Water bath canning.....

It's that time of season (at least in the south) to start harvesting and preserving those wonderful fresh foods for the upcoming year!  Sorry for the delayed post, but I've been covered over with this task lately!  Call me naïve if you will, but I've never taken the time to read the labels on salsa and spaghetti sauce bought at the store.  They both have sugar in them!!  I honestly did not realize that, as when we make our own from scratch, we don't put any sugar in it.  We eat a lot of salsa.  A LOT.  Another wonderful (insert sarcasm here) health issue I have to deal with now is diabetes.  So avoidance of sugar is a good thing to do.  In light of that, I have decided to can enough salsa to last us a year, plus have a few jars to give to family too.  That means at least 14 batches of salsa to can!  I've managed to get 11 batches finished so far.  I'll hopefully be finishing up the last 3 batches today.  Yeah! 

The recipe I'm using tastes VERY good, is a bit spicy but not too hot and contains NO sugar!  I use a prepared spice package called Mrs. Wages Hot Salsa.  I get it from TSC (Tractor Supply), however it is available at many places that sell canning supplies as well.

The complete list of ingredients I use are: 

6 1/2 to 7 lbs of fresh tomatoes
6 green onions
2 large jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar
2 TBLS (tablespoons) of lime juice

I begin by washing the tomatoes, onions and peppers.  Then I take the skins off the tomatoes.  To do this easily, I slice them in half.  Place them face down on a cookie sheet and place under the broiler in the oven until the skins start to crinkle and turn dark or blackish.  Take them out and place a towel over them for 10 minutes.  Then remove the towel and take a pair of tongs to lift the skins right off the tomatoes!  It's really that easy!  Let the tomatoes cool and then you can chop them up and remove seeds by hand.  (Removing the seeds is what takes the longest time for me.)

Tomato skins just starting to darken under the broiler.

Skins are dark enough and will lift right off with a pair of tongs!

When I say to cover with a dish towel, this is exactly what I do for 10 minutes!  By doing this, the skins continue to steam for a bit longer and it makes removing them even that much easier.
 

While the tomatoes are under the broiler, I chop up the green onions.  I chop and include in the salsa the green stems too.  I also cut the jalapeno peppers in half and take out the seeds, then chop up in small pieces to add to the salsa.  If your skin is sensitive, you may want to wear gloves to handle the jalapeno peppers.  Also remember, do NOT touch your face (especially your eyes) after handling the peppers.  It will burn if you do!!!  I have trouble with the air borne properties of the peppers, after I cut them open.  It makes me cough and makes it hard for me to breath while I am taking the seeds out.  So, I wear a "mask" over my nose and mouth during this part of the process.

The tomatoes should be ready to add to the mixture now.  Cut or dice them up, removing as many of the seeds as you can during this process.  Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.  Then place in a large cooking pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

During this 20 minutes, start getting your canning jars heated up.  Once the simmer is completed, ladle the salsa into heated jars, leaving 1/2 inch head room in the jars.  Put on lids and place in canner.  You'll process the jars for 40 minutes in a hot water bath canner.  Remove the canner from the heat source, remove the canner lid and let the jars sit in the hot water for another 5 minutes.  Then remove and sit the jars on a towel for 24 hours.  Leave 1-2 inches between jars, so they will cool easier.  After 24 hours, check the lids to be sure they've sealed properly.  (If not, repeat the canning process for them again with a fresh lid.)  This recipe makes between 4-5 pint jars of salsa.

More canning info in the next blog post, due out Monday July 18th!  Stay cool out there in this summer heat!