any idea why the Ball Book recommends to puree with a blender for their Roasted Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa which also has Romas in it? Why would it be safe for one recipe and not another? I'm sorry but in canning you can't generalize from one recipe to another with any degree of safety. The Ball recipe has a totally different density than Annie's Salsa does. The Ball recipe does not include either the tomato sauce or the tomato paste, and much less onion. So it is thinner density to begin with when compared to Annie's Salsa and much more tolerant of pureeing. Plus like most salsa recipes, Annie's Salsa isn't really intended for Roma tomatoes - they are too dry and have too little flavor. And those who have made it using them report being disappointed in the results - both taste and consistency. But the primary reason is that the Ball recipe's safety has been lab tested - as written. Annie's Salsa has been lab tested - as written. You change the recipe and you invalidate the safety testing. You can use the tomatillos if you wish as I said because of their acidity and the other tomatoes will provide the needed liquid to keep the right consistency. However if you are using Roma tomatoes and tomatillos then you'll end up with a VERY thick salsa that should probably be frozen rather than canned. And if you roast them first it will be even thicker. Salsa, and salsa, needs to be a little sloshy, soupy when it goes into the jars. If it is so thick it can't move around freely in the jar then it is too thick to be canned and needs to be frozen instead. Dave

Charcuterie, I've made this recipe many times and the amount I get varies from about six pints to about eight pints. I think it probably depends mostly on how watery the tomatoes are. Roma tomatoes are usually very meaty, and the fact that you got less than eight cups from 5 1/2 pounds suggests yours were quite meaty (I usually find about four pounds gives about eight cups). So my guess is that the liquid from the canned diced tomatoes is what made it have so much volume. If you had added more fresh tomatoes, they would have cooked down. Since the tomatoes you added were canned they were already cooked down, so they wouldn't have shrunk as much in cooking, if you see what I mean. I do think your salsa should be safe to eat. The added extra peppers is actually the one thing that goes against standard safety recommendations---peppers are a low-acid food, so if you have more peppers total compared to tomatoes than a recipe is tested for, you don't know for sure that it's acidic enough. But those cans of peppers in adobe are small, and you added extra acid, AND I know that Annie's recipe has a generous margin of error of extra acid. So while the standard answer is "you should never change anything in a tested recipe," I know that I, personally, would feel very happy eating your salsa. I'll be right over, in fact. ;-p Good luck, Zabby

If your canner is a Presto then spend the $12-15 to buy the 3 weight set. That way you don't have to worry about getting the gauge tested and can just ignore it. The weight set is discussed here in many threads. If another brand with a gauge then you may be forced to have your gauge tested regularly to be safe. But I am more concerned about your inability to control the stove heat and prevent the radical pressure changes that causes the siphoning. Is the stove gas or electric? It does take some practice sessions with the canner and just some jars of water in it but it shouldn't be that difficult to control your pressure. All the way on until your t10 min. of continuous venting is done, then put the weight on and as soon as the pressure gauge reaches 11 bls., slowly begin to reduce the heat in small increments. Hope this helps. Dave PS: As to the "cool air on the jars" bit - yes, instructions say to "not expose them in a draft to cool" but they do need to be out of the canner and on to the kitchen counter. ;)

I should have pointed out something here. the trick is to make something that will not spoil. and that means the onions, peppers etc. this recipe will accept a good amount of peppers and stay good. the recipe calls for a good amount of normal green peppers. now you can increase the jalapenos and decrease the green peppers and still be safe. or you can substitute other peppers like habs and still be safe. for me when I process hot peppers I always use 100% vinegar and if it is too strong then I add a little sugar to cut the vinegar taste. but I like to play it safe on the part of increasing the vinegar. remember the preservatives are vinegar salt alcohol. I hope to make a couple of big batches of salsa but I need the tomatoes and peppers to get ready. the tomatoes have started to ripen slowly. I will probably mix both habs and jalapenos in the salsa. both flavors are good. but I want both the Jalapenos and the habs to be ripe and not green. so that will still take some time.