New to canning - serious safety question

10 years ago

Hi everyone!
I am brand new to canning (unless you count when I was just around eight years old helping my mom - lol)
I purchased a All American Pressure Cooker/Canner, and it just arrived yesterday.
We had tons of fresh tomatoes that were just ripe from the garden, and my hubby decided to jump right in and can them up using his favorite home made salsa recipe.

The canning part worked out fine. He cooked it in our pressure canner for fifteen minutes at 240 degrees.

I have been reading how important it is to follow previously proven recipes, and I am wondering (since he seems to believe that 1/4 cup lime to the 5 lb tomatoes, and the heat of the canning makes it safe) if you all would think I should be afraid to eat it?
The rest of the ingredients are the usual, habanero peppers, onions, garlic, and spices.
I would sincerely appreciate any thoughts on the matter, I would hate to have to throw out the salsa, but I would hate much more to be very, very sick!

Thanks,
EG

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Comments (3)

digdirt2
10 years ago
It is an untested and unapproved recipe so there is no way to know if it is safe without at least seeing the entire recipe.

But salsa is one of the most risky things to play around with since it is primarily low acid foods and is eaten straight from the jar with no further cooking. So the standard recommendation is that you cannot safely can your own recipes for salsa. See info sheet below.

The pH of the finished products as well as the density are at issue, not to mention the processing time that might be required for adequate heat penetration. While 1/4 c of lime juice might be enough there is no way to know for sure without testing. And while it might be enough to cover the tomatoes, what is providing the acidifying for the garlic, peppers and onions that are even more low acid than the tomatoes? I know of other salsa recipes that contain only 1/4 cup added acid that have been determined unsafe even for pressure canning.

So the basic answer to your question is, based on the info provided, no I wouldn't consider it safe to eat.

If it is less than 24 hours old it can be frozen. Otherwise the guidelines would recommend it be tossed. It is your choice, your risk to take.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Burning Issue: Can I can my own salsa recipe?
eclecticgardner
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks Dave,
That is pretty much the response that I expected.
I figured that I would ask, just to be sure that all those who are much more experienced at canning than we are, are not thinking that all that advice is overkill, and as I suspected, the guidelines are there for a very important reason.
I will stick to the guidelines and pass on the salsa!

Thanks again,
EG
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digdirt2
10 years ago
Is there some overkill in the guidelines? Sure, some if only to try to cover all the unanticipated things folks will try to do and the mistakes that could be made. And with some foods some of that excess caution could likely be eliminated as they have a wide margin for error. Unfortunately salsa. much as we all love it, isn't one of those foods.

Salsa, because of the pH ingredients it contains, the way it is eaten right from the jar, and the high potential for botulism spores in those particular vegetables, has the potential for being one of, if not the most risky food we can. So it needs to be treated with respect and caution.

If it was possible for us to irradiate our foods at home or can it in high pressure autoclaves then maybe we could get away with some of the recipes and methods used with commercially canned salsa. But we can't. So with salsa we need to stick to the rules. Sorry.

Freezing one's own recipe is always a viable option as salsa freezes well.

Dave

New to canning - serious safety question

Comments (3)

digdirt2

eclecticgardner
Original Author

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New to canning - serious safety question

Comments (3)

digdirt2

eclecticgardnerOriginal Author

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eclecticgardner
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