Salsa

With an abundance of tomatoes, I taught Molly to make Aunt Judy's salsa.  

She caught on quickly and wanted to make more to sell. Yet being the realist she is, remembered it would never work. "We can't sell food because we don't have two drains on our floor."

I can't wait to see what she grows up to be.

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Judy’s Salsa (Double this for class)

Makes 7-8 pints

8 quarts tomatoes, skinned and quartered  Equals 26 cups chopped tomatoes (chopped in blender)  3 - (8 cup measuring bowls plus 2 cups)

6 medium onions, chopped (Equals 3 cups chopped)

8 jalapenos peppers, chopped with seeds 

1-2 green bell peppers, chopped (Equals 1-½ cup chopped green pepper

⅓ cup salt

¼ cup vinegar

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp cumin

2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste

Chop tomatoes into chunky pieces.  Add other ingredients except paste.

Cook until mixture is bubbling, stir often.  

Add tomato paste.

Bring to a boil.

As you are filling the jar, strain mixture through a colander to get rid of extra juices.

I strain a soup ladle full in a colander when I get some of the extra juice off I quickly spoon the salsa out of the colander and into the hot jar.  This way you can regulate how much juice you want in your jar.  You will have a lot of juice at the end of the batch.  You can discard. (I'm saving for Chili)

Hot water bath 20 minutes for pints and 30 for quarts.  

Day 1

Scald and peel tomatoes.  Then refrigerate.

