megkor - this is what I posted on your other post about this recipe: 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 PS: cre8tivman68 - Annie is one of the regulars here and has been for several years. She developed the recipe and had all the USDA testing done on it for safety approval.

Perhaps I should have said, Safety expert! Thanks for the info. I reviewed the 2012 thread on the details. Since the instructions are so specific, I wanted to be sure. Thanks for the quick reply.

Megan, Oh, I am having a malfunctioning brain. I am in the middle of six batches of Habanero Gold and for some reason I thought you asked about it instead of Annie's Salsa. Where is my head today? I can't imagine honey wouldn't work as there is such a small amount in the recipe, and I feel better about it knowing Marcy has safely used honey in her salsa. Carol, I know. When I first found the recipe, I found the pressure canning version and, even though I have a pressure canner, I prefer BWB so I didn't try the salsa until a year or two later when I realized it could be water-bath canned. I, too, watch for the answers from Readinglady, Digdirt, Linda Lou, Annie and a couple of others because I know they know what they are talking about, and with some of the others, I am not as certain. I even miss Ken, even though he had his cranky moments, because his answers were always so technically correct. I have old canning books too, but if the recipes in them that I've used have worked out well, I keep using them. Many of the more modern changes apply more to pressure canning than BWB canning as far as I can tell, and I mostly BWB or freeze or dehydrate. With the new (OK, it is two years old now but still feels somewhat new to me) glass-topped stove not being ideal for canning, I'm afraid to put a loaded pressure canner on it. If the combination of weight/heat cracked the glass top, I'd be buying myself a new stove because it is not warrantied for the use of pressure canners. Marcy, I miss using my pressure canner, but the new glass-topped stove has a built-in dehydrator mode, so I like that better than the old stove. My newish glass-topped stove had an instruction manual that said, basically, you cannot can on this stove and if you do and you break the stove's cooktop, your warranty is voided. I do BWB but carefully because I know it is mostly discouraged for other reasons than just the cooktop breaking. The weight of my BWB even when filled shouldn't be heavy enough to be a problem like some people have had with a fully-loaded pressure canner breaking the glass top, and none of the BWB processing times are long enough that the cycling on/off of the heat is an issue. I know my burners cycle on and off to avoid overheating, but they never cool enough that the canner stops boiling, which some folks have experienced with the glass-top stove. Since most BWB times are for 10 or 15 minuts only, I don't think any of the BWB times keep the cooktop hot enough long enough to crack the glass as some people have experienced with pressure canners. If my burner cycled off long enough for the boiling to cease, I'd BWB can on the side burner on our grill outdoors or something. I think most of the people who have trouble with the glasstop stoves breaking or cracking have older models and that the newer models hold up better to canning, but I might be wrong about that. Also, we put the old stove in the garage and kept it in case I didn't like canning on the new stove, but I suppose we can give it away or sell it or something because I have canned for 3 summers now on the new stove and like it fine. Carol, My peppers, okra and beans were wilted today, so I put the sprinkler on the garden and I don't care if having wet foliage on the tomato plants kills them all because they are starting to burn up some in the heat too. I noticed the ones on the edge of the garden near the driveway are burning up the most. I need to get back to the jelly making. After I finish, unless it starts raining or something, I'm going back out to the garden to harvest beans, tomatoes and peppers. I might be making salsa again on Sat. or Sun. afternoon. The paste tomatoes are producing fine, but my heirloom tomatoes are slowing down and the plants are burning up. August might be a 'skimpy' month for tomato production. Dawn

Personal blogs are not a good source for canning recipes unless the training credentials of the blogger reflect a good understanding of the underlying chemistry in canning. This recipe is a good example of why they should be avoided. It is full of low-acid ingredients yet it only contains the juice of 1 lime which would be the minimum requirement for 1 quart jar of plain tomato juice. Further it is BWB processed rather than pressure canned. Any approved tomato-mixed ingredients requires either a substantial amount of added acid OR pressure canning and sometimes both. For example, the approved recipe for Mexican Salsa calls for 1/2 cup of vinegar or lemon/lime juice AND pressure canning. Eating this mixture fresh from the jar without any further cooking to destroy the toxins that may have developed during shelf storage would be very risky. And this blogger has young children apparently eating it too. She is counting on luck to protect them. Are there places to submit your personal recipes for testing and evaluation? Yes there are. But they are few and it is very costly and very time consuming. You can contact your local county extension service and ask for whom you should contact at your state university extension service for labs in your area that may do food testing. That lab will advise you as to what the costs and submission parameters are. When it comes to evaluating recipes yourself - if you don't want to stick with tested and approved recipes - then you need at least a basic understanding of the approved USDA guidelines. And the more education you have in them, the better. So you may want to investigate the availability of local certified canning classes or at least explore the online course offered by NCHFP. You can begin by comparing these personal recipes to the approved ones and the red flags may be apparent even without basic training. And you can always post it here and ask. The MFPs here are happy to answer questions. Hope this helps. Dave