Salsa in winter

Last summer I had canned Salsa and thought I would get another batch of tomatoes to make more. Well, at the end of the season I couldn't get the tomatoes I had hoped for and now I find myself with extra canned tomatoes but down to my last jar of Salsa. So, what I am going to do is take the extra tomatoes and make some Salsa. Problem solved!

I have a super easy recipe for Salsa that fits our tastes. In our house we call Cilantro the divorce herb as my husband can't stand it. And since this recipe doesn't call for it to begin with, we are good!

The only ingredients in this Salsa are:

Tomatoes
Onions
Jalapeno Peppers
Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt

I pulled all of the Tomatoes that I wanted to use and found that I had 27 pints... so we will be making a large batch :) No such thing as too much Salsa right?


I have a food processor that I LOVE. However i like my Salsa a little on the chunky side so I chopped all of it by hand. When I make it fresh I even leave the skins on, but these canned tomatoes already had them removed.

After I got it all chopped up and ready to go I cooked it on the stove top for 30 to 40 minutes. That way it is not too thin. Since this batch turned out to be so large I had to pull out a couple of tricks for heating the jars. The first batch of jars just get heated in the hot water bath as that water gets hot. But the additional jars were heated in the oven at its lowest temperature, on my oven it is 170 degrees. After I got the first batch processing I filled the additional jars and kept them in the oven to keep them hot. I ended up with 4 batches of salsa, or I should say 4 rounds of Salsa through the hot water bath. Another thing to remember is to adjust the times in your recipe for altitude. I am at 5,000 feet (roughly) and so I have to add 10 minutes to my processing time. Check your cookbooks or online to see what adjustments are for your altitude.

Here is the recipe I use:

5 pounds of ripe tomatoes (approximately 8 cups)
3 cups chopped onions
1 cup seeded and chopped chili peppers.
1 cup cider vinegar (labled 5% acidity)
3 1/2 teaspoons salt

Dip tomatoes in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds until skins loosen. Dip in cold water and slip off skins. Core and chop tomatoes. In a 6 to 8 quart saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce head and simmer for 30 minutes, or to desired thickness. Immediately fill hot pint jars with salsa, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Carefully run a non metalic utensil down inside of jars to remove trapped air bubbles. Wipe jar tops and threads clean. Place hot lids on jars and screw bands on firmly. Process in Boiling Water Canner for 15 min.

Yields: 6 Pints

The cookbook that I got the recipe out of is an old Kerr book that I was given by a friend. I love it because it has a lot of low sugar jam recipes in it as well as some others that we will be seeing more of soon. In case you want to find this little gem here is what it looks like.