Annie's Salsa

If you like salsa, this an approved recipe for home canning and is delicious. You can eat it fresh or freeze it. I am posting this now in case you want to plant the veggies needed. If you google the the title you will see lot's more info. I made 30 pints last year, I have 3 left and lots of requests for more. Remeber to measure the ingrediants and follow the recipe exact if you are home canning and follow the saftey guidelines. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.html

ANNIE’S SALSA
8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained
2 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper
3 – 5 chopped jalapenos
6 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp pepper
1/8 cup canning salt
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (may leave out)
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar (may use lime or lemon juice or any combo of each, must = 1 cup)
16 oz. tomato sauce (may leave out)
16 oz tomato paste (may leave out )
Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, use ½” headspace, process BWB 15 minutes.
Makes 6 pints

Thanks for this - I've been looking for a good canning-approved salsa recipe. I canned some last year that was delicious, but I wasn't certain is was safe for canning when I did it, and then I went and lost the recipe anyway. Do you know where this recipe came from? I assume the vinegar/lemon juice (acid) is what makes a salsa recipe canning approved?

If you search the Garden Web in the harvest section you will see tons of info on this recipe. "Annie" came up with the recipe and had it sent to an extension office for approval. They have had long discussions on variations of ingrediants over there.

Scott

Thanks for the follow up Scott!

Another location for Annie's Salsa Recipe, with adjustments.
http://blog.hippoflambe.com/2010/10/annies-salsa-one-to-judge-all-other.html

this is almost exactly as our family recipe...minus the sugar

landarch wrote:this is almost exactly as our family recipe...minus the sugar

I omit the sugar but use about 1/4 cup of honey, a touch of sweet and flavor.  

I get a little sweetness from roasted corn.

I do add a bit of brown sugar to my winter chili.

Thanks for posting. This recipe seems to be so well received, and I was looking for a different water bath tomato salsa recipe. I'm penciling in W or Sat for making this recipe.

Wow. This stuff is good. I'll definitely be making more this season.

In the link that discusses substitutions there was a choice of vinegar, lemon or lime juice, or apple cider vinegar.  I used apple cider vinegar and the salsa was pretty good but far more tangy than I expected.  What do you use? Have some of you experimented and prefer one over the other?  I'm not sure which one I'll try next time but I'm not using cider vinegar, for sure.

I use the bottled lemon juice. Tastes great! 

Thanks and glad to hear that Camp,  I have both ACV and lemon juice in the fridge and couldn't decide which to use.  I think next time its going to be lemon juice. Anybody try something else?

I just did a dozen cups and 3 pints of this. Yummm!
I used a couple cups of tomatillos that I roasted, pablano and anaheim peppers that i also roasted and seeded, and sweet onions along with my tomatoes etc. I did use the sugar and whole cumin seeds plus ground cumin and pepper. And I used wine vinegar. It did not taste right so I added bottled lime juice and that did the trick. I think salsa is usually made with lemon and lime juice so the vinegars do not taste right. The sugar will mellow the tang though.

Great! Good to know that lime juice works real well in addition to lemon juice that Camp uses.  Thanks!

Do you think you can save the salsa by adding some lemon/lime juice now? It can be still be canned with that adding to the acid levels.

I have 2 pints of this salsa in my pressure canner now. I only made 1/4 of the recipe as I needed 2 more pints of something to put in with a few remaining pints of chick peas I was putting up. I used lime juice and it is so good raw that I went back & forth about whether or not to can it. I'm sure it'll be more like spaghetti sauce once finished since the beans need 40 min on hi pressure.

I'll be making more of this to eat raw, fersure.

CC

Can't wait to pop a lid!  

Oh nice, Rooster.  Mom and I ate a whole pint today...  
Total yummo!
 

CC

Oh yum, I haven't done any salsa yet this year but I did recently eat some of last years 

I just made a bunch of fresh salsa and am freezing it.  We love it fresh, so it doesn't last long enough to spoil, LOL!  

I'm going to have to think about doing some canning with the rest of my tomato crop that's coming soon.  Thanks for all the ideas,
aj

I made Annie's Salsa today.  It is absolutely AWESOME!  I used the lemon juice instead of the apple cider vinegar.

I also roasted the tomatoes in a large, roasting pan, in order to remove the skins and give the tomatoes a roasted flavor.  I cut the tomatoes in half and layered them skin side down in the roasting pan.  I cut the top core out, but left the seeds.

I built three layers of tomato halves, brushing each half with olive oil and then sprinkling each layer with 1 tsp. cumin, generously sprinkled black pepper, 3 minced garlic cloves and 1/2 cup onions.  I repeated this for each of three layers.  I then put the lid on and baked on 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  I then strained the liquid off by pouring through a strainer (which also caught the minced garlic and chopped onion).  I put a pot beneath the strainer to capture the juice and put it in the fridge to use as a soup broth or for making Mexican rice.

