Hi all, I'm new here. I am a wimp when it comes to hot stuff but a lot of people I know like it hot. I enjoy growing peppers by the bucket load and do well at it. I have pickled a few peppers :serrano, jalapeno, habanero, cayenne, garlic. I tried a salsa recipe in my canning guide but it has the same problem so many others have--it takes like vinegar. I may be asking for the impossible but is there a way to can salsa without the vinegar? Also, any other suggestions for my abundance of peppers such as hot sauce, or pepper oil or anthing else interesting?
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condiment New Salsa lover
- Thread starter beetle_slayer
- Start date
I would agree but sometimes grabbing a jar on the go is very handy. My pico recipe is very simple: 3 romas, 1 onion, 1 jalapeno, and cilantro. Equal parts and you can't go wrong. I like a little more roasted tomato flavor and toned down onions with some heat in my salsa. Natural flavored.
salsalady
Business Member
Welcome Beetle_slay-ah!
(Thanks for the mention, JoeyK. XOXO)
The quick answer to your question is...Yes! You can pressure can salsa and it doesn't need all that vinegar. If you have the capacity to do pressure canning, then the pH is not so critical, but you still need to follow proper canning procedures.
There are tons of good recipes here, especially in this section. BUT! Most of them are just things folks have thrown together and they have not been tested for pH, which is critical if you are trying to preserve/can the salsa without pressure canning.
Citrus juices can be used to lower the pH, different vinegars will impart different flavors that some like better than the white vinegar.
Here's a couple links to some excellent canned salsa recipes. It's important to use an tested/proven/approved recipe if you do not have pH tester. If you do very much canning at all, it's worth the investment to get an inexpensive pH tester and buffering solutions (less than $50).
the Ball canning website and recipes-
http://www.freshpreserving.com/
PNW Extension service recipes-
http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/PNW0395/PNW0395.pdf
Utah extension service, lots of good links on this page-
http://extension.usu.edu/utah/htm/fcs/food-preservation-canning/
Also note that you may find a salsa recipe in an old recipe book but those are not recommended to be used. The older varieties of tomatoes (now considered heirloom tomatoes) had much higher natural acid contents than the hybrid tomatoes so often grown and available today. That is why it is best to use an approved recipe if you are using the boiling water bath.
And for what else to do-
candied peppers (my new favorite, look for recipe around here somewhere by DaQatz)
put in vodka/white rum or??? for chile infused booze (recipes around here also)
dehydrator
HOT SAUCES by the ba-jillion
pepper jelly
pickled
mashes (a little more involved, don't try this until you're very familiar with the topic. There is potential for botulism poisoning if done incorrectly)
Lots of really creative uses, just keep reading through the different forums.
And just to whet your appetite a little further, here's some more recipes, but then again, these have not been tested, they are posted by members of that forum-
http://www.pepperfool.com/recipes/hotsauce_idx.html
Good Luck, have fun, welcome, and remember...we LUUUV pictures of what you're cooking up!
SL
(Thanks for the mention, JoeyK. XOXO)
The quick answer to your question is...Yes! You can pressure can salsa and it doesn't need all that vinegar. If you have the capacity to do pressure canning, then the pH is not so critical, but you still need to follow proper canning procedures.
There are tons of good recipes here, especially in this section. BUT! Most of them are just things folks have thrown together and they have not been tested for pH, which is critical if you are trying to preserve/can the salsa without pressure canning.
Citrus juices can be used to lower the pH, different vinegars will impart different flavors that some like better than the white vinegar.
Here's a couple links to some excellent canned salsa recipes. It's important to use an tested/proven/approved recipe if you do not have pH tester. If you do very much canning at all, it's worth the investment to get an inexpensive pH tester and buffering solutions (less than $50).
the Ball canning website and recipes-
http://www.freshpreserving.com/
PNW Extension service recipes-
http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/PNW0395/PNW0395.pdf
Utah extension service, lots of good links on this page-
http://extension.usu.edu/utah/htm/fcs/food-preservation-canning/
Also note that you may find a salsa recipe in an old recipe book but those are not recommended to be used. The older varieties of tomatoes (now considered heirloom tomatoes) had much higher natural acid contents than the hybrid tomatoes so often grown and available today. That is why it is best to use an approved recipe if you are using the boiling water bath.
And for what else to do-
candied peppers (my new favorite, look for recipe around here somewhere by DaQatz)
put in vodka/white rum or??? for chile infused booze (recipes around here also)
dehydrator
HOT SAUCES by the ba-jillion
pepper jelly
pickled
mashes (a little more involved, don't try this until you're very familiar with the topic. There is potential for botulism poisoning if done incorrectly)
Lots of really creative uses, just keep reading through the different forums.
And just to whet your appetite a little further, here's some more recipes, but then again, these have not been tested, they are posted by members of that forum-
http://www.pepperfool.com/recipes/hotsauce_idx.html
Good Luck, have fun, welcome, and remember...we LUUUV pictures of what you're cooking up!
SL
salsalady
Business Member
I've heard of others using honey also PileItOn, but I haven't found any proof that it does lower the pH. I think a small home experiment with different acids, honey, FruitFresh ascorbic acid and anything else others have mentioned would be a good weekend project for SalsaKid and I. It'd be interesting to see how they all work.