Re: Annie's Salsa

**sanderson** 8/25/2016, 11:22 pm

Thanks for bumping this topic. Love the recipe.

**Turan** 8/11/2017, 4:08 pm

My counter is getting covered with tomatoes and tomatillos and we are almost out of salsa. I froze the first picking of peppers and a bag of cilantro. There are coriander seeds to pick. I just dug the garlic. It is time to start thinking about salsa making!

Abiqua Ike 8/11/2017, 6:01 pm

I discover I really like home made salsa verde and that tomatillos are easy to grow.

But the plants got a LOT bigger than I thought they would. Also they grow up then spread out with a "drop zone" under them. I will have to give each one a tomato tub to itself and you need at least two for cross pollination and I want at least three. This is gonna cut into my tomato count, but looking at this year's tomatoes, we're about to be "assaulted" so maybe cutting back is in order.

**Turan** 8/14/2017, 12:42 am

I think 3 tomatillos this year was 1 too many. The plants are huge this year.
!2 cups of salsa are in the canner right now. This batch was half tomatillo and half tomato.

kygardener 9/5/2017, 7:46 am

Turan, thanks for bumping this up. I had not ever thought of making homemade salsa until I saw this recipe. I thought I would just try a batch to finish off some of my harvest. Yum! Made a second batch last night.
Does anyone use homemade tomato sauce in this instead of canned? If so, what is your recipe? It seems such a shame to buy tomato sauce when I have so many tomatoes laying here.
I am freezing this not canning it, so I do not have to worry about the acidity changing.

**Turan** 9/5/2017, 10:45 am

kygardener, I love this recipe as well. I have made my own tweaks to it, I think they are all documented in this thread somewhere. So far I have made one batch this year. We seem to like it with half tomatoes and half tomatillos, that doesn't alter the acidity.

Yes, I use my own tomato paste. The paste is for adjusting how thick or thin you like your salsa. We like it fairly thick, so it doesn't run out of a burrito or off a chip too much. I start the salsa recipe by oven roasting my tomatoes, thus evaporating a lot of water off, I measure after the roasting. When I can tomato sauce I use oven roasted tomatoes as well and after pureeing them I often fill a crock pot and let them cook down a bit further. That thick sauce is what I add to the salsa recipe if it needs it.

This is the first Labor Day weekend I have not made salsa during in a long time. I need those San Marzano tomatoes to RIPEN BLAST IT ALL!. Rolling Eyes

kygardener 9/9/2017, 4:50 pm

So I can just roast tomatoes, puree them and then cook them down to the thickness I want? At what temperature and for how long should I roast them? How many pounds of tomatoes to get a cup of sauce? Thanks!

**Turan** 9/9/2017, 5:49 pm

kygardener wrote:So I can just roast tomatoes, puree them and then cook them down to the thickness I want? At what temperature and for how long should I roast them? How many pounds of tomatoes to get a cup of sauce? Thanks!

Yes, you can.
There are too many variables to give specifics. It takes many more pounds and takes longer when using big slicer tomatoes than paste types, but the result still tastes good. So much depends on what you have and what you like.

Currently I have tomatoes and tomatillos cooling in the oven after being roasted. Peppers and garlic and onions are waiting on the counter. This should be the last batch needed for this year.

kygardener 9/16/2017, 2:54 pm

Turan,

Thanks again for the info. I ended up using Better Boys, plum and Brandywines to make the sauce. I see what you mean about all the variables. It is a good way to use up excess tomatoes. And a good reason to make another batch of sala Smile

kygardener 10/2/2017, 9:32 am

Another salsa question. Does anyone use cherry tomato's in this? Or, does that not work well?

**Turan** 10/2/2017, 10:24 am

Sure, I use cherry tomoatoes. Mine tend to be very sweet so I taste test to see if I need to correct for that. Also they are very watery so I want to thicken them first. They would be really tasty in a peach tomato salsa, but that is a different recipe than Annies, I think Ball canning has a recipe that can be canned.

**sanderson** 8/2/2018, 3:50 am

It's time to remind everyone of this recipe for Salsa. I think I made it in 2014 and still have a couple of jars. I just wish I could remember whether I used lemon juice or vinegar, because we decided that I should make it using the other option. geek

kygardener 8/6/2018, 12:43 pm

Sanderson, I used the lemon juice and it was delicious. I have not tried the vinegar.

Thanks for the reminder. This is the best salsa recipe ever!

**sanderson** 8/6/2018, 4:03 pm

Glad you like it!

kygardener 10/21/2019, 8:05 pm

Just made a another batch of this salsa and I have a couple more questions.

- I have been removing the seeds from my tomatoes but the recipe does not specify that. Do others remove the seeds or leave them?

- Are there any shortcuts to peeling, deseeding, and hand chopping the tomatoes?

**Turan** 10/21/2019, 9:33 pm

I make this every year and never deseed, or peel.

I quarter the tomatoes and roast them to thicken them. Then I chop with the food processor.

I made 12 cups and 4 pints this year.

**sanderson** 10/21/2019, 10:48 pm

I just dice with skin intact. Seeds are okay unless one is making a V-8 tomato juice. Very Happy

kygardener 10/28/2019, 2:20 pm

thank you. that will really cut down on the prep time especially if using a food processor to chop them. ( I had not tried the tomatoes in the food processor, I was afraid that would make them mush)

**sanderson** 7/23/2020, 2:18 pm

Bump! It's that time of the year when the tomatoes are coming in.

I'm making Annie's Salsa today. Tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, garlic, paprika peppers are taking over the counter tops. Very Happy

**sanderson** 7/27/2020, 4:16 pm

Very pleased.

**sanderson** 6/28/2021, 4:45 pm

It's that time, again. A winning recipe to use up extra tomatoes. I don't peel the tomatoes and it saves quite a bit of time and work.

Remember to measure the ingredients and follow the recipe exact if you are home canning and follow the safety 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

**donnainzone5** 6/28/2021, 5:58 pm

I'd really like to try this recipe, but have no experience with canning. Also, I'd need to omit the sugar and use sugar-free tomato paste, assuming I can find one, or make my own. Do you have any advice?

**sanderson** 6/29/2021, 3:24 am

1. I omit the sugar for personal preference. I don't like sweet tomato products.
2. I also don't add the tomato paste and sauce. They are optional.
3. This acidic recipe only requires a hot water bath, no pressure canner required. You could vacuum seal and freeze if you aren't ready to try sealed jars.
4. I don't peel the tomatoes, only core them before dicing.

I bought a used newish Ball Canning book off eBay when I started pressure canning in 2014. I sold the canner in 2019 when Santa brought me a Victorio aluminum Steam Canner. Soooo much easier to use and way much lighter. The down side is that only acidic foods, such as tomato recipes and fruits can be steamed safely.

I'll try to locate the full instructional recipe for Annie's Salsa. Found it! It was posted earlier in this thread.

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]

**donnainzone5** 6/29/2021, 11:54 am

Thanks for the info, Sanderson! Assuming I manage a tomato and/or tomatillo crop this year, I think I'll give Annie's recipe a try.

**sanderson** 6/21/2022, 1:33 am

When the garden gives you more than you can eat, it's Annie's Salsa time!

I know this is not an approve recipe but it is acidic so I risk it.

This time:
3/4 C. of apple cider vinegar + 1/4 c. or bottled lemon juice
1 Tble. sugar
1 8 oz. jar of 2021 home made tomato sauce
2 Tble tomato paste

Made 6 pints + 1 half pint which be eaten asap as the lid is used.

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