I then removed the skins and measured out 8 cups of tomatoes and started from the top of the recipe, adding all the spices, garlic and onions I used for roasting back in.  I also used lemon juice instead apple cider vinegar; and used all the ingredients listed - including the tomato paste and tomato sauce.  I only used 12 oz. of the tomato paste, because the can I bought was 12 ozs. and I didn't want to open another can and waste it.  I bought my tomato sauce in 8 oz. cans, so I used the full 16 ozs. called for in the recipe.

This made 8 full pints of salsa, including 1/4 cup for tasting the flavor.  It was eaten warm.  This salsa is AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME and should be added to every gardeners canning repertoire.  Next time, I'll probably can it in half pints for gifting.

Annie's Salsa: One to judge all other salsas by






Everyone should have a great salsa canning recipe.  A great salsa recipe is the perfect answer to what can I snack on, but even more importantly can be brought to a potluck with a bag of tortilla chips and not be frowned upon, even by the guests who slaved over their stoves before attending the party.  I remember one time I brought this salsa, we decided to attend at the last minute as we were getting ready for vacation.  In a panic I grabbed a jar of salsa and tortilla chips as we wrangled the boys into the car.  My salsa was not the only one in attendance, although it was the only one that was home canned.  It sat on the table, mostly forgotten, the other salsa was in front of it on the table.  However 4 months later the hostess called, asking if I had any jars of salsa left and if I might sell her one.  Apparently a jar of my salsa was the only thing her husband asked for at Christmas time.

"My salsa" is really my friend Annie's salsa.  She spent years perfecting the recipe, once she could get everyone in her family to agree it was perfect, she somehow managed to get it tested to see if she could safely can it.  I know she had a friend who worked for her local extension service, however I suspect she also bribed them with salsa.  This salsa is safe to can as written.  There are a few things you can change while still maintaining the proper balance of acidity and texture so it is safe to can.  It is important not to alter the recipe in a way to lower the acidity or texture.  Salsa is consumed straight from the jar without any further cooking which means it has no safety back up.

[size]


ANNIE’S SALSA 
Tomatoes are roughly chopped into about 1/2 inch or larger pieces and the other vegetables should be cut into 1/4 inch pieces.

8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained 
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper (substitute red or spicy peppers so long as total volume is the same or less)
3 – 5 chopped jalapenos
6 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp black pepper
1/8 cup canning salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar (or substitute bottled lemon juice) 
16 oz. tomato sauce, this refers to cans of plain tomato sauce, not pasta sauce
16 oz tomato paste

Combine all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch head space, process pints for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

(note: This recipe can be safely canned in pints, not larger.  If you wish to can it in smaller jars use the same processing time)

Approved Salsa Tweaks


Tomatoes: Green tomatoes or tomatillos can be substituted for some or all of the red tomatoes, do not reduce total volume.


Onions: total quantity may be lowered or eliminated to your taste.  Do not increase total volume

Peppers: The total volume of green peppers and  jalapenos is 1 3/4 cups, you may use any combination of spicy and sweet peppers including red peppers to make up the total volume of 1 3/4 cups. I usually use a mix of spicy peppers for a more complex flavor instead of all jalapenos.  Do not increase total volume.

Garlic: Do not increase the total volume of garlic

Cumin, Black Pepper, Canning Salt, Sugar: It is safe to vary the total of any of these dried spices and seasonings either up or down as you prefer

Cilantro: total quantity may be lowered or eliminated to your taste, you can also substitute fresh parsley if you prefer.  Do not increase total volume

Apple Cider Vinegar: You may use any vinegar that is 5% acidity or more in place of the apple cider vinegar.  You can also use bottled lemon juice in place of the vinegar.  Do not reduce total volume, may be increased

Tomato paste and sauce are both optional items, they are only there to improve the texture of the finished product.

Jar Size: You can process this salsa in smaller jars if you want, it would need the same processing time in the water bath canner.  It is not tested and approved for larger jars.[/size]

Why peel the tomatoes?  Can I leave the skins in

My free tomato haul at the farmer's market last night:  The owner said if I find some good ones, to enjoy eating them.  I thanked him for the permission because I never eat anything I score there.

sanderson wrote:Why peel the tomatoes?  Can I leave the skins in

My free tomato haul at the farmer's market last night:  The owner said if I find some good ones, to enjoy eating them.  I thanked him for the permission because I never eat anything I score there.

I don't peel my tomatoes, but the variety I use has very thin skin.