Preserving homemade salsa

[treacheroustexan]

I have a bunch of jalapenos and tomatoes this year, and wanted to go ahead and make some salsa with them. What is the best way to preserve the salsa? I won't eat it all before it goes bad..I think my only two options are a boiling water bath in a mason jar to seal them or freezing it. Any advice/recipes/thoughts?

 

[brewgar]

Hot water bath not sufficient for salsa. Would need a pressure canner. Freezing is your friend here.

 

[Oldskewl]

I hot water bath my fresh salsa every year. Just be sure to give it enough time. I do pints for 20 minutes. Last year I was in a hurry and only did 10 minutes and half of them popped open 2-3 weeks later. I do add a 1/2 tsp of kosher or sea salt to the jar before I put the lid on.

 

[flars]

Information here may help you decide if you want to use a water bath, pressure canner, or go with freezing.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/salsa.html

Most important is the pH of your salsa after cooking. A pH of less than 4.6 can allow the growth of botulism.

 

[Oldskewl]

I do use lime juice is my salsa recipe which must raise the PH. After reading that article I guess I am lucky to still be alive after eating my canned fresh salsa for about the last 8 or 9 years.

 

[bilder]

I can mine too. Just finished a jar from 2015 that was fine.

I add a touch of vinegar or lime juice as well.

Ball and Mrs. Wages both make a pretty good salsa mix for canning.

 

[z-bob]

Here's a tested recipe that's safe for boiling water bath (BWB) canning. It's good too:

Chile Salsa
(from USDA bulletin 539) yield: 6 to 8 pints
5 pounds tomatoes
2 pounds chile peppers
1 pound onions, chopped
1 cup vinegar (5%)
3 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

Roast and peel peppers if they have tough skins (not necessary for jalapeños or serranos), remove seeds and stems, chop. Scald and peel tomatoes; chop. Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle into pint jars, leave 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Notes: I generally use jalapeños, seeds and all, and I find that ½ cup bottled lemon juice plus ½ cup white vinegar tastes better than using all vinegar (or all lemon juice.)

 

[Dcpcooks]

I do use lime juice is my salsa recipe which must raise the PH. After reading that article I guess I am lucky to still be alive after eating my canned fresh salsa for about the last 8 or 9 years.

Lime is acidic why do think it would raise your ph?

 

[Homercidal]

I do use lime juice is my salsa recipe which must raise the PH. After reading that article I guess I am lucky to still be alive after eating my canned fresh salsa for about the last 8 or 9 years.

There is no guarantee that a batch of salsa WILL give you a toxic reaction, but there is no guarantee that it WON'T either.

All it takes is one bad batch to kill you.

 

[Oldskewl]

Lime is acidic why do think it would raise your ph?

I stand corrected. I worded that incorrectly. I was thinking backwards after reading the document. Additional acid from lemon or lime juice or vinegar should increase the acidity and help in keeping the PH under 4.6.

 

[JDL]

Could always pull out the pH meter and test it before the water bath and make sure it is below 4.6.

One thing I have noticed is in older canning books that more readily used it the boil times were much longer than I see now.

 

[ericbw]

If you follow a tested recipe (Ball, NCHP, etc. ) you should be safe with 20 minute water bath processing.

If you're just throwing it together, then it's more questionable.

I just did a double batch of salsa verde using a recipe from Ball.