CANNING VIRGIN

Start small so you don’t get overwhelmed and I would do the salsa and spaghetti sauce first. follow the recipe very closely when it comes to the quantity of acid, salt, and the boil time. These things prevent microbial growth and are extremely important. I’ve always thought that whole tomatoes are kind of a time sink vs what you get out of it, but I’m sure others are going to feel differently. Be wary of home recipes unless they have adequate quantities of the afore mentioned things. Bell, the company that makes the canning supplies, is a pretty good resource. And… Buy twice as many jars and lids than u think you’ll need. Nothing worse than having to run out to buy more midstream. Good luck.

Well after doing 30+ qts of spaghetti sauce and 29 pints of salsa in the last week I can help a bit. Google some recipes or pick up a Kerr canning book at Fleet Farm I think I got one. Will discuss times and temps and acidity etc. Basically you need tomatoes and onions and green peppers and hot peppers and garlic and seasoning of your choice. Not really complicated. Clean jars and proper time in the water bath ( I use my fish cooker outside less heat in house and more room on stove) and your good to go. Picking and washing maters and then the boiling water dip to peel them takes all the time.

I see now u were looking for a recipe. Sorry I’m no help there. I’ve never really written anything down. Things I add for salsa… Tomatoes, onions, pepper, chili powder, jalapeño, cilantro, lime, salt. Adjust according to taste.

cooks.com, pickyourown.org and university extension websites are great sources for recipes and canning info.

i dont have a salsa “recipe.” its “tomatoes, onions, peppers, salt and pepper, and cilantro.” i’d guess about equal parts tomatoes and onion/peppers combined.

if you dont like it real hot, which i dont, can in just a few jalopenos; you can always add more after its canned if you want to spice it up more.

also, make sure you follow all the procedures sterilizing jars and lids.

this summer i made juice, tomatoes, salsa, v8 and, for the first time, tomato soup, which turned out excellent.

good luck