Safe! Tomato Salsa (Using Slicing Tomatoes)

Safe! Tomato Salsa (using slicing tomatoes)

4 cups peeled, cored, choppedtomatoes

2 cups seeded, chopped long green chiles

½ cup jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped

¾ cup chopped onions

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cups vinegar (5%)

1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

1 tablespoon oregano leaves (oregano)

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro(optional)

1-½ teaspoons salt

Yield: About 3 pints

Procedure: Peel and prepare chile peppers as described below. Wash tomatoes and dip in boiling water for 30-60 seconds or until skins split. Dip in cold water, slip off skins, and remove cores. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle hot salsa into clean hot pint jars, leaving 1/2–inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel or cloth. Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in the Table.

Caution: Wear plastic or rubber gloves and do not touch your face while handling or cutting hot peppers. If you do not wear gloves, wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your face or eyes.

Preparing Peppers: The jalapeño peppers do not need to be peeled. The skin of long green chiles may be tough and can be removed by heating the peppers. Usually when peppers are finely chopped, they do not need to be peeled. If you choose to peel chiles, slit each pepper along the side to allow steam to escape. Peel using one of these two methods:

Oven or broiler method to blister skins - Place chiles in a hot oven (400°F) or broiler for 6 to 8 minutes until skins blister.
Range-top method to blister skins - Cover hot burner (either gas or electric) with heavy wire mesh. Place peppers on burner for several minutes until skins blister.
To peel, after blistering skins, place peppers in a pan and cover with a damp cloth. (This will make peeling the peppers easier.) Cool several minutes; slip off skins. Discard seeds and chop.

Table. Recommended process time for Tomato 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 / 15 min / 20 / 25

Nutrition Information (Estimated values using Nutritionist Pro™ software)
Per 2 Tbsp: Calories 9, Total Fat 0 g, Sodium 75 mg, Fiber 0 g, Protein 0 g.
Daily Values: Vitamin A 4%, Vitamin C 41%, Calcium 1%, Iron 1%.
Percent Daily Values based on Dietary Reference Intakes.

Ingredients for Salsa Recipes

IMPORTANT: Follow the directions carefully the recipe. Use the amounts of each vegetable listed in the recipe. Do not extra peppers or onions. Add the amount of vinegar or lemon juice listed. You may change the amount of dried spices, if desired. Do not can salsas that do not follow this or other research-tested recipes. (They may be frozen or stored in the refrigerator.) Do not thicken salsas with flour or cornstarch before canning. After you open a jar to use, you may pour off some of the liquid or thicken with cornstarch or tomato paste. Store in the refrigerator once opened.

TOMATOES

The type of tomato you use often affects the quality of salsas. Paste tomatoes, such as Roma, have firmer flesh and produce thicker salsas than large slicing tomatoes. Although both types make good salsas, slicing tomatoes usually yield a thinner, more watery salsa than paste tomatoes. Do not substitute paste tomatoes in a salsa recipe that calls for slicing tomatoes.

Canning is not a good way to use overripe or spoiling tomatoes. Use only high quality tomatoes for canning salsa or any other tomato product. Do not use tomatoes from dead or frost-killed vines. Poor quality or overripe tomatoes will yield a very poor salsa and may spoil.

Where recipes call for peeled or skinned tomatoes, remove the skin by dipping tomatoes into boiling water for 30-60 seconds or until skins split. Dip in cold water, then slip off skins and remove cores and seeds.

PEPPERS

Chile peppers range from mild to fiery in taste. Very hot peppers are usually small (1 to 3 inches long); mild peppers are usually bigger (4 to 10 inches long). Anaheim, Ancho, College, Colorado and Hungarian Yellow Wax are mild pepper varieties. Choose a mild pepper when the recipe calls for long green chiles.

Small, very hot peppers provide a distinct taste to salsas. Jalapeño is the most popular hot pepper. Other varieties include Serrano, Cayenne, Habanero and Tabasco. Use rubber gloves when you cut or dice these peppers because they cause extreme irritation to the skin. Do not touch your face, particularly the area around your eyes, when you are working with hot chiles.

You may substitute bell peppers for some or all of the long green chiles. Canned chiles may be used in place of fresh.

Use only high quality peppers. Do not increase the total amount of peppers in any recipe. However, you may substitute one type of pepper for another.

The skin of long green chiles may be tough and can be removed by heating the peppers. Usually when peppers are finely chopped, they do not need to be skinned.

Hot peppers, such as the jalapeño, do not need to be peeled, but seeds are often removed.

If you choose to peel chiles, slit each pepper along the side to allow steam to escape. Peel using one of these two methods:

Oven or broiler method to blister skins - Place chiles in a hot oven (400°F) or broiler for 6 to 8 minutes until skins blister.
Range-top method to blister skins - Cover hot burner (either gas or electric) with heavy wire mesh. Place peppers on burner for several minutes until skins blister.
To peel, after blistering skins, place peppers in a pan and cover with a damp cloth. (This will make peeling the peppers easier.) Cool several minutes; slip off skins. Discard seeds and chop.

TOMATILLOS

Tomatillos are also known as Mexican husk tomatoes. They do not need to be peeled or seeded, but the dry outer husk must be removed.

ACIDS

The acid ingredients used in salsa help preserve it. You must add acid to canned salsas because the natural acidity may not be high enough. Commonly used acids in home canning are vinegar and lemon juice. Lemon juice is more acidic than vinegar, but has less effect on flavor. Use only vinegar that is at least 5% acid and use only commercially bottled lemon juice.

If you wish, you may safely substitute an equal amount of lemon juice for vinegar in recipes using vinegar. Do not substitute vinegar for lemon juice. This substitution will result in a less acid and potentially unsafe salsa.

SPICES

Spices add flavoring to salsas. The amounts of dry spices and herbs may be altered in this recipe. Cilantro and cumin are often used in spicy salsas. You may leave them out if you prefer a salsa with a milder taste. For a stronger cilantro flavor, add fresh cilantro just before serving the salsa.

Adapted with permission from Salsa Recipes for Canning, PNW0395, by Val Hillers and Richard Dougherty, Washington State University. Pullman, WA: Pacific Northwest Extension Publications, 2000 revision (National Center for Home Food Preservation, August 2004).

To Can or Not to Can?

Objective: To make a customized salsa recipe and test the pH to determine if it’s safe to can.

Tomato Salsa (using slicing tomatoes)

4 cups peeled, cored, choppedtomatoes

2 cups seeded, chopped long green chiles

½ cup jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped

¾ cup chopped onions

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cups vinegar (5%)

1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

1 tablespoon oregano leaves (optional)

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro(optional)

1-½ teaspoons salt

Step 1: Using the basic recipe above change, add to, or remove any of the ingredients except the amount of tomatoes and vinegar. Peel and prepare chile peppers as described below. Wash tomatoes and dip in boiling water for 30-60 minutes or until skins split. Dip in cold water, slip off skins, and remove cores. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. As you simmer it, use a clean tasting spoon, taste your salsa (cool it first!), and make any additional ingredients to improve the flavor.

Preparing Peppers:Caution: Wear plastic or rubber gloves and do not touch your face while handling or cutting hot peppers. If you do not wear gloves, wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your face or eyes.

The jalapeño peppers do not need to be peeled. The skin of long green chiles may be tough and can be removed by heating the peppers. Usually when peppers are finely chopped, they do not need to be peeled. If you choose to peel chiles, slit each pepper along the side to allow steam to escape. Peel using one of these two methods:

Oven or broiler method to blister skins - Place chiles in a hot oven (400°F) or broiler for 6 to 8 minutes until skins blister.
Range-top method to blister skins - Cover hot burner (either gas or electric) with heavy wire mesh. Place peppers on burner for several minutes until skins blister.
To peel, after blistering skins, place peppers in a pan and cover with a damp cloth. (This will make peeling the peppers easier.) Cool several minutes; slip off skins. Discard seeds and chop.

Step 2: Using pH paper or a pH meter, determine if the pH of your salsa. If the pH≤4.6, it’s OK to can using the boiling water method. If the pH is>4.6, it must be refrigerated and used within a week, or it can be frozen. (pH paper or meters can be purchased from Fisher Scientific - pH paper and Fisher Scientific pH meters or Nasco- "pHpaper" and Nasco- "pH meter")

Teacher Background Information:

Additional idea: Have students come up with their own recipes for salsa from a pre-selected variety of ingredients. Have a “Celebrity Panel” or the other students in the class judge the salsa using the form below (you can average the scores to determine which one was the favorite). Fresh salsas are faster and easier to make—here’s a basic recipe for one:

Quick and Easy Salsa

Tools: Chef’s knife, scissors, food processor

Preparation time: About 15 minutes

Cooking time: none

Yield: About 3 cups

1 tablespoon fresh or jarred jalapeno peppers,1 tablespoon water

finely minced

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves2 tablespoons lime juice

(cut the stems off with scissors)

2 tablespoons minced green onion2 cans (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, including

juice

2 cloves garlic, minced½ teaspoon salt

1. Place the jalapeno peppers, cilantro, onion, garlic, water, and lime juice in food processor fitted with steel blade. Blend on low about 15 seconds, or until everything is well chopped and combined.

2. Add the tomatoes and salt. Pulse briefly to chop but not puree the tomatoes. Serve.

Additional ingredient ideas: ground cumin, ground oregano, chili powder, curry powder, Tabasco Sauce, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, paprika, roasted garlic, ground pumpkin seeds, chipotle peppers, red onion, carrots, bacon

Sensory Evaluation of Salsa

Please give your opinion of the appearance, flavor, texture, and burn intensity of each sample. Drink water between each sample to cleanse your palate. For each sample, put the number of the phrase that best describes your opinion of each characteristic in the appropriate box.

1 = Dislike extremely

2 = Dislike very much

3 = Dislike moderately

4 = Dislike slightly

5 = Neither like nor dislike

6 = Like slightly

7 = Like moderately

8 = Like very much

9 = Like extremely

Sample Code / Appearance / Flavor / Texture / Burn Intensity*
356
892

*Burn intensity describes “spicy hot”