Canning Salsa

For the last several years, Mark and I have been canning salsa as our tomatoes ripen, storing up for the winter. And the fall and the spring. He eats a lot of salsa, which is okay, as it's a very healthy food by itself. And still sort of healthy with chips.

This year, we moved to higher ground: 6300 feet, to be more exact. Not having gardened at this altitude before, I was highly disappointed when nothing really worked except the strawberries and blackberries. (The blackberries are new, too, so I won't see any fruit for a while, though the plants have been growing strong all summer, and I'm pleased with that.)

Still, canning salsa is a necessary tradition from an economical standpoint. Even if I buy tomatoes, if I get a good price it's still a better deal than purchasing enough salsa over the course of the next year. And if I use local tomatoes, the flavor is better. At least that's the hope. Mark has traditionally been the mixer and taster, so this year when my steal of a deal on tomatoes ($20 for 30 lbs) coincided with his 170-mile bike race, I knew I'd be in for a daunting task. Not only would I need to be the recipe developer, but it would need to be up to Mark's standard, since he's the consumer. As he relaxed and then snoozed on the couch, I would periodically bring him samples to taste. They passed muster, or maybe even surpassed. In any case, we were both very happy with the recipe, and I was happy I'd kept careful records so I don't have to repeat the stress of perfecting the ingredient list each year.

Most online recipes we've found for salsa include large amounts of vinegar, presumably to keep the pH level plenty low for the boiling water-method of canning. When we started the tradition a few years ago, I did some research. The pH level needs to be at or below 4.6. I bought some pH testing strips that bottom out at 4.5. As long as my salsa is registering at least as bright in color as the 4.5 I'm safe. We've actually never had a problem with this, even without the added lime juice. If you loaded your salsa up with a lot of bell peppers – at least a few cups – you'd probably run into problems and need some vinegar. But, really, you'd need more than just vinegar, because the flavor wouldn't be right in my book. I keep my recipe similar to the same way we make fresh salsa: tomatoes, onions, chiles, cilantro, and salt. I add just a bit of lime to my canned version to give back a little of the tang that's lost from cooking.

As a side note, I'm going to tell you how I choose limes when at the grocery store. (I keep thinking I should do a post on picking produce but have yet to do it.) The thinner the skins, the more time the fruit has had to fill them out on the tree. This means they also shouldn't have large dimpled sections on the ends. If they're all looking pretty good, then it comes down to weight. Compare several by holding them in your hand, one at a time, and choose the heaviest. The heaviest ripened the longest on the tree and is heaviest because it has the most lime juice, and it has the best flavor as a bonus.

As far as special equipment goes, I highly recommend a food processor. I think mine is a 10-cup. You could go as low as a 7-cup, but lower than that and you'll add a lot of time to the whole process, as will going the knife and cutting board direction.

You'll also need a very large pot for a boiling water bath, which you probably already have if you're considering this. I just have a large thin aluminum pot that I use, not specifically made for this, which I bought dirt cheap at a Latin market a long time ago. I don't have a rack for the bottom, though that would be lovely, but I use cut pieces of old flour sack towels (any very thin towel or fabric will do) to wrap the bottom and sides of each jar. This keeps them from banging against each other and seems to work just fine.

Lastly, you'll need a 9-qt. pot for cooking the salsa in. If you don't have one this large, prepare half of the recipe at a time and use a 5-qt. pot.

This recipe makes a medium spicy salsa.

I made two batches of this over the weekend. The second batch, the one I did without several stops to keep track of the process, took me 2 hours from start to finish, including cleanup. Not too shabby, really. Only slightly more than jam.


Canned Salsa
yield: about 7 quarts

15 lbs. juicy, ripe tomatoes (preferably local, as the flavor will be best)
3 large bunches - 9 oz. - cilantro, stems and all, washed
2 poblano chiles
12 large serrano chiles
4 very large (5 lbs. pre-trimmed weight) Walla Walla onions
1 1/2 T. Kosher salt, plus additional as needed
juice of 2 limes, or more to taste

Rinse and core all of the tomatoes. In batches of 4 tomatoes (approximately 1 1/4 lbs.), pulse the tomatoes in a food processor about 8 times, until there are no large chunks left (this will make it easier for dipping once you get to the chip stage). Transfer the chopped tomatoes to a colander suspended over or inside a bowl with room to drip juice. Repeat the process.

After three batches of chopped tomatoes, use a spoon or clean hands to stir the tomatoes in the colander to separate all the juice from the fruit (my tomatoes were almost half juice by weight). Turn the tomatoes out into another bowl and pour the juice into a large pot. Set the pot over medium high to high heat. (You'll want a large pot or it will end up spitting tomato juice all over your kitchen!)

Repeat this entire process with the remaining tomatoes, adding the juice to the reducing liquid as you go, until finished. Continue reducing the liquid while working on the next steps, but stir it occasionally and keep an eye on it. You'll want it to be about a third of the original total amount of juice and it should have the consistency of slightly loose spaghetti sauce.

Rinse off all of the parts of the food processor and put it back together. (You could be really sloppy and ignore this part, but that's messy and a bit disgusting.) One bunch at a time, chop the cilantro in the processor until very fine. Large pieces of cilantro are a good idea for a fresh garnish, not for cooked salsa. Add the cilantro to the tomatoes. Repeat with remaining cilantro. Rinse the food processor again and put it back together.

Peel the onions and cut them into wedges. Process them in small batches - one at a time - until very fine, about 11 quick pulses. Rinse the food processor again.

Cut the ends off the poblanos and serranos. Slice the serranos in half lengthwise and process them until very fine, scraping down the sides twice to make sure the pieces are homogenous. Add them to the tomatoes. Slice the poblanos in large pieces and process them until just as fine as the serranos. Add them to the tomatoes also. Rinse the food processor out completely and set aside for cleaning later.

Add 1 1/2 T. Kosher salt to the tomatoes and stir all the ingredients together. This is a delicious fresh salsa and you could stop here if you had a huge crowd to serve, but you probably don't. If you want to, you can reserve a cup or two of fresh salsa to keep in the refrigerator; just remember it will taste best over the next two days.

Once your liquids have reduced to the right consistency (which is probably right about now), add the salsa to the tomato juice. Stir the reduced liquid and the salsa together thoroughly and bring to a boil.

While you're waiting for the salsa to boil, prepare your next line of equipment: fill your water bath pot a little over half full of hot liquid, cover, and bring to a boil; wash and rinse your jars, lids, and bands in dangerously hot water and set them on a rack to dry as you near filling time; and have your rags or rack on hand, whatever you are using in your boiling water canner.

Let the salsa boil for 5-10 minutes, as the taste will change once this happens, then add lime and additional salt as desired. I added the juice of two limes, but my tomatoes had a bright flavor; you may choose to add more lime. I ended up adding 1 T. more of salt.

Using your canning funnel and a mug or measuring glass, fill a jar to the top, leaving only the slightest amount of space (one-eighth inch or less) at the top. Place a lid and tighten a band on top. Repeat until the salsa is all allocated. One by one, wrap your jars in a thin cloth that is large enough to reach the lid on 2-3 sides, then, using a jar lifter, ease the jar into the boiling water. Process at least 30 minutes, 40 minutes or so at high elevation (that's me!).

Using the jar lifter, place each jar on a cooling rack until room temperature. Make sure all the lids are sealed once cool. Wipe off the lids and label them, then store for later use.


Note: I can salsa and jam in quarts because we go through it quickly. If you're not that sort, go ahead and use pints. You'll process them in boiling water in two batches.