Food Safety Feature Articles
Preserve home-canned salsa safely
Compiled from articles by Janet Hackert, Harrison County Nutrition and Health Education Specialist, and Tammy Roberts, Barton County Nutrition and Health Education Specialist, University of Missouri Extension
Don’t want to throw out extra tomatoes? Making salsa is a great way to preserve them! Salsa is typically a mixture of low acid foods — like onions and peppers with tomatoes. It is important to know that home-canned salsa requires special handling to prevent hazards. Following these tips will help keep your canned salsa safe for you and your family.
Acid in salsas helps preserve them — acid in the recipe usually comes from lemon juice, lime juice or vinegar. You cannot alter the amount of acid in a recipe. Only use vinegar that has 5 percent acidity and only use bottled lemon or lime juice. Acidity varies in homemade vinegar and squeezed citrus juices, which means these products could make your salsa unsafe. It is OK to substitute an equal amount of bottled lemon juice for vinegar in salsa recipes, but it is not OK to substitute vinegar for lemon juice. Substituting vinegar for lemon juice results in less acid and could be unsafe.
The spiciness of salsa can be adjusted by using hot or mild peppers, or by adjusting the mix of hot and mild peppers. You should not, however, increase the number of pounds or cups of peppers in the recipe. The same goes for onions — you can substitute red, yellow or white onions for each other, but do not increase the amount. Increasing the amount of peppers or onions can impact the acidity of the product, potentially making it unsafe.
Canned salsas should not be thickened with flour or cornstarch before canning. If you desire a thicker salsa, pour off some of the liquid before canning. You can also choose to thicken the salsa when you open the jar.
Here is a sample recipe and procedure from New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension:
Tomato/Green Chile Salsa
3 cups tomatoes, peeled,
cored and chopped
3 cups long green chilies, seeded and chopped
¾ cup onions, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped fine
1½ cups vinegar
½ teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
2 teaspoons oregano leaves (optional)
1½ teaspoon salt
In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients and heat, stirring frequently until mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle into pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water canner 15 minutes at 0 to 1000 feet altitude; 20 minutes at 1001-6000 feet. Yields 3 pints.
To make your own recipe, the safest method is to make it as you like, then use it fresh or freeze it.
To assure safety of salsa, only tested recipes should be canned. University of Missouri Extension’s guide sheet Tantalizing Tomatoes - How to Can Fresh Tomato Products has a tested recipe for salsa.
Other tested salsa recipes are available from University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service including various traditional salsas as well as more unusual combinations. These include Mango Salsa, Peach Apple Salsa, Spicy Cranberry Salsa, Spicy Jicama Relish and Tomatillo Green Salsa.
For more information about making and canning salsa, go online to http://extension.missouri.edu/ or contact your local MU Extension office.
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Last update: Monday, August 31, 2009
