# Ideas for canned salsa?



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Harvest season is starting to wind down for frost sensitive crops, 2-4 weeks, and down to the last few bushels of tomatoes. Most will go into paste or spaghetti sauce but also want to make some salsa to utilize the peppers onions garlic also.

I've looked at some variations from UGA Food Preservation website:

National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Can Fruits

I can water bath or pressure can. Have the following ingredients fresh: tomatoes heirloom and roma paste, peppers bell jalepeno habanero and cayenne, onions, garlic, oregano, cilantro.

I don't have mild chiles so figure I can use bells and adjust hotness with the others. The habaneros will be for the extra hot. Anybody use cayannes? I use them mostly in spaghetti sauces or dry them for crushed red pepper

So roma paste tomatoes or full size heirlooms, a mix? I don't plan on peeling them regardless, same as I do with my sauces.

Some recipes call for lemon/lime juice, other call for vinegar. Some say you can use either (tested), others only tested with lemon/lime. Preferences here?

Open to all ideas as long as taste is good and process is safe.

Thanks in advance.

What other spices do you use?


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

I'm having one heck of a time finding precise information about canning anything with hot peppers in it. I've looked and looked.

I did however come upon information last week that said....the reason no information is available is that the it takes a considerable amount of money for the USDA to do the actual experimentation needed to come up with an accurate recipe for canning when the ingredients include acid and non acid foods. How much vinegar...lemon juice, etc, etc.

I really didn't think it would be as complicated as it apparently is.

I'm tending to trust that it is because I want to make hot pepper sauce and though I can find plenty of recipes...I can't find any that instruct on how to can it.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Robie said:


> I'm having one heck of a time finding precise information about canning anything with hot peppers in it. I've looked and looked.
> 
> I did however come upon information last week that said....the reason no information is available is that the it takes a considerable amount of money for the USDA to do the actual experimentation needed to come up with an accurate recipe for canning when the ingredients include acid and non acid foods. How much vinegar...lemon juice, etc, etc.
> 
> ...


A safe way for mixtures is to pressure can for the vegetable that has the longest process time. This is for mixtures without acid ingredients and added acids (vinegar, lemon juice, citric acid). Peppers take 35 min at 10 psi under 1000 ft elv., for pints.

For pickled pepper mixtures see the link above for some of the salsas. Just adjust the hotness with the type of hot pepper you use . I'm sure you can make "El diablo" sauces if you just used peppers like habaneros or Scottish bonnets.


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## Targetshooter (Dec 4, 2015)

wow tons of good info , thanks for posting , I need all the help I can get .


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

I use lime juice, cilantro, a dash of salt and mild peppers. You could go to the farmers market and get some jalapenos. Did you grow any tomatillos, I use 1/4 tomatillos and 3/4 tomatoes. I like the texture you get with the tomatillos.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Auntie said:


> I use lime juice, cilantro, a dash of salt and mild peppers. You could go to the farmers market and get some jalapenos. Did you grow any tomatillos, I use 1/4 tomatillos and 3/4 tomatoes. I like the texture you get with the tomatillos.


No tomatillos but have romas, lots of jalepenos


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Update:

All the recipes I saw were water bath, and very adamant about the ratios of ingredients to amounts of acid (vinegar/lemon juice) to be added, and be safe. But I wanted a sauce that had a taste/hotness I liked and able to use the fresh vegetables I had on hand...........

So I decided to still be safe, but used my own ingredients without acids, but instead pressure canned for 40 min at 10 psi < 1000' elv. (safe for peppers/onions, even mushrooms), same as I do for my spaghetti sauces that have all sorts of stuff added.

Started with a base of roma and slicer tomatoes, added bell peppers boiled that down, then started a 2nd mixture of onions jalapenos and garlic. When the two were mixed the sauce was still a little too mild so then added cayanne peppers until good and hot along with oregano parsley and cilantro. This resulted in a thick sauce that would be very hot by store brought standards. When I canned the pints I made a few "El Diablos"; that is a whole diced habanero pepper to each pint.

Will post the results when I get some unbiased taste testers, particularly the "ED" pints.

Most all my tomatoes are gone now, just a few stragglers left for BLTs, but lots of peppers. The surplus cayannes and habaneros will get dehydrated, the jalepenos pickled with garlic and spices, and the bells blanched and frozen. Might even get more if the killing frost holds off and I cover them for mild frosts.........


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