Canning Salsa

We're a salsa family.  The kind you eat, not the dance. Dancing is definitely not my thing.  I've been wanting to can my own salsa for a few years now, but a couple moves got in my way... three to be exact. I finally was able to plant tomatoes this year.... but I only have two plants and they're ripening only a couple at a time.... enough to make fresh salsa, but not enough to can a batch. Luckily our CSA gave us quite a few this week and last week. Channeling Rob Williams in Dead Poets Society, I carpe diemed!

Because I used a seasoning packet I feel like I cheated slightly. Okay, cheated a lot. I almost didn't post in embarrassment that I didn't do the whole thing from scratch. Then I reasoned to myself - this is homemade salsa for beginners and those who don't have a ton of time. I fit both those categories and I bet several of you do too. So I'm sharing. 

REMINDER:  Start your jars in your dishwasher now to sterilize them!

Grab about18 tomatoes... I threw in a couple more since some were smaller than others... and wash them up. Make sure your tomatoes don't have rotten parts. 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil... 

Throw the tomatoes in for about 3 minutes.

Drain them and give them a cold-water bath. 

Now comes the fun part. Core, peel, and chop each tomato. 

The blanching (flash boiling) makes the skins fall right off. I use my knife to core them first, then peel the skin off with my fingers. 

As you chop them, you can put them straight into a large pot. They're headed back to the stove. 

After you slave away chopping up all your tomatoes, pull out the most versatile product on the planet (in a close running with baking soda)..... 

Pour a 1/2 cup vinegar and the spice packet in with the tomatoes. Stir well. 

Bring the salsa to a boil, stirring occasionally. (Start the process to sterilize your lids.) 

Boil the salsa for 10 minutes, continue stirring occasionally. Hopefully by this time your jars are on the dry cycle, nice and hot. 

Fill your jars with salsa.... I wasn't able to use a funnel because of the tomato chunks. Instead I ladled the salsa into a pyrex pourable measuring cup and then poured the salsa into the jars. Remember to make sure the rim of the jar is dry before placing a dry, sterile lid on top and closing it up.  Put the jars in a canner (or large pot) of boiling water for a 40-minute water bath making sure the liquid stays above the tops of the jars. (I had to add water every now and again). You'll have to do this in batches depending how big your pot is.  Stack up your 6 pints of salsa and smile. Or tell them to smile. Either way, someone should be smiling. 

Notes:

1) Next time I'll take more water off the tomatoes. Some of the sites I've been looking at suggest deseeding and draining the tomatoes during the chopping process.

2) We like this salsa, we really do, but it's chunky. I prefer my chunky salsa to be a fresh pico de gallo. Next time, I'll puree the tomatoes in the blender before adding the vinegar and spice packet to make it more restaurant-style. 

3) This salsa has kick, but it's not hellish. Our kids eat it although Ryan's eyes water with each bite! 

4) If you don't like spicy things, please remember we do when referring to #3. 

5) Although it sounds like a lot of work, I'd like to try making canned salsa without a spice packet. Maybe next summer.