Is this salsa recipe safe to can?

Yes. This recipe was developed by a Master Canner and has been in my husband's family for 40 years. It has also been verified by the OSU Home Food Preservation center.

Can you add in more peppers?

You cannot add in more peppers, but you can substitute the type of peppers. This salsa recipe for canning uses 2 1/2 cups of chopped bell peppers along with 3-4 medium jalapeños. If you want more heat, then I recommend subbing in some of the chopped bell peppers for spicier peppers. When I make this hot, I usually add 2 cups chopped bell peppers and 1/2 cup of chopped jalapeños.

Can I use lemon juice instead of vinegar?

Yes, you can use bottled lemon juice instead of vinegar for this recipe in the same amount. Fresh lemon or fresh lime juice is not pH standardized and therefore cannot be used in this recipe, but bottled lemon is safe. However, as you can see from the comments, even if you don't think you like vinegar in your salsa it really doesn't taste like vinegar! I love the original version posted here and recommend it, but bottled lemon juice is also OK.

Yes, salt does not affect pH levels so you are welcome to use less salt than written here.

Is cilantro OK to add?

You can add dried cilantro to this salsa canning recipe if you'd like. However, I'd recommend instead adding in fresh cilantro when you go to serve this salsa recipe instead. Cooking the cilantro will lessen its flavor and make it darker and softer and may not be appealing in the canned salsa.

How much does this recipe make?

As written, this recipe will make ~7-8 pint jars of salsa. As long as you followed the ingredients and didn't make substitutions, it's OK if you get a little less. This will depend on how long you let the salsa cook for, how large your tomato chunks are and how watery your tomatoes are.

The Best Homemade Salsa for Canning

Author: Alex Caspero
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 7-8 pints of salsa 1x
Category: canning, sauce, condiment
Method: canning
Cuisine: American, Mexican Inspired
Diet: Vegan

Description

The BEST homemade salsa for canning. Have fresh tomatoes? Then you’ll want to make this salsa, either hot or mild. It’s so delicious and inexpensive to make!

Author: Alex Caspero
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 7-8 pints of salsa 1x
Category: canning, sauce, condiment
Method: canning
Cuisine: American, Mexican Inspired
Diet: Vegan

Author: Alex Caspero
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 7-8 pints of salsa 1x
Category: canning, sauce, condiment
Method: canning
Cuisine: American, Mexican Inspired
Diet: Vegan

Scale

Ingredients

9 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes (they must be peeled first, see directions below or tutorial here)
2 1/2 cups chopped green bell peppers
2 1/2 cups chopped white onion
4 medium jalapeños, chopped (see notes)
8 large cloves garlic, chopped
6 teaspoons canning salt
1 cup white vinegar
1 (12-ounce) can tomato paste

Instructions

Remove the skins from the tomatoes. To do this, make an “X” in the bottom of the tomatoes, then place in boiling water for 60 seconds. Then, remove the tomatoes from the water and place directly into a bowl if iced water to shock. The skins should slip right off. (I use my spider to transfer the tomatoes from the boiling water to the ice water without getting splashed.)
Make the salsa. Place all of the ingredients in a large pot (you will need a 10qt. saucepan for this batch, or split the ingredients among 2 saucepans) and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until thickened and cooked.
Prepare cans to be sealed. Ladle the cooked salsa into clean, sterile jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a damp, clean, paper towel, then place lids on top. To make filling easy, I highly recommend a wide funnel designed for canning jars.
Process using a water bath. To do this, bring a large saucepan filled with water to a boil. Your saucepan needs to be tall enough to have the water cover the jars by 2 inches- though the jars will displace some of the water as they are added.
Add the jars to the water bath and cover with a lid. Process for 30 minutes, then remove. I use these tongs to make things easy.
Let the jars sit for 24 hours. The salsa will remain good in the jar for up to 18 months… if you can keep yourself from eating it all before then!

Notes

You can make this salsa as spicy or hot as you’d like. For a hot salsa, I use 4 Serrano (or habanero peppers) with the seeds. For a milder salsa, seed 1-2 of the jalapeños before chopping. For very mild salsa, seed all of the jalapeños. Remember that the heat will lessen as the salsa sits, so I tend to error on being spicy then not. It’s hard to correct spice level so if you don’t like things spicy, then start with only 1 jalapeño and go from there.

However, note that you can decrease the amount of jalapeños but you cannot increase for pH balance. If you prefer a very hot salsa, then you’ll want to sub in a hotter pepper for the jalapeños OR you can sub jalapeños for some of the green pepper.

Find it online: https://www.delishknowledge.com/the-best-homemade-salsa-for-canning/

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