safe doing it the way we do. I sure would not want to poison our loved ones and we would make a switch if we thought that was a concern.