Salsa

1. Step 1 - Selecting the tomatoes

2. It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better quality tomatoes!

3. At right is a picture of tomatoes from my garden - they are so much better than anything from the grocery store. And if you don't have enough, a pick-you-own farm is the pace to go! At right are 4 common varieties that will work:
Top left: Beefsteak Top right: Lemon Boy, yellow
Bottom left: Roma, paste-type Bottom right: Better Boy
Roma; also called paste tomatoes. they have fewer sides, thicker, meatier walls, and less water.

4. Also, you don't want mushy, bruised or rotten tomatoes!

5. Step 2 - Removing the tomato skins

6. Here's a trick you may not know: put the tomatoes, a few at a time in a large pot of boiling water for no more than 1 minute (30 - 45 seconds is usually enough)

7. then ... Plunge them into a waiting bowl of ice water.

8. This makes the skins slide right off of the tomatoes! If you leave the skins in, they become tough and chewy in the sauce, not very pleasant.

9. Step 3 - Removing seeds and water

10. After you have peeled the skins off the tomatoes, cut the tomatoes in half. Now we need to remove the seeds and excess water.

11. Step 4 - Squeeze of the seeds and water

12. Just like it sounds: wash your hands then squeeze each tomato and use your finger or a spoon to scoop and shake out most of the seeds. You don't need to get fanatical about it; removing just most will do. Another way to do it is to cut each tomato in half, across it, instead of lengthwise. Then just shake the seeds and juice out.

13. Step 5 - Drain and dice the tomatoes

14. Toss the squeezed (Squozen? :) tomatoes into a colander or drainer, while you work on others. This helps more of the water to drain off. You may want to save the liquid: if you then pass it through a sieve, screen or cheesecloth, you have fresh tomato juice; great to drink cold or use in cooking!

15. Next chop them up - I like 1/2 inch size cubes. You'll need about 3 quarts of peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes

16. Step 6 - Get the jars and lids sanitizing

17. The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle. I get that going while I'm preparing everything else, so it's done by the time I'm ready to fill the jars.

18. Be sure to let it go through the rinse cycle to get rid of any soap!

19. Lids: Put the lids into a pan of boiling water for at least several minutes.

20. Note: everything gets sanitized in the water bath (step 7) anyway, so this just helps to ensure there is no spoilage later!)

21. Step 7. Mix or your own seasoning?

22. Either works equally well. The salsa mix for canning has the advantage of being tested and easy. It's basically corn starch, onion powder, salt and seasoning. It doesn't have any preservative to improve the canning, so the advantage is only that it is easier. However, I like my custom-made from fresh seasonings better, so here is the recipe for that:

23. I use an electric chopper (food processor) to dice the seasonings fairly fine, about 1/8 inch cubes.

24. 3 cups chopped onions
6 jalapeño peppers, seeded, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 12-ounce cans tomato paste (adds body)
2 cups bottled lemon or lime juice (if you are using a mix, be sure to follow their recipe; the packet mixes often use vinegar instead of lemon juice)
1 tablespoon salt (optional)
1 tablespoon sugar (optional - you use Splenda if you are on a sugar-restricted diet, or simply omit the sugar)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin (optional)
2 tablespoons oregano leaves or chopped cilantro (optional)

25. Step 8 - Mix ingredients in the pot and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer

26. Start with the chopped tomatoes in the pot ...

27. Add the seasonings and bring to a gentle simmer, just to get it hot (180 F, if you have a thermometer) there's no need to cook it; only to get it hot enough to ready it for water bath processing to kill any bacteria and enzymes.. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

28. Taste it as it cooks. If you like the sauce hotter, add 1 teaspoon of chili powder.

29. Step 9 - Fill the jars with sauces and put the lid and rings on

30. Fill them to within ¼-inch of the top, seat the lid and hand-tighten the ring around them.

31. Be sure the contact surfaces (top of the jar and underside of the ring) are clean to get a good seal!

32. Step 10 - Boil the jars in the canner

33. Put them in the canner and keep them covered with at least 1 to 2 inches of water. Keep the water boiling. Process the jars in a boiling-water bath for:

34. Recommended process time for Tomato/Tomato Paste Salsa in a boiling-water canner.
Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Jar Size 0 - 1,000 ft 1,001 - 6,000 ft Above 6,000 ft
Hot Pints or 8 oz jars 15 min 20 25
IMPORTANT:
The USDA says the only change you can safely make in this salsa recipe is to change the amount of spices and herbs. Do not alter the proportions of vegetables to acid and tomatoes because it might make the salsa unsafe. Do not substitute vinegar for the lemon juice.

35. I prefer a pressure canner or a taller water bath canner.

36. Step 9 - Done

37. Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.