To answer the first question about olive oil, I'm not sure what purpose it serves (except the tongue) but I would suggest adding it after opening if it is for the taste. It would spend less time this way floating on top of the contents of your jar and would eliminate the rancid issue (added at time of use). Oils also make jars harder to get a good seal on them. On the other hand, if you have a recipe that calls for browning of meat, I see no reason not to use lard. It is an animal fat and there is no prohibition on animal fat - hey, all the meat we can is full of it. In fact, most complain of canning chicken breasts and pork loin because the resultant meat contains too little fat and it is too dry. Pork shoulders are preferred because they contain more animal fat and are thus more moist when opened. Just a thought. By the way, if in filling your jars that you do splash some oily broth on the sealing surface of the jar, wipe it off with a clean paper towel with a little vinegar on it - it should wipe much cleaner (grease free) than simply wiping with a dry paper towel. Jim in So. Calif.

I have a KA and food grinder attachment already, so I'm trying to decide whether it would be more economical/beneficial for me to get the KA strainer attachment over the Villaware. I've read all threads that mention the two and really can't see a big difference for what I would be using them to do. I am a fan of chunky tomato sauces, salsas and apple sauce. I'm thinking that neither of these is going to accomplish that AND get the seeds out, so I'm going to have to de-seed and hand chop for the chunky parts. I am also not going to be making jam for people that have to have all seeds removed from the jam. Therefore, really for me as a small time canner, I think going w/ the strainer attachment is a fine choice. However, I just wanted to see if anyone has a different opinion.

Newer version of Annie's Salsa - BWB only Annie's Salsa 8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained 2 1/2 cups chopped onion 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper 3 to 5 chopped jalapenos (for milder leave out seeds and ribs) 6 cloves minced garlic 2 tsp cumin (optional) 2 tsp pepper 1/8 cup canning salt 1/4 c fresh cilantro (optional) 1/3 c sugar (optional) 1 cup cider vinegar (see note on subbing lemon or lime juice option) 16 oz canned tomato sauce (to adjust density) 8-16 oz canned tomato paste (to adjust density) Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process pints for 15 minutes in BWB. Makes 6 pints. _________ A lot of changes have been made to this recipe over the years. Some people like lemon or lime juice in place of some or all of the vinegar, that's fine. (Note from Sheila - I like half lemon half lime.) Some people leave out the cilantro, that's fine too. Do not increase! Some people add more hot peppers or fewer onions, fine as long as you keep the same total measurements. (Note this is what NCHFP does in their new Choice Salsa recipe.) Some people leave out the sugar, that's fine. You can scoop out the goo in the middle of the tomatoes with your thumbs when I'm peeling and chopping for a less seedy version, so it's 8 cups of chopped tomatoes without the seeds and goo. Most who make it regularly as well as Annie recommend using a variety of different slicing tomatoes, not paste types, for best flavor and consistency. (Note: use the tomato sauce and paste to adjust the consistency of the final product to a "sloshy" consistency.) According to Annie "My salsa is not as thick as Heinz catsup but it's thicker than taco sauce. If you don't like it quite as thick or sweet, cut down the amount of paste. I would add some, then taste. Reducing that ingredient shouldn't affect the safety of the recipe. I use equal amounts of sauce and paste. You can pull it off the heat at any point and adjust for flavor. Before I cook it I check for salt, sugar, check the consistency. Add more pepper or cumin if I want. When I first started making this salsa, tomato sauce and paste came in 8 and 16 ounce cans. Like everything else, they've now been downsized, so now I have to use partial cans." Does anybody have good versions of the other recipes that have weird symbols in them for measurements?

bumblebeez, I eat them and I give some to my mother, my stepmother and both the girls. I can salsa, make my own catsup, make tomato basil sauce from the recipe Readinglady sent me. RobinKate gave me a really good recipe for Tomato Jam and I always make that too, but mostly I just can them because everyone in the family loves chili in the wintertime and if anyone dares to make chili with store bought tomatoes, The Princess will take a bite and announce "This was NOT made with Grandma's tomatoes". My stepmother likes just canned/stewed tomatoes over buttered bread cubes and Dad used to eat canned tomatoes straight from the jar. Elery likes just macaroni and tomatoes, with some onions, Dad always liked them that way too. Add my fresh tomato sandwiches, several pots of tomato basil soup with basil from the herb garden, a favorite vegetable side dish of zucchini and tomato gratin, Sol's tomato pie, freshly sliced tomato on pizza because I hate, detest and abhor pizza sauce, and I use a lot of them. Any overflow goes to the local Senior Citizen's center, I just set the basket down and anyone who wants some takes them. They are always delighted to have fresh homegrown produce. Arlene, I'm with you, I'm wondering how that genetically modified tomato would taste. We have tomatoes they can ship all the way across the country in the winter and they are sturdy enough to arrive safely, but they taste a lot like the styrofoam tray they are normally packaged on. The proof of success is in the flavor, in my opinion. Annie