charlene, welcome to the forum!

It's great to hear about the adventures of a new canner.

You can use your processed tomatoes if you like --- how runny it will be depends on what kind of tomatoes; probably a bit runnier than if they were chopped, since that process tends to drain off some liquid (I leave mine several hours to drain off more).

Mark on this forum (korney) also wanted to make salsa and things from already-processed tomatoes and wrote to the Ball company to ask about amounts; they told him to use the amount of tomato puree equal to the total final recipe (so you would use 3 pints).

You can also process any salsa, including Annie's, AFTER it's made (but make sure it's been reheated to boiling before you can it).

As for adding jalapenos, those are low-acid ingredients so if you add them you won't have the same pH as the tested version. BUT what you can do is SUBSTITUTE any kind of pepper for any other. So if you like a hotter salsa, use more hot peppers and fewer bell peppers to get the same total amount, OR use a hotter hot pepper (half a serrano will get you a LONG way!).

Using those yellow veggies sounds awfully pretty! I love yellow toms and yellow peppers myself. Though I find yellow pear to be not as tasty as they are cute --- do you grow tomatoes from seed? If you want some yellow varieties that taste great, e-mail me & I'll send you seed. (If you don't, consider trying --- it's easier than I thought, and there's help available on the Tomato forum here on Gardenweb.)

Cheers,

Zabby

You can always make the approved salsa recipe (with the substitutions Zabby mentioned if desired), then just before filling the jars, stick the ol' stick blender in the pot and let 'er rip!! It will make tiny pieces out of everything. Or just puree a little and have a few chunks.
Whatever you like. Then you skip the step of running through your food mill.
I don't even peel my tomatoes, but that's personal choice. Some don't like the "paper-y" feel, but if you puree it anyway, no problem.

Deanna

Thank you for your replies.

I think I'll just use the tomato puree for something else and start over with salsa. I'll skip the food mill and take Deanna's advice and just puree a little before filling the jars.

Thank you again!

Charlene

If your wanting less liquid in the finished product, you could add dried peppers, onions and such and these can help soak up some of the excess water. Another option is to open the tomatoes and dig out the watery masses and seeds. I usually do this wioth plum tomatoes and get a fairly thick sauce even before boiling. This year, I grew several beef steak types and most are very massive water balloons, which are fine for eating, but are a bit much for making sauces, or salsa. Because I like thicker sauces, the batch I mad was simmered for several hours before adding some dried tomatoes, peppers, and onions, as well as fresh garlic and dried herbs to make a bit 2+ gallons of sauce. Instead of canning, I froze half, as it wasn't one of my best batches.

When the tomatoes below were forming, I noticed they had an odd shape that I have never seen before, so I plan to save the seeds. I expect them to have the size of beef steaks, but the internals of soem large plum types. Will soon find out, once they are opened up and tasted.

Here is a photo I made today:
{{gwi:952317}}

Beautiful photo!

I didn't get to tackle the tomato sauce today but is definitely on my agenda tomorrow! I will peel and remove seeds and just chop them and all the vegetables finely to get a smoother salsa. I can't wait to try it!

I've got some tomatoes in the oven right now dehydrating (we got a new oven this year and it has a dehydrating setting with a convection fan so I'm trying it out).

Zabby, I've mainly direct sowed or bought transplants. But this spring I fully intend on growing some tomatoes from seed. Being in Colorado, short day varieties are best for my area.

Here's to canning adventures,

Charlene

Ever see such a shape on a tomato?? Its almost like they are not sure if they want to be a plum type, or a regular type.. When I grow tomatoes, I start my own seeds in late March, early April. I usually buy seeds from Tomatoe Growers Supply, or Totally Tomatoes. Both offer many types, and plum types are usually what I get. These odd shaped ones took quite a lot longer to ripen then most of my others. The whole plant has these same shaped ones. Most are at least 3-4 inches across. The two copanies mentioned also offer many unsual pepper types, both hot and sweet.

Regarding your watery tomatoes,it takes a little more time from start to finish, but less actual work time. You can thicken the salsa about as much as you want. I usually use Roma tomatoes for salsa, don't peel or anything, just cut into chunks and cook. Skin doesn't annoy me, either for chunky or smooth sauces. This year, I ended up using a lot of regular tomatoes, but I use the same process with either, it just takes more regular tomatoes because they have more juice.

After cooking the tomatoes (don't add any other ingredients), let them cool overnight in a cool place. Then push a cone shaped food strainer/mill into the cooled tomatoes and let the juice drain in. Use a small measuring cup or ladle to remove the juice that comes in. If you do it slowly and gently, the juice will be sweet, a nice, clear reddish amber color, leaving all the pulp behind. I set that aside and drink it as tomato juice or can it if there is too much to use soon. It is more like drinking apple juice rather than chalky gravy the way commercial tomato juice is.

Once I have removed as much juice as I want, I put the kettle back on the heat and add the rest of the salsa ingredients and cook. If you want smooth salsa, once everything is cooked, you can run it through the food mill to separate the skins and seeds.

I always pressure cook my salsa due to the peppers and onions and such and I don't really care for much vinegar in salsa.