salsa: from garden to table

8/6/2019 Salsa: From Garden to Table

1/4Copyright 2009, The Ohio State University

Family and Consumer Sciences

HYG-5339

Salsa: From Garden to Table

IntroductionAmericas have grown to love salsa. Te sauce

is healthy, easy to make, and avorul. Cooks loveto experiment with salsa recipes and may wish topreserve their winning combination by canning.Most salsa recipes are a mixture o low-acid oods(onions and peppers), with higher acid oods (to-matoes). Acid avorings such as vinegar, lemon

juice, or lime juice are also common additions.Te type and amount o ingredients used in salsa,as well as the preparation methods, are importantconsiderations in how salsa is canned. Improperlycanned salsas, or other tomato-pepper combina-tions, have been implicated in more than oneoutbreak o botulism.

Important guidelines are provided or preparingsae, home-canned salsa. Use only research-testedrecipes. Follow the directions careully or eachrecipe. Use the amounts listed or each vegetable.Add the amount o vinegar or lemon juice stated.I desired, the amount o spices may be changed.Do not thicken salsas with our or cornstarchbeore canning. Salsa can be thickened at the timeo use.

Below are descriptions o ingredients that areused in the tested recipes that ollow. Tese recipeshave been tested to ensure that they contain enough

acid to be processed saely in a boiling water bathcanner. I your personal avorite is not listed, it isbest to eat it resh. Untested, resh salsa recipes canbe stored up to several weeks in the rerigerator, orreeze it up to one year or longer storage.

Ingredients

TomatoesTe type o tomato used aects the quality o

salsas. Although slicing and paste tomatoes makegood salsas, paste tomatoes (such as Roma) havermer esh and produce a thicker salsa, while slicingtomatoes usually yield a thinner, more watery salsa.Salsa can be thickened by adding tomato paste.

Use only high-quality tomatoes or canning salsa.Do not use overripe or spoiled tomatoes, or thoserom dead or rost-killed vines. Poor quality oroverripe tomatoes will yield a very poor salsa andmay cause spoilage. Where recipes call or peeledor skinned tomatoes, remove the skin by dippingtomatoes into boiling water or 3060 seconds oruntil skins split. Dip in cold water, then slip o skinsand remove cores and seeds. Green tomatoes may besubstituted or tomatoes in any o these recipes.

PeppersPeppers range rom mild to ery in taste. Use

only high-quality peppers. Do not increase the total


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Salsa: From Garden to Tablepage 2

amount of peppers in any recipe. However, one typeo pepper may be substituted or another.

Mild peppers are usually 4 to 10 inches longand include Anaheim, Ancho, College, Colorado,and Hungarian Yellow Wax. Choose a mild pepper

when the recipe calls or long green chilies.Small, very hot peppers usually 1 to 3 inches

long, provide a distinct taste to salsas. Jalapeno isthe most popular hot pepper. Other varieties in-clude Serrano, Cayenne, Habanero, and abasco.Use rubber gloves when cutting or dicing thesepeppers, as they cause extreme irritation to theskin. Do not touch your ace, particularly the areaaround your eyes, when working with hot chilies.Bell peppers may be substituted or some or all o

the long green chilies. Canned chilies may be usedin place o resh.

Skinning PeppersFinely chopped and hotpeppers, such as jalapeno, usually are not skinned,but the seeds in hot peppers are ofen removed. Teskin o long green chilies may be tough and can beremoved by heating the peppers. o peel, slit eachpepper along the side to allow steam to escape. oblister skins to make them easier to peel, use oneo the ollowing two methods:

Range-top methodCover hot burner, eithergas or electric, with a heavy wire mesh. Placepeppers on burner (at least medium high, checkto see what burner temperature works or pep-pers) or several minutes until skins blister.

Oven or broiler methodPlace peppers in ahot oven (400F) or under a broiler or 6 to 8minutes until skins blister.

Afer blistering, place peppers in a pan and coverwith a damp cloth. Tis makes peeling the peppereasier. Cool several minutes. Slip o skins. Discardseeds and chop.Wear plastic or rubber gloves whilehandling hot chilies.

Tomatillosomatillos are also known as Mexican husk

tomatoes. o use, remove the outer husk. Tey donot need to be peeled or seeded.

AcidsAcid must be added to canned salsas because the

natural acidity may not be high enough. Commonlyused acids in home canning are vinegar and lemon

juice. Lemon juice is more acidic than vinegar,

and has less eect on the products avor. Use onlyvinegar that is at least 5% acid. Use only bottledlemon juice. An equal amount o lemon juice maybe saely substituted or vinegar. Do not substitutevinegar for lemon juice, as this will result in a lessacidic and potentially unsae salsa.

SpicesTe amount o spices and herbs may be altered

in these recipes. Cilantro and cumin are ofen usedin a spicy salsa. Do not use them i you preer amilder tasting salsa. For a stronger cilantro avor,add resh cilantro just beore serving.

Processing

Use a Boiling Water Bath Canner

Use a rack to keep jars rom touching the1.canner bottom. Tis allows the heat to reachall sides o the lled jars.

Put jars into a canner that contains simmer-2.

ing hot water.

Add boiling water, i needed, to bring water3.12 inches above the jar tops. Do not pourwater directly on the jars. Place a tight-ttingcover on canner. I you use a pressure can-ner or water bath canning, leave the coverunastened and the petcock open to preventpressure buildup.

Bring water back to a rolling boil. Set timer4.

or the recommended processing time. Watchclosely to keep water boiling gently andsteadily. Add boiling water, i necessary, tokeep jars covered with boiling water.

Immediately afer the timer sounds, remove5.jars rom the canner. Te ood could spoillater i jars are lef in hot water too long.


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Cooling Jars

Putjarsonarackorclothsoaircancirculatereely around them.

Do notuse a an to cool down canned salsa;also avoid cold drafs.

Do not retighten metal bands afer process-ing.

Testing for SealTe day afer canning, test each jar or a tight

seal. Jars with at metal lids are sealed i:

Te lid has popped down in the center.1.

Te lid does not move when pressed down.2.

Rerigerate unsealed jars and consume within

one week. I a jar is not sealed, reprocess within 24hours. When reprocessing, pour salsa rom jar intoa pan and heat to boiling, then pack into a clean, hot

jar. Wipe jar rim clean. Use a new lid and screw onmetal band, then process or ull time listed.

StoringWipe jars. Label with the date and the contents.

Remove the screw bands to avoid rust. Store jarsin a cool, dark place. Heat, reezing temperatures,light, or dampness will decrease the quality and shel

lie o canned ood. For best quality and nutritivevalue, use within one year.

Before UsingBeore opening each jar, look or bulging lids,

leaks, or any unusual appearance o the ood. Aferopening, check or o-odor, mold, or oam. I thereis any sign o spoilage, destroy the salsa.

Tomatillo Green Salsa

Yields 5 pintsIngredients5 cups tomatillos, chopped (green tomatoes

can be substituted)1 cups long green chilies, seeded and chopped1/2 cup jalapeno peppers, seeded and

nely chopped4 cups onions, chopped

1 cup bottled lemon juice6 garlic cloves, nely chopped1 ablespoon ground cumin (optional)1 ablespoon salt3 ablespoons oregano leaves (optional)

1 teaspoon black pepper

PreparationCombine all ingredients in a large saucepanand stir requently over high heat until mixturebegins to boil. Reduce heat and simmer or 20minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle hot salsainto pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjustlids and process in a boiling water canner 15minutes at 01,000 eet altitude; 20 minutes at1,0016,000 eet altitude.

Chile Salsa (Hot Tomato-Pepper Sauce)

Yields 6-8 pints

Ingredients5 pounds tomatoes1 cup vinegar (5 percent)2 pounds chile peppers3 teaspoons salt1 pound onions

1/2 teaspoon pepperCaution: Wear plastic or rubber gloves and donot touch your ace while handling or cutting

hot peppers. I you do not wear gloves, wash

hands thoroughly with soap and water beore

touching your ace or eyes.

Preparation

Wash and rinse canning jars; keep hot until readyto use. Prepare lids according to manuacturersdirections.

Preparing Peppers: Wash and dry chiles; sliteach pepper along the side to allow steam toescape. Peel using one o these two methods toblister skins:

Oven or broiler method to blister skinsPlacechiles in a hot oven (400F) or broiler or 6 to 8minutes until skins blister.


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Range-top method to blister skinsCover hotburner (either gas or electric) with heavy wiremesh. Place peppers on burner or several min-utes until skins blister.

To peel, afer blistering skins, place peppers in a

pan and cover with a damp cloth. Tis will makepeeling the peppers easier.

Cool several minutes; slip o skins. Discardseeds and chop. Peel, wash, and dice onions.Wash tomatoes and dip in boiling water or 30 to60 seconds or until skins split. Dip in cold water,slip o skins, and remove cores. Coarsely choptomatoes.

Hot Pack: Combine prepared peppers, onions,and tomatoes and remaining ingredients in alarge saucepan. Heat to boiling, then simmer10 minutes. Fill hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch head-space. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspacei needed. Wipe rims o jars with a dampened,clean paper towel. Apply two-piece metal can-ning lids. Process in a boiling water canner ac-cording to the recommendations below.

Recommended process time or Chile Salsa in

a boiling water cannerProcess time at altitudes o

Style o

Pack

Jar

Size01,000 f 1,0016,000 f Above 6,000 f

HO pints 15 minutes 20 minutes 25 minutes

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IMPORTANT:Te only changes you can saely make in thissalsa recipe are to substitute bottled lemon juiceor the vinegar and to change the amount opepper and salt. Do not alter the proportions o

vegetables to acid and tomatoes because it mightmake the salsa unsae.

ReferencesSo Easy to Preserve. 5th ed. Cooperative Exten-

sion Service, Te University o Georgia Collegeo Agriculture, Athens College o Family andConsumer Sciences, College o Agricultural andEnvironmental Sciences, Bulletin 989 (revised2006).

Salsa Recipes for Canning. Hillers, Val and RichardDougherty, Washington State University Coop-erative Extension. (1992; revised 2000).

Compiled in August 2008 by Ohio State University Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences Educators Marisa Warrix, CuyahogaCounty, and Pam Leong, Shelby County.

Reviewed by Lydia Medeiros, Ph.D., R.D., Extension Specialist, Ohio State University Extension.

salsa: from garden to table

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