Pretty - pretty , Virginia. Bet it's going to be awhile before your attic sees your "stuff" again.

Diane

Did you tell him it's probably NOT good and he'd best not be eating any??
Linda C

Looks great!

Nice looking 'stuff' Virginia. btw, I'd like to see that picture larger. The cherries in particular look really lovely. Tasty too, no doubt. Maureen

Good for you Virginia I applaude your forward thinking! You got it made it loved it and shot it! Bold.

Virginia - Good for you! I made three batches of Annie's Salsa last summer because I was afraid it would run out. We've used it judiciously and the last few jars are left. As soon as I make more, those will be gonzo.

Enjoy. Kari

I used my last jar a week ago. Good thing tomatoes and peppers are coming into season again! I will make a double batch this time!

Ooooh...I wanna try the cherries this year, too!

Your canned goods look divine!

Linda

Looks good Virginia! I'm thinking that canner will not see that attic for some time now! Annie's Salsa is great as is. My group loves it. I'll be upping the heat in the next few batches too. I'm thinking a habanera or two might do it for me. To heck with the wimps..LOL!

David

After reading so much about Annie's salsa I want the recipe! I did a search and found post after post about how wonderful it was and how it was showing up all over the country in gift boxes but no recipe. Can someone please help? I have never canned before but a. I am assuming you can eat it uncanned and b. I just might try canning since I have access to a lot of tomatoes.

Erika

PS. Is canning hard?

Erika,
No, canning is NOT hard. Many are intimidated by it, but it's really easy. Just follow tested recipes (like Annie's) and it's fine! If you do boiling water bath (BWB), you don't really need any special equipment. A big pot, a jar lifter is good, but you can "make do" with a pair of tongs, some jars/lids/rings and you're set!

Here's Annie's recipe. She says it makes 6 pints, but lots of us get 7........we think she taste tests a little too much!! DARFC.

ANNIEÂS SALSA (THE Salsa recipe!)
8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained
2 ½ cups chopped onion
1 ½ cups chopped green pepper
3 Â 5 chopped jalapenos
6 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp pepper
1/8 cup canning salt
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar (1 c. for BWB, may use combo of lemon or lime juice and vinegar)
16 oz. tomato sauce
16 oz tomato paste
Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes.
Pour into hot jars, process at 10 lbs of pressure for 30 minutes for pints.

If you do BWB, make sure you used the extra vinegar (or lemon juice) and process 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts.

Deanna (come on over to the Harvest forum too and see what all weÂre canning!)

Deanna,

Thanks so much for the recipe. I will definitely try it. What is the alternative to BWB? I see on another thread HWB, is that hot water bath?

Erika

Ok, next question... What does "process at 10 lbs of pressure for 30 minutes for pints" mean?

You have two ways to can Annie's salsa. One is to use the full cup of vinegar and process it in a boiling water bath (BWB). Some people call this a hot water bath (HWB). They're the same thing.

The other way is to use less vinegar, the 1/3 cup, and process the salsa in a pressure canner (not pressure cooker) 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.

For most people who can only occasionally, the boiling water bath and more vinegar is the way to go. Some even like the salsa better with the extra vinegar.

Carol

Virginia, I'm proud of you, those canned goods are so pretty! So, is your DH sold yet? I'm a heat wimp, which is why the salsa is pretty mild, I make it to my family's tastes, but you can easily cut down the green pepper and add more heat, even a couple of habaneros like David, if you are very brave!

Carol is right, the first batches I made I did in the pressure canner, just to be safe, I was uncertain about the amount of vinegar to make it safe to can but not compromise the flavor. I always BWB mine, the extra vinegar doesn't seem to be noticeable, at least to me.

With about 5 years worth of help from Michigan State University it was determined that 1 cup of vinegar was the minimum necessary to make it "safe" to BWB, so don't increase vegetables or cut down the vinegar. The tomato paste/sauce was only for texture, so you can leave that out. I often reduce or leave out the sugar too, if my tomatoes are nice and sweet.

Erika, canning is not hard at all, but it's addictive. You'll be hooked soon enough. If you don't want to can it you can eat it as is, and some people have frozen it and said that turned out all right too.

Deanna, I taste to be sure the flavor is right. Ahem. Yeah, that's why, and Ashley helps. And that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Annie

Erika,
Sorry. Forgot this is a first time for you.
What Carol said is exactly right. I was "leading you" toward BWB (or HWB...same thing) since it doesn't require a pressure canner.

Fill a very large kettle about 1/2 full of water and start heating (medium temp or so).

In Annie's recipe, from the point where it says "pour into hot jars..."

You would fill your jars to about 1/2" from the top, put on a lid and ring (no need to really crank down hard here, just put the lid on like you would something stored in the fridge) and place in the kettle. Use a rack of some kind or a folded dish towel towel in the bottom to keep the jars from actually sitting on the bottom. Yes, it's fine, it won't burn sitting in all that water. Just seems odd.

When all your jars are in there, you need to add enough water to cover the tops of the jars by an inch or two and have room for it to boil gently (mine barely makes it in a 12 qt. stockpot).

Crank up the burner and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, start timing.... 15 min./pints or 20 min./quarts. I usually turn the burner down just a little here so it doesn't boil over and flood my stove, but it has to keep boiling. This process will seal your jars and make them safe to store unrefrigerated.

The extra vinegar doesn't bother me a bit!! LOL

Pressure canning is a another adventure entirely!!

Deanna

Uh, huh, sure Annie. Blame it on the kid again! LOL

I just say, if you're gonna make it, wash 7 jars!!

Hmmmmmmmm - I just realized that I mis-read the recipe as 8 pounds of tomatoes, rather than 8 cups. I peeled the tomatoes, deseeded, thumbed and drained them - which reduced their volume - but I'm sure I had more than 8 cups - probably between 10 and 12 cups - and I made no allowances for extra vinegar.

Oy, oy, oy - do you think my salsa's gonna be safe? Otherwise, what if I refrigerated it for us to eat now and I canned some more?? (Was already planning to hit the farmer's market tomorrow for more tomatoes and tomatoes for peach salsa.)

Virginia, I'd just dump it into a pan, reheat, add some more vinegar and re-process. Or, you could freeze it or refrigerate it and eat it now. As long as it's sealed, though, you could open it, add acidity, and reprocess. Just be sure to boil it for that 10 minutes to be sure!

I might even make a second batch, add some more vinegar, mix it all together (new and old) and can it all, being sure to boil it for the appropriate time.

Annie

I'd probably just refrigerate it or you could freeze some if you have the space. Some people never do bother to can this salsa. They discover a batch can go pretty fast! And some like it frozen better than canned so they do that instead.

Carol

I love Annie's salsa and it is great fresh out of the pot. But a salsa recipe made for canning is not the same as a fresh salsa. The whole point of canning is to preserve, and the cooking and adding of tomato sauce also thickens it. A fresh salsa is called "pico de gallo" and is not cooked or thickened. Plus it is eaten right a way or within a day or two.

Canning Annie's salsa is so easy really, so I say as long as you are cooking it, why not pop some jars in a boiling water bath and just go the extra step and fill and seal them. The only thing is, don't change the ratio of non acid ingredients (onions, spices, peppers) to acid ones (tomatoes, vinegar). Then you can't BWB it, you'll have to either store it in the fridge or freeze it.

If you don't want to cook the salsa, then make pico de gallo.

But as long as your are making a cooked salsa, then I say, to paraphrase Nike, "Just can it!" :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Pico de Gallo recipes