Best Salsa Recipe for Canning

So okay, I admit it, I can break my diet for a great salsa recipe with fresh tomatoes or canned homemade salsa and a bag of crispy yellow corn chips.

Salsa is a very passionate food, and I understand when people are picky and personal with their salsa and have favorite recipes, which they sometimes have a hard time sharing.

Like food stored for the winter, or any time of the year, there is a comfort point here, and besides canning is a lot simpler than you think. It is not so labor intensive once you get the hang of it.

It is very satisfying to whip up a batch of your favorite salsa recipe so that when you have the urge to eat corn chips you have a ready supply of salsa to go with it.

It is both informative and thorough. It includes a basic Salsa recipe but my all time favorite is from Mel’s Kitchen Café, the Best Homemade Salsa (Fresh or for Canning).

Best Salsa Recipe With Fresh Tomatoes for Canning

Mel admits that peeling tomatoes may not be the favorite part of this process in making your own homemade salsa, and I would concur. He suggests you cut the tomatoes in half and put them with the skin side up on a tray lined with baking paper and broil for 3-5 minutes.

Some people like to let the skins get a little brown. Keep a watchful eye on them, you don’t want them to burn. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and let them cool, let the skins shrink and then peel them off.

Your effort will be worth it and much simpler than scoring the tomatoes, dropping tomatoes into boiling water, and peeling them once they have cooled.

After peeling the tomatoes, use the recipe on Mel’s Kitchen Coffee website or the following salsa recipes that are suitable for canning. Mel’s home salsa contains:

• 10 cups peeled, chopped and squeezed tomatoes (if the tomatoes aren’t squeezed, the salsa can be watery)
• 3 cups chopped onion
• 1 ¾ cups of green peppers, or a combination of green, red, yellow or orange peppers
• 5 finely chopped jalapeños, skin and seeds removed
• 7 cloves of ground garlic (or more if you like garlic)
• 2 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 ½ teaspoons black pepper
• 2 ½ tablespoons canning salt (sometimes referred to as kosher salt)
• 1/3 cup sugar – depends on how sweet you like it
• 1/3 cup coriander or chopped parsley
• 1 ¼ cups apple cider vinegar
• 16 ounces. tomato sauce
• 12 oz. tomato paste for a thicker salsa

Follow Mel’s recipe and can in pint-size glass jars.

If you like, check out this recipe for canning salsa with fresh tomatoes that is chunkier salsa from The Bald Gourmet (thebaldgourmet.com). It calls for 8 pounds of ripe tomatoes and makes 5 pints of Salsa.

A word of caution about spiciness. Truth be told, I grew up in a sheltered, spice deprived, environment. I did not eat a red or green hot pepper until my older teen years. I fell in love with Mexican food on a trip to New Mexico. That being revealed, spicy is a relative term. I have friends who can eat raw green hot peppers like I would eat peeled raw cucumbers. Not pausing, not choking or having your face turn red. So know your eating buddies, and be sensitive to newbie pallets. There is a reason most stores bought Salsa in the jar has mild, medium, and hot spice level warnings.

Keep in mind:

• Canning can be fun and creative. Use tested recipes as there are food related concerns to canning.
• Always date your homemade canned goods. Canned Salsa should be used within a year of your canning date. If you have stock left before the year is up, throw a Salsa party and don’t forget the margaritas.
• General rule of thumb when water bath canning is to fill your jars with hot food, leave ½ inch from the top for air (unless your recipe indicates something else), and remove any air pockets. Wipe the tops of the jars with a clean towel before you put on the clean lids.
• Remove hot jars and put them on a towel lines counter where they will not be disturbed so that they can cool. The vacuum seal is formed during the cooling process. Try not to move or giggle the jars until they have come down to room temperature.
• Follow the canning protocol and respect it. All the steps are in place to protect you and the quality of the food.
• Do not remove the ring on the cooled jars and make sure you have a suitable seal. Discard any jar you find on the shelf where the seal is imperfect or swells upwards.