questions about Annie's salsa recipe

harriet05

17 years ago

I did a search, and found the recipe YAH for me lol

and I apologize if this has been asked before...

1) how long do you water boil if you are using the water bath method?

2) can you omit the jalapenos for a "mild" salsa?

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Comments (11)

readinglady
17 years ago
Boiling water bath for 15 minutes; be sure to use a full 1 cup of vinegar per 8 cups tomatoes (a single batch) if you're using the water bath.

Also, Annie says the lesser amount of jals results in a milder salsa, but if you want to you can leave the jals out entirely.

Carol
annie1992
17 years ago
Thank you, Carol, you knew I was on vacation, camping and wouldn't get this answered.

Harriet, if you leave the jalapenos out all together you're going to have some darned mild salsa, no heat at all, but if that's what you like you certainly can do that. I often use half the amount of jalapenos called for because my daughter is a hot pepper "sissy" (her definitely, not mine, LOL). I always put a tag on that batch that says "Sissy Salsa". (grin)

Annie
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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
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I agree, halve everything, including the vinegar. I don't really drain the tomatoes, I peel them, scoop out the "goo" with my thumb and cut them into chunks, but I still end up with about half the tomato by the time they are peeled, cored and "de-goo-ed". Annie (yes, that Annie, LOL)
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It's not so much "tidy" as I hate to lose all that other great info. ;) And P.S. Dave - to my defense, I didn't realize the vinegar issue until a couple of hours after my first post. I didn't see a way to add or edit a post, hence the second post. It isn't a question of editing a previous post. As medcave said all you had to do was just post the added the question to your other thread. That pops it right back up to the top of the list. There is a 30 min. time frame where the programing won't let you post again on a thread unless you change the subject line in that particular post - something like "oh, I also forgot to ask...". It is there to try to prevent duplicate postings. Dave
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Question about Annie's Salsa
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ReaLemon or ReaLime juice are approved as a safe substitute for the vinegar in making/canning Annie's Salsa. Please note that when food safety experts tested the pH of various brands of lemon and lime juice, only ReaLemon and ReaLime tested consistently at the proper pH for canning and that's why they are safety-approved as a substitute for the vinegar. Other brands tested at too low of a pH too often to be considered safe substitutes for the vinegar. Because the safety of the produce depends on the proper pH, you shouldn't use any other brands and you shouldn't use real lemon juice or real lime juice since they aren't pH tested. I use ReaLemon and ReaLime both and I don't believe I've made a single batch with only vinegar since I began using ReaLemon and ReaLime. You can substitute ReaLemon, ReaLime or both for the vinegar, or use them in conjunction with vinegar as long as the total amount you use equals the total amount called for in the recipe. My favorite way to make Annie's Salsa is to use 1/3 C. ReaLemon, 1/3 C. ReaLime and 1/3 C. vinegar. It gives a nice balanced flavor that doesn't taste too strongly of any of the 3 produces used. Some people like using 1/2 C. vinegar and 1/2 ReaLemon or ReaLime, depending on what their taste buds prefer. My least favorite thing about any home-canned salsa that I've had my whole life (prior to finding the recipe for Annie's Salsa) was that the salsa always had such a strong vinegary flavor to it, and that dates back to at least the 1960s when I was a child helping my dad make home-canned salsa from tomatoes he grew in our garden. As a canner, I understood that this was necessary for safety reasons, but I didn't care for that strong vinegar flavor even though I understood why it had to be that way. When I first learned you could use ReaLemon or ReaLime as a substitute in Annie's Salsa for some or all of the vinegar, I was so excited. I made Annie's Salsa that year with every component---some batches only with ReaLemon, some only with ReaLime, some with half and half, and some with 1/3 of each of the three. We clearly preferred the version with 1/3 ReaLemon, 1/3 ReaLime and 1/3 vinegar and that's how we've made it ever since. Because I can so much salsa over the course of the gardening/canning season, I stock up on vinegar, ReaLemon juice and ReaLime juice well before canning season begins. I usually get the ReaLemon in 2-packs of very large bottles at Sam's Club or CostCo in late Spring, and I buy as much as I think I'll need for the whole canning season, based on what I've used in previous seasons. Neither of the big box warehouse stores carry ReaLime, so I just buy numerous bottles of it at Wal-Mart. If I've planned well, I don't have much ReaLemon or ReaLime left at the end of my salsa-canning season. I might have part of a bottle of each left, but I just use the juice in my morning cup of tea until it is all gone. There's nothing worse than running out of any canning supply or ingredient in the middle of the hectic canning season, so I stock up on everything in advance. There's nothing worse than needing canning salt, vinegar, ReaLemon, ReaLime, pectin, canning jars, canning lids, labels, etc. and discovering they're sold out at every store (lots of canners here in our area). From January through May, I'm stocking up on all the supplies I'll need and that makes life easier when canning season begins.
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harriet05
Original Author
17 years ago
Annie, I had to post and tell you, I made a batch of this salsa Sunday and OH MY GOODNESS...it is the best I have ever tasted. I cut the jalapenos down to just 2, because my tummy cant take much "hot" but WOW is it ever good. I am going to make snother batch tonight....
annie1992
17 years ago
Harriet, I'm glad you like it. And frankly, two jalapenos would make it just right for Ashley, so she'd think your batch was perfect.

Annie
spyfferoni
17 years ago
I have a question also:
The recipe calls for green peppers---Does that mean bell peppers or green chilis. I have some Sweet Banana peppers I would like to use, some yellow and green bells, and some Anahiem peppers. I plan on getting some Jalapenos and Serranos from my neihbor. Have you ever used Serrano peppers in this recipe instead of Jalapenos???

I am looking forward to trying this recipe and canning on my own---(I helped my Mom when I was younger, but remember very little.)

Thanks,
Tyffanie
annie1992
17 years ago
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
bitterwort
17 years ago
I thought it was great with all jalapenos or with jalapenos and anchos mixed with a bit of cayenne powder or with one of those combined with canned chipotle in adobo sauce for a bit of smokey flavor. (Guess your daughter wouldn't approve, Annie.) Any way you look at it, it's a great recipe, Annie. I can't thank you enough for sharing it with us!

(Now, get to work on that spaghetti sauce recipe. I'm counting on you!)
annie1992
17 years ago
bitterwort, I think I'D like it with the chipotle, Ashley is a self-proclaimed "wuss" about hot peppers. I'm kind of a wuss, but not as bad as she is. LOL

Spaghetti sauce, huh? Would now be a good time to say I don't really like spaghetti sauce? (grin) Actually, Carol (readinglady) has a great spaghetti sauce recipe she cans with meat.

I do plan to can spaghetti sauce anyway, because I have tomatoes ripening by the silo full. Gotta do SOMETHING with them.

Annie
lpinkmountain
17 years ago
I made Annie's salsa with ancho peppers and hungarian hot peppers and jalapenos. Definately not for the wimps, but not too hot. Picante IMHO.
prairie_love
17 years ago
I have used a mix of green bell, anaheim, serrano, jalapeno, and a single poblano ... tastes great! Next time I think I'll make it a tad hotter with either a red chile or habanero, but that's just so I have both hot and not-so-hot around.

I just returned from a camping trip with some good friends. I brought Annie's salsa, a tomatillo salsa that Linda Lou posted, Katie's peach salsa, and my own invention of corn salsa. I was the Salsa Queen and they were all big hits.

I love this forum!

Ann
bitterwort
17 years ago
Well okay, Annie, I'll let you off the hook on the spaghetti sauce if your heart's not in it. Maybe I'll look for Carol's recipe and try it sans meat with my few remaining tomatoes. (My small silo-full went for all the Annie's Salsa I had time to make.)

I agree with you, Ann. This forum is the best!

questions about Annie's salsa recipe

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