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question on a salsa canning recipe

14 years ago

I started canning tomatoes and salsa last year. I do understand the importance of following tested recipes to the letter and that substituting lemon juice for vinegar is ok.

I cooked up a test batch of the following USDA recipe last night just to test for flavor. It was a bit acidic tasting and I was wondering if adding a little sugar would be alright.

This will be processed in bwb.

"* 5 lbs tomatoes (as purchased)

* 2 lbs chile peppers (as purchased)

* 1 lb onions (as purchased)

* 1 cup vinegar (5 percent)

* 3 tsp salt

* 1/2 tsp pepper

Yield: 6 to 8 pints"

Thanks for any replies.

Comments (7)

ccaggiano
14 years ago
You can use a combination of cider vinegar, lime juice and lemon juice to get your 1 cup of vinegar. I use 2/3's cider and 1/3 lime and it has a great flavor.

You can also look at the recipe for Annie's Salsa. There is a thread right on the first page with the recipe. It is, hands down, the best salsa.

I am not sure about the sugar. I'll let one of the more experienced guys take that one!!
melva02
14 years ago
Yes, adding sugar is fine. If anything, sugar helps because it binds up some of the water. But generally in a product like salsa, the sugar is for flavor and can be left out or increased.

Sounds like you are off to a good start with finding a safe recipe and making a test batch. Happy canning!

Melissa
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Hadn't ever heard of it. Website reads like it is a regional/local product. I see from the website that it has several different flavors of salsa and the ingredients in their basic 3 seem to only differ in the amounts of hot peppers used. For example, their medium lists: Ripe Tomatoes, Fresh Onions, Fresh Tomatillos, Fresh JalapeÃÂ±o Peppers, Fresh Pasilla Peppers, Apple Cider Vinegar, Fresh Cilantro, Fresh Parsley, Fresh Garlic, Sea Salt, Spices So the ingredient differences are primarily the type of peppers used and the unknown "spices". There is no reason why you can't use the Annie's Salsa recipe, or any of the few approved canning salsa recipes, and sub some tomatillos for some of the 8 cups of tomatoes. The tomatillos are more acidic anyway. And you can sub some of the Passilla peppers for some of the peppers in Annie's recipe as long as you keep the total amounts of all ingredients called for in the recipe the same. so the density and pH aren't affected. Of course then it won't be Annie's Salsa any longer. It would be a GM Gringo copy. As to the spices they use - no way to know. Personally I can't see the comparison of Annie's to Pace. Annie's is far superior IMO but taste is a very personal thing. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Green Mountain Salsa
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Tyffanie, I use sweet green bell peppers. You can use any kind of peppers you have, those are just commonly available here. As for the serranos, the batch KatieC and I made at Canning Camp had three jalapenos and two serranos. It was a hit. I've also added habanero, cayenne, something called a "salsa" pepper, scotch bonnet and/or hot banana peppers. I use whatever is available, just don't change the ratio of acid to vegetables. I'll also caution you to taste the salsa before adding sugar or salt. Sometimes the tomatoes are really sweet and the added sugar is too much. Some people like less salt, or less cilantro, substitute parsley for the cilantro, use less/no cumin. Taste and then season, all those items are simply for flavoring and can be adjusted to suit your taste. Have fun, and happy canning! Annie
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Regarding this Recipe... What kind of vinegar do I use? is Apple Cider fine? Thanks again! G'doc ANNIEÂS SALSA 8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained 2 1/2 cups chopped onion 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper 3 Â 5 chopped jalapenos 6 cloves minced garlic 2 tsp cumin 2 tsp pepper 1/8 cup canning salt Â¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro 1/3 cup sugar 1 cup vinegar (for BWB or 1/3 cup vinegar for PC) 16 oz. tomato sauce 16 oz tomato paste Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process at 10 lbs of pressure for 30 minutes for pints. Or BWB 15 minutes. Makes 6 pints Nancy
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digdirt2
14 years ago
Agree with Melissa. 1/4-1/2 tsp per pint works for us. You can add it when jarring or after opening prior to serving - either way works. We prefer adding it after opening the jar.

Dave
robeb
Original Author
14 years ago
cc,
I appreciate the reply.

I'm aware of the Annie's Salsa recipe, but I want a simple hot salsa... tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, habaneros and a few spices.

The test run I did last night is very close to what I want, but with just a bit too much acid.
robeb
Original Author
14 years ago
Melissa & Dave,

Thank you.
ksrogers
14 years ago
Just like adding cilantro after opening. You cant get that distinct taste of fresh cilantro any other way.
annie1992
14 years ago
I agree, adding sugar is fine. I add sugar to mine but I always taste. Sometimes the tomatoes are sweeter than others, so mine has become a "to taste" thing. The girls like it sweeter than Elery does, so someone is always out of luck.

Annie

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