How much vinegar and how long to process? No way to know since it is a personal made-up recipe. All any one can do is guess.

For what it is worth, once upon a time when Annie's salsa was semi-approved for pressure canning it called for 1/3 cup vinegar and 30-35 mins. pressure canning. But the proportions and ingredients were very different and that approval has since been withdrawn.

All I can suggest is that salsa doesn't require vinegar, bottled lime or lemon juice are used instead by many and blend in much better IMO and are more acidic than vinegar. You have approx. 6 cups of low-acid vegetables in there. The pineapple juice will help off-set some of them but the amount of juice in the can is unknown so the effect is unknown. I would probably add 1/2 cup of bottled (not fresh) lime juice and call it safe but that is JMO. How long to PC? *shrugs* 30 mins.???

Since canning your own recipes are done at your own risk, you find yourself in that boat with this recipe I fear. ;)

Dave

Stick with proven and tested recipes to be safe. If not, be kind to your friends and family and eat the items you produce without proven recipes and testing yourself.
The other option is to use an approved recipe and substitute the vinegar, or a portion of it, with citric acid (which has no flavor).
Jim in So Calif

Please, don't make up canning recipes ! There is no way to determine the ph level nor the density of something you make up.
There is a peach salsa recipe from USDA. Why not use it ?
You should not used precanned tomatoes in salsa, either. The lady who wrote the USDA guidelines told us that they are more dense than fresh ones.

Here is a link that might be useful: Peach salsa recipe.

Linda Lou writes: You should not used precanned tomatoes in salsa, either. The lady who wrote the USDA guidelines told us that they are more dense than fresh ones.

I can buy 102 oz cans of whole, crushed or diced tomatoes. Does that make any difference in density or are they all equally bad? Even the diced or crushed ones would have gone through the food processor. Bet I've grown 100+ varieties of tomatoes and pretty sure there can be large differences in density, pH & sugar content.

Jim writes: The other option is to use an approved recipe and substitute the vinegar, or a portion of it, with citric acid (which has no flavor).

Didn't know could do that. Have any recipes?

Dave,

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. Will definitely play with the lemon and/or lime juice sub for vinegar.

Should have known I was in trouble when I put salsa in the subject line. Maybe I should be looking for a pc vegetable soup or stew recipe that would allow for the ingredients on my list? What got me started was the pressure canning fruits and tomatoes link that Linda Lou posted in another thread. I'm not all that concerned with texture and would process 60 min if need be.

Thanks for the replies!

Jim writes: The other option is to use an approved recipe and substitute the vinegar, or a portion of it, with citric acid (which has no flavor).

Didn't know could do that. Have any recipes?

John,
The rule is as follows:
2 Tbsp of bottled 5% vinegar is equivalent to,
1 Tbsp of bottled commercial lemon or lime juice, and that is equivalent to,
1/4 tsp food grade citric acid.

So, if you are putting up quarts of tomatoes, and acidification is recommended, you can use any one of the following:
4 Tbsp of 5% vinegar, or
2 Tbsp of bottled lemon or lime juice, or
1/2 tsp citric acid.

Citric acid is readily available, cheap, and in France it is called "sour salt". If you have a child that likes Gummy Bears or other such similar sweet/sour product, citric acid is what creates the "pucker response" in those candies.

Hope this helps. I use citric acid where I don't want the flavor of the other things. If I want tomatoes for soup, I would never put either vinegar or lemon juice in the tomatoes. I would rather use the citric acid and then flavor the soup to my own sense of proper flavoring - rather than trying to cover the flavor of vinegar or lime juice.

Jim in So Calif

Sour salt is commonly used in Eastern European recipes like cabbage rolls (for a sweet and sour sauce).

Do remember, if a recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of vinegar and you use citric acid, you are changing the density (and hence the processing time) considerably unless you compensate with some other suitable liquid.

I have to say I honestly have no clue what the processing time for your mixture should be, especially given the fact that you want the pieces quite small and the consistency thick. I don't think anyone else does either.

You asked a question no one here is qualified to answer (unless someone lurking is a scientist with a specialty in experimental foods).

Carol

Jim writes: I would rather use the citric acid and then flavor the soup to my own sense of proper flavoring - rather than trying to cover the flavor of vinegar or lime juice.

Can't wait to try this! I Amazoned citric acid and found it and Instant Clear Jel at the same storefront very reasonably priced. Will order today.

Carol,

The pieces don't have to be that small. Haven't tested the food processor yet, but do have a food chopper that makes uniform 3/8" chunks. And I can make it as watery as need be for safety. If I understand Instant Clear Jel correctly, it can be stirred in later and doesn't have to go through the processing? Has anyone here tried it?

The new BBB instructions for Mixed Vegetables... the cubed, chopped or sliced veggies are boiled with enough water to cover for 5 min and then hot packed into jars. Process pints for 1 hour 15 min at 10 lbs. And I could add corn & (hopefully) black beans. I'm hoping that mixing the chopped/diced fruit + juices wouldn't be a problem?

Really trying to come up with something safe & I appreciate all your help.

Thanks!

j

The Instant Clear Jel isn't approved for canning so I don't think anyone here has used it. Just the plain Clear Jel. So yes it will have to be used AFTER you open the jar.

But I fear you are missing the main point here John. So to put it bluntly:

First rule of safe canning: There is no safe way to make up your own recipes for canning.

This recipe is clearly a fresh preparation "cooking" recipe, NOT a canning recipe. Your enthusiastic response to your new food processor is leading you down the wrong road. There are already plenty of safe approved canning recipes one can use with their food processor. ;)

Dave

Ouch!

All I want to do is safely can a combination of fruits and vegetables that I think would make a good sauce. It just seems there should be some way. Maybe not. My freezer is full.

I looked at the mixed vegetables originally and thought it might be doable except for the fact that you had indicated small pieces and dense texture, so I didn't say anything and left it to others to respond.

Personally (and this is just my 2 cents) I think you could use the mixed vegetable time IF the size of the chunks in your mixture and the ratio of liquid to solids is equivalent. Your mixture would be lower pH, so that's not an issue.

Probably that would be over-kill (no pun intended!) but it's the only option I can think of that seems assured.

However, I'm not a food scientist either, and I certainly don't have testing facilities, so my opinion is as speculative as anyone else's.

I don't have any problem with people doing what they want as long as it isn't a product used for gifting or served to company. I've "experimented" myself on occasion, but I keep it in-house, so to speak. I figure I can be responsible for myself, but not for others.

Carol

John I didn't mean to cause you an "Ouch!" Just that it is very important to make sure you (and others who may read this) understand that what you are trying to do - home can a made up recipe - is generally considered unsafe to do and strongly advised against by food scientists and those in the know.

Dave

I should have added this caveat - mixed vegetables are heated before consumption while salsa is eaten directly from the jar. That's another factor to keep in mind and it does change the equation.

Carol

The Ball complete book has some Chutney recipes that have very similar ingredients, and Fruit ketchup is similar too, but that will be more of a puree than chunky like Chutney. You can always modify the DRY SEASONINGS to taste.

> John I didn't mean to cause you an "Ouch!" Just that it is very important to make sure you (and others who may read this) understand that what you are trying to do - home can a made up recipe - is generally considered unsafe to do and strongly advised against by food scientists and those in the know.

Dave,

Sorry, didn't mean to overreact in public. Was honestly seeking a safe method and should have posed the question better.

> Probably that would be over-kill (no pun intended!) but it's the only option I can think of that seems assured.

Carol,

Exactly what I was trying for. An 'over-safe' method if you will. One that would let me change the types of fruit & veggies. One that wouldn't have an overpowering vinegar taste. I've given up on pureeing everything before processing, but still want 3/8" max or so bits and pieces.

Macybaby,

Never made chutney before, but a friend sent me some green tomato chutney a week ago and it is absolutely wonderful! Perfect blend of sweet and sour. I have a couple ripe Bhut Jolokia and Red Rocoto peppers and am going to dice one up and mix into it. And I have the Ball books so recipe should be there.

Thanks to all!