Does anyone can their favorite made salsa? Or so do I need to add anything to it to make it shelf stable? I have a tonnnnn of tomatoes and have an amazing salsa recipe I want to try and can.
I do it all the time. Don’t need to add anything to it. Here’s my instructions for a salsa verde. You can ignore my ingredient list and use whatever you’d like, just focus more on the canning side. You can reuse sealing rings on jars, but always use new lids.
Realistically if your salsa is still hot like mine, you probably only need to simmer for 15-20min. If it has cooled, however, target the 45min or so like the instructions.
waterandbeats
You have to find a tested recipe from Ball, University of Georgia’s home food preservation site, or healthycanning.com. You can adjust the recipe in certain ways as long as you don’t reduce the acid called for or the acidic ingredients like tomatoes or tomatillos, or increase the low acid ingredients like onions or peppers. And then follow the rest of their procedures for safe canning regarding water bath, clean work environment, new lids, high altitude adjustment, head space, etc etc etc. It’s not that hard but you do need to read up and follow directions from a good source, which means avoiding most of the sources on the Internet other than those listed above. Totally worth it IMO!
TinaLouise55
Often you can find the ball canning book at your local library. If you google salsa recipe + extension you will get safe recipes from universities. I tend to use a lot from university of Georgia and Penn state university. Lots of choices great directions and I know they’re safe.
wick3dr0se
Some comments are a bit misleading yet refer to university books..
First off, you do need to add extra acidity. That is, unless your salsa is already acidic enough from the tomatoes somehow. Second, you definitely don’t need a book or specific ingredients. Manage your pH and canning properly and you’ll be fine
I would suggest washing the ingredients and roll boiling the jars for a good 5 minutes or more to sterilize them (keep them warm). Then simmer all of the ingredients for 15-20 minutes. Now you can do what you do with them. If you own a pH meter or strips, now is the time to ensure the pH is between, 3.4 to 4.6
After that you can fill the jars and wipe off any remnants, seal and screw it snug; Make sure to leave at least 1/2″ headspace. Then you’re back to the boiler with your filled jars for another 15-20 minutes. This further kills bacteria and creates a vacuum seal. Finally let them cool for 12-24 hours and make sure they are sealed properly
Deppfan16
come check out r/canning for safe canning information. The trouble with salsa is that tomatoes are a borderline acidic food, and you’re adding a bunch of low acid ingredients to it like onions and peppers. so you can’t just wing it. You need to follow safe tested recipes to ensure the acidity and processing is sufficient
1Negative_Person
Go to the library. Get books about food preservation. Read them. Follow those practices. This is deadly serious and shouldn’t be left to what the anonymous strangers on the internet say. I could tell you safe canning practices— you shouldn’t believe me. You don’t know me, and botulism is final.
7 Comments
You need sealing mason jars and heat
I do it all the time. Don’t need to add anything to it. Here’s my instructions for a salsa verde. You can ignore my ingredient list and use whatever you’d like, just focus more on the canning side. You can reuse sealing rings on jars, but always use new lids.
[Instructions](https://www.reddit.com/r/SalsaSnobs/comments/195iqhv/comment/khn8uuc/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Realistically if your salsa is still hot like mine, you probably only need to simmer for 15-20min. If it has cooled, however, target the 45min or so like the instructions.
You have to find a tested recipe from Ball, University of Georgia’s home food preservation site, or healthycanning.com. You can adjust the recipe in certain ways as long as you don’t reduce the acid called for or the acidic ingredients like tomatoes or tomatillos, or increase the low acid ingredients like onions or peppers. And then follow the rest of their procedures for safe canning regarding water bath, clean work environment, new lids, high altitude adjustment, head space, etc etc etc. It’s not that hard but you do need to read up and follow directions from a good source, which means avoiding most of the sources on the Internet other than those listed above. Totally worth it IMO!
Often you can find the ball canning book at your local library. If you google salsa recipe + extension you will get safe recipes from universities. I tend to use a lot from university of Georgia and Penn state university. Lots of choices great directions and I know they’re safe.
Some comments are a bit misleading yet refer to university books..
First off, you do need to add extra acidity. That is, unless your salsa is already acidic enough from the tomatoes somehow. Second, you definitely don’t need a book or specific ingredients. Manage your pH and canning properly and you’ll be fine
I would suggest washing the ingredients and roll boiling the jars for a good 5 minutes or more to sterilize them (keep them warm). Then simmer all of the ingredients for 15-20 minutes. Now you can do what you do with them. If you own a pH meter or strips, now is the time to ensure the pH is between, 3.4 to 4.6
After that you can fill the jars and wipe off any remnants, seal and screw it snug; Make sure to leave at least 1/2″ headspace. Then you’re back to the boiler with your filled jars for another 15-20 minutes. This further kills bacteria and creates a vacuum seal. Finally let them cool for 12-24 hours and make sure they are sealed properly
come check out r/canning for safe canning information. The trouble with salsa is that tomatoes are a borderline acidic food, and you’re adding a bunch of low acid ingredients to it like onions and peppers. so you can’t just wing it. You need to follow safe tested recipes to ensure the acidity and processing is sufficient
Go to the library. Get books about food preservation. Read them. Follow those practices. This is deadly serious and shouldn’t be left to what the anonymous strangers on the internet say. I could tell you safe canning practices— you shouldn’t believe me. You don’t know me, and botulism is final.