AS, there is no "science" behind that particular ingredient, it's simply a matter of trial and error to get the texture my family likes. The juice and goo inside the tomato is much more liquid than the sauce is. I could cook it down for a long time and eventually get a similar texture, but then it tastes more "cooked", if that makes sense. I found that draining the watery portion of the juice and getting rid of some of the "goo" and seeds made the texture better for me. I don't like a lot of seeds in the salsa, so I remove some of them, that makes it more palatable for me, other people might not even notice. I do want the salsa thick enough to stay on a chip, so I add the sauce and I don't have to boil it for hours to make it thicker. Annie

Yes, I know Bernardin is the Ball Canadian partner (or Ball is the US Bernardin partner, LOL). But when KatieC first posted, Bernardin books were only available in Canada unless you crossed the border to buy one or traded Ball & Bernardin books with a friend. The Bernardin formulas only became generally available with the publication of the Ball/Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving. I always thought it was stupid that Jardin corp. refused to sell the Bernardin book this side of the line or the Ball book that side of the line. As if Americans were too stupid to work with metric or Canadians couldn't use Imperial (which is ultra-silly). Carol

I took the idea from the fairly simple recipe part way down in this thread. I used habaneros, vinegar, salt, a bit of cumin and a little carrot for color and sweetness. Blended, cooked for a couple minutes and then strained. At the end I blended a scorpion into it and added enough of the solids back to get the right thickness. Was my first time and turned out great. http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4051480/reaper-scorpion-hot-sauce?n=12

Density is an issue and I'm especially uncomfortable with products that you aren't going to heat before consuming. I'd definitely be a little uncomfortable with thicker salsa, depending on how thick. Is it as thick as tomato paste? That's too thick. I've adjusted the acidity in that recipe a couple of times, based on newer advice from Michigan State Extension Service, and now use a full cup of cider vinegar instead of the smaller amounts in the past. If it were me, I'd probably open that batch, add another 1/3 cup of vinegar or citrus juice (lemon and lime are more acidic than vinegar) , or more if it needs to be thinner, and then reheat and reprocess it. It's just better safe than sorry sometimes, and there are those low acid vegetables in there... I'm not going to even try to say that it is or is not safe, there's no real way for me to tell that and everyone has to decide the level of risk they are comfortable with, but I'd not be comfortable with that. I also think it's the paste tomatoes, I've never used those in salsa, just a mix of my heirloom slicers. Annie