Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Canned (Bottled) Salsa

This is the second year I have made this bottled salsa from Food.com and we seriously love it! Last year we didn't make nearly enough, and we were so addicted to it, it was gone within a month! I am going to try limiting myself to one or two a month so we can enjoy it all year this time! No more store bought for this family!



I made it with my friend Leslie who introduced me to the recipe. (I swear all my best recipes come from her!). This year we doubled it and it made about 27 500ml jars worth. One HUGE help if you plan on making salsa is get a Vidalia Chop Wizard. It will save you HOURS of work. We used the larger cutting tray for the tomatoes, and used the smaller one for everything else. Saved us so much time!


Here is the recipe. 

Ingredients (single batch worth)

8 quarts of Roma tomatoes
pickling salt
6 large onions
3 heads of garlic
1 lb jalapeno pepper
6 large mild bell peppers
2 1/2 cups minced cilantro
1/4 cup ground cumin
1 (5 1/2 ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons lime juice per jar



1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Blanch the tomatoes by placing in boiling water for 1 minute. You will need to do this in batches.

3. Transfer them to a large bowl of sink full of ice cold water.

4. Peel tomatoes. The skin should come off easily with a little pinch.





5. Chop them coarsely and sprinkle with pickling salt in layers as you go. 

6. Put them in a strainer and set in a cool place (but not in the fridge) to drain for several hours. Leslie and I only drained them for about an hour and it worked fine. The longer you drain them, the less runny your salsa will be.



7. When you are ready to proceed, put all the canning jars in a large canner full of water and cover by one inch. Bring to a boil. (You can prevent lime buildup on your jars by adding a shot of vinegar to the water before it boils, but I've never done it). 

8. Boil for 10 minutes.

9. Meanwhile, peel and chop the onions.

10. Peel and de-seed the peppers and chop them.  (Wear gloves for the jalapeno peppers!)

11. Peel and mince the garlic





12. Mix the tomato paste with a cup full of the tomatoes until it is lump free.

13. Mix all the ingredients (except the lime juice), in a large kettle or pot. 

14. Bring salsa to a boil.






15. Lift the sterilized jars from the boiling water bath and empty them into the sink.

16. Place jar lids in boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.

17.  Add 2 tbs lime juice to each jar

18.  Pack the salsa into the jars

19. Wipe rims and place lids and rings on top of jars.

20. Return bottled salsa to boiling water and process for 20 minutes. It may be necessary to do this in two batches. 

21. Remove, let cool and check seals. 

Enjoy your delicious salsa! The longer you let it sit, the better it tastes! - Alex




Here is the recipe again without the pictures. 

Ingredients

8 quarts of Roma tomatoes
pickling salt
6 large onions
3 heads of garlic
1 lb jalapeno pepper
6 large mild bell peppers
2 1/2 cups minced cilantro
1/4 cup ground cumin
1 (5 1/2 ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons lime juice per jar (single or double batch)


1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Blanch the tomatoes by placing in boiling water for 1 minute. You will need to do this in batches.

3. Transfer them to a large bowl of sink full of ice cold water.

4. Peel tomatoes. The skin should come off easily with a little pinch.

5. Chop them coarsely and sprinkle with pickling salt in layers as you go. 

6. Put them in a strainer and set in a cool place (but not in the fridge) to drain for several hours. Leslie and I only drained them for about an hour and it worked fine. The longer you drain them, the less runny your salsa will be.

7. When you are ready to proceed, put all the canning jars in a large canner full of water and cover by one inch. Bring to a boil. (You can prevent lime buildup on your jars by adding a shot of vinegar to the water before it boils, but I've never done it). 

8. Boil for 10 minutes.

9. Peel and chop the onions.

10. Peel and deseed the peppers and chop them.  (Wear gloves for the jalapeno peppers!)

11. Peel and mince the garlic.

12. Mix the tomato paste with a cup full of the tomatoes until it is lump free.

13. Mix all the ingredients (except the lime juice), in a large kettle or pot. 

14. Bring salsa to a boil.

15. Lift the sterilized jars from the boiling water bath and empty them into the sink.

16. Place jar lids in boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.

17.  Add 2 tbs lime juice to each jar.

18.  Pack the salsa into the jars.

19. Wipe rims and place lids and rings on top of jars.

20. Return bottled salsa to boiling water and process for 20 minutes. It may be necessary to do this in two batches. 

21. Remove, let cool and check seals. 

Enjoy your delicious salsa! 
The longer you let it sit, the better it tastes!
*This salsa is mild




4 comments:

  1. yum yum yum yum yum. yum. I'm pretty sure I'd have to make this in quart jars for it to last longer than five minutes every time I opened one! I love canning.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ok 1. This looks delicious!!
    2. The vidalia really works? where did you buy yours? I am so slow at chopping and I find that's what really slows me down with dinner. Do you use it daily?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rachel, yes it works and it is amazing! I don't currently own one (it's on my Christmas wish list), but you can buy it on amazon. I would definitely use it often if I had the luxury of owning one. Luckily, for this salsa, my friend happened to have one and so did her neighbour, so we got everything done super fast.

      Delete