Green tomato salsa recipe - is this safe?

14 years ago

I am searching for a green tomato salsa or any other way to use up a ton of green tomatos since we are calling for an early frost soon. I found the following recipes but am wondering if they are safe?

Recipe:

8 cups chopped green tomatoes

2 cups chopped onions

4 cups sweet peppers (green, bananas, etc.)

2 cups chopped jalapenos

5 tsp. canning salt

6 Tblsp. sugar

3 cups apple cider vinegar

7 cloves of garlic minced

BWB 35 minutes

OR

Ingredients

8 lbs green tomatoes (approximately 16 cups chopped)

6 large onions

6 green peppers

3 sweet red peppers

3 Â 6 jalapeÃ±o peppers (depending on taste)

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Â½ cup salt

Â½ tablespoon black pepper

Cayenne pepper to taste (about 1/8 tsp)

3 cups vinegar

1 cup lemon juice

Method

Coarsely chop tomatoes, onions, and peppers

Combine all ingredients in a large kettle and mix well

Heat to boiling, then simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring frequently

Ladle mixture into hot pint or quart jars, filling to within Â¼ inch from top

Wipe jar rims with damp cloth or sponge

Adjust lids

Process in hot-water bath or steam canner: 15 minutes for quarts; 10 minutes for pints (start timer after jars have been placed in canner and water in canner has returned to boiling)

When processing is complete, remove jars from canner and allow them to cool to room temperature. Check seals. Label sealed jars and store in pantry

Jars that donÂt seal can be placed in refrigerator (use within three weeks) or immediately reprocessed with new lids

Makes about 3 quarts (6 pints)

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Comments (8)

digdirt2
14 years ago
Are they from reliable sources? They both contain plenty of acid to make them safe but I'd stick with pints, not quarts. Quarts aren't generally recommend for salsa processing and the processing time in the second recipe sounds way too short to me (plus it suggests steam canning which doesn't fly with the safety folks).

But you know you can actually use any tested and approved salsa recipe in the BBB or from one of the many at NCHFP and just sub green tomatoes for red with no safety issues.
Don't know off hand if anyone has made Annie's Salsa using green tomatoes but it would be another safe one to consider.

If I had to choose between the 2 you posted, I'd stick with the first one I think. JMO

Dave

PS: if you want other green tomato recipes there has been several discussions lately here on using them - relishes and such. Just search 'green tomatoes' for more ideas.
ccaggiano
14 years ago
I've never tried a green tomato salsa. Is it any good?
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How did the texture/consistency end up? Is it runny/soupy or very thick? Canned salsa is supposed to be soupy, not thick for proper heat penetration. My main concern with the recipe is that is a very small amount of liquid brine which compared to all the solid ingredients so the density may be an issue. 2 cups of liquid to approx. 8 cups of solids. It has a safe level of vinegar to water, just not much of it. But the crucial point is the ripeness of the mangoes. The USDA guidelines make a point of saying: If a recipe calls for green or unripe mango, do not use ripe mango. This will result in changing the final acidity of the mixture and potentially unsafe canned salsa. Compare this recipe with the approved Mango Salsa recipe (scroll down to pg. 12-13 in the USDA link below. As with any recipe from an unapproved source, it is your choice. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Sensational Salsas
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Hello Dave (or anyone else) you seem pretty knowledgeble in the area of canning and wanted your advice. I wanted to try this recipe, but wanted to make more changes taking into consideration what you have said and suggested. I have a ball caning book and can't find that recipe in it or anywhere else on line. The one I did find that resembles this recipe calls for 6 lbs of tomatoes (or 10 cups), not 12 lbs. 12 lbs seems like alot of tomatoes. Was that an error? I mean, did you really mean 6 lbs and not 12 lbs? I have some questions and would appreciate your help. 1.) Is there any reason that you can't just chop up the tomatoes leaving the skins & seeds in the salsa? I never take off the skin or remove the seeds--seems like such a waste of tomato to me. 2.) I also leave the seeds in my hot peppers because I want HOT HOT HOT salsa. Is this okay as long as the measurements include the seeds? 3.) Recipes always say not to change the amount of peppers or onions but you can change the types of onions or peppers. I'm wondering if you can reduce the amount of peppers or onions or garlic as long as you keep the vinegar or lemon juice the same? Since I like HOT HOT HOT salsa...I like to use hot peppers so I need fewer of them. I really don't like recipes that call for lbs. or a number of vegetables such as this recipe. Since the size of a pepper or tomato or onion ranges in size...I prefer an exact measured amount to be listed in a recipe. I do like it if they give an approximate number of the veggie in perentheses next to the measured number so you have an idea of how much you need...that's always nice :) In my opinion, this recipe calls for too little vinegar for the amount of stuff in it--as you pointed out to the poster of the recipe. I changed up the recipe and put it in exact measurements and wanted your advice on it. The changes I made are... 1.) I omitted the jalepeno peppers. 2.) I decreased the amount of garlic...since 1 clove of garlic is approximately 1/2 tsp...and the 15 cloves in the recipe = approximately 7.5 tsps and there are 3 tsps. to 1 TBSP...I just made it 2 TBSPS. 3.) I added one more cup of pineapple to make it a total of 4 Cups. 4.) I went with 10 cups of tomatoes (6 lbs.--not 12 lbs.) 5.) I omitted the option of chili flakes since I use hot peppers with their seeds. 6.) I doubled the amount of vinegar...and instead of vinegar used equal portions of lemon and lime juice) 7.) I used hot peppers chopped with seeds included (8 of them, plus two habeneros and they totaled 1 cup and I did not soak them in hot water and puree them) Here is my changed version of the recipe: 10 Cups chopped tomatoes (I use the whole tomato--skin and seeds) 3 Cups chopped onions 2 TBSP chopped garlic 1 Cup chopped hot peppers (I use a mix of red/green sorreno/chili peppers and habenero's including the seeds) 4 Cups chopped pineapple 1/4 Cup fresh cilantro 1 TBSP salt 1 1/2 Cups lemon and lime juice (3/4 cup each) What do you think of the changes? Carol, from Idaho :)
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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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There is just no way to no for sure since as far as we know it has never been tested for pH level or density. Especially without knowing the source of the recipe as that at least might provide a clue. While it has a lot of vinegar it also has a LOT of low acid vegetables in it - many pounds of them. How can anyone know what the pH would be? Salsa is one of the most risky foods since it is eaten straight from the jar with no further cooking. That's who only tested and approved recipes are recommended. Safety with salsa requires knowledge of the acidity level and the density to determine proper processing. Both are unknown in this case. Dave
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ksrogers
14 years ago
A SIMPLLE SEARCH HERE yields the following info.. Suggest that if your doing a search that you do one within this forum, as it will show a lot of useful info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Tom salsa search results
katrina5
Original Author
14 years ago
Greendirt - I wasn't sure if I could substitute green for red in Annies salsa, I think I may try that. Thank you for your help.

KSRogers - No need to type in caps. It is a simple question in a forum. I did do a search on this forum but I didn't see what I was looking for which is why I asked. Many of the answers come back with the word green in them, that is usually talking about green peppers. I apologize for asking on your forum. I was a bit worried that I would get a response such as this.
digdirt2
14 years ago
Greendirt - I wasn't sure if I could substitute green for red in Annies salsa, I think I may try that. Thank you for your help.

Yes I don't know how it would taste but then I'm not a big fan of green tomatoes - except fried. But Annie's Salsa is so good that I doubt the green tomatoes could hurt it any. Let us know how it turns out for future reference. :)

Dave
readinglady
14 years ago
Another option would be to sub green tomatoes for tomatillos. For instance, there's an intriguing Tomatillo Salsa on p. 82 of the Ball Blue Book you might want to take a look at.

It calls for 2 pounds tomatillos (i.e. green tomatoes), onion, green chili peppers, garlic, cilantro, cumin, salt, red pepper and a blend of vinegar and lime juice.

This is a small-batch recipe (2 pints) but that can be a benefit when you're trying something new.

Carol
Linda_Lou
14 years ago
Canning salsa in quarts is not safe to do. The heat will not penetrate the salsa enough to insure all contents are hot enough to destroy spoilage microorganisms.Same for a steam canner, they only heat the jars with steam so the jars don't conduct the heat like a boiling water bath canner will. The contents get hotter in a boiling water bath canner. There are no safe processing times for a steam canner. Now, if they had said to use a steam pressure canner, that would be different, but I only see steam canner listed.
Vinegar is not used in the NCHFP recipe, just bottled lemon juice. The bottled lemon juice is 2 times as acidic as 5 % acidity vinegar. I can assure the recipe in the link below is safe to use.
I highly recommend the NCHFP recipe. I use it all the time with regular green tomatoes. Makes a wonderful salsa for burritos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Safe green tomato /tomatillo salsa recipe.
jcpyburn
14 years ago
Here is the recipe I used out of the Ball Complete book of home preserving. It is VERY good and very safe!!

Salsa Verde

Makes about six 8-oz jars or 3 pint jars

7 cups chopped, cored, peeled green tomatoes
5 to 10 jalapeno, habanero or scotch bonnet peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 cups finely chopped red onions
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup loosely packed finely chopped cilantro
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and lime juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in cilantro, cumin, oregano, salt and black pepper. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot salsa. Process both sizes in a BWB for 20 minutes(adjusted for altitude.

We love this stuff and it also works for a good enchilada sauce!

You could also make chow-chow or piccalilli with your green tomatoes. I know there have been some good safe recipes posted on here and also on the NCHFP.

HTH

Carly

Green tomato salsa recipe - is this safe?

Comments (8)

digdirt2

ccaggiano

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Green tomato salsa recipe - is this safe?

Comments (8)

digdirt2

ccaggiano

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