Canning Your Own Salsa A Little Work Can Go A Long Way

Delicious Simple Salsa for Canning

One of the many things I love about this time of year is we start canning our own sauce and salsa. Its a great way to save money and keep it fresh for your kids. In our travels on Friday Tom picked up 4 crates of plum tomatoes at a roadside vegetable stand. “Lucky me!”

No, seriously that isn't cheating when you can get a bulk quantity for a really great price on fresh produce it can be a really great way to save money for the long haul.Most items that you can yourself can be stored for 1 to 2 years depending on the item.

Using two of the cases we were able to can 18 quarts and 20 pints of Salsa. Its fresh there are no preservatives added and I can use it in other recipes for our family. When you shop organic it can run from about $3.50 - $8.50 for a pint jar. That works out to a pretty good savings over all at roughly $1.00 per a quart. We also put some away in the fridge and gave away several jars to our neighbors.

To can it you only need to use mason pint and quart jars which are available at most Wal Mart's, grocery stores, or even some hardware stores will carry them. Another great place to find them can be at flea markets or garage sales.You just have to check the rims of the jars to make sure there are no chips or cracks in the rim as they will not seal correctly. The lids and seals you want fresh and can be found at the above mentioned locations this time of year. Another option is the ball canning site.

To make the Salsa you're going to need a large bowl now if you're making it for yourself for a snack no worries a small bowl will work fine. For our purposes we diced up our plumb tomato’s and filled our large bowl about ¾ of the way full. We then diced up 5 cloves of garlic, and half of a very large vidalia onion. The choice of how large you dice your tomatoes and onions if up to you. Its your salsa so make it how you like it. We then minced up 5 whole cloves of fresh garlic. You want this chopped up fairly fine as you want it to go throughout the salsa. As I add each of these I take a moment and mix them through the tomato’s . Do this gently or you will mash your tomato’s.

Next we diced up a bunch of fresh Cilantro and added that. This smells really great and adds to the overall flavor. Next chop up and add some fresh green bell peppers.Then we used one whole lime grating the outer zest from the lime first and adding that. Then quartering the lime and squeezing the juice in for flavor. I add the lime sections into the mix and remove it when I serve it or ladle it into my mason jars.

Finally take one whole jalapeno pepper, you can  put on rubber gloves as these bad boys are really hot . Cut it lengthwise and remove all the seeds and inner core from the pepper. Then dice the Jalapeno up really fine before adding. (For small batches you are only going to use about a quarter of the jalapeno unless you like your salsa really hot. The meat an seed can be used if you like it really hot. )

Now you can add salt and pepper to taste, or approximately 2 tablespoon of sea salt,  1 tablespoon of pepper, 2 teaspoon of cumin and a 1  teaspoon of chili powder. Mix everything thoroughly and taste to make sure its good to go. Some of the spices will broaden in flavor after this sits a bit so if you're making it to eat now in a smaller quantity put it in the fridge for a bit. If you're canning it make sure your jars have been boiled and are ready to go.

As you fill your jars you want to tamp down the salsa in the jars. I put as much as I can in each jar because it will reduce when canning this also helps to force any trapped air out..  I do my lids and seals after I fill my jars boiling them for several minutes in a pan of water on the stove. When you put your lids on the jars make sure you don’t over tighten them or they won't seal correctly.

When canning I use a hot water bath, I find for things like salsa and sauce, your veggies don’t go to mush.You want to use a very large pot for canning, one that will hold your quart or pint jars and stands several inches over them. After you have put your jars into the pot fill it with water to just under the lids or glass lip on the jar.

You want to leave a little room for the water to boil and expand. Turn them on and bring to a boil. Once your pot starts to boil set your timer for 20 mins. You're creating a vacuum and killing any bacteria  to keep it fresh. Not unlike sterilizing a baby bottle in boiling water.  

After 20 mins using a canning grabber, lift your jars out one by one and let them sit on the counter to cool. You will hear them begin to pop as they seal closed during this cooling process. I will often leave them on the counter overnight and put them away in the morning when they are cool so I know they have all sealed correctly.

Label your jars and date them, if you don't have a label maker you can use a piece of tape or print some out on your computer. You want to know what it is and when you canned it for freshness. Enjoy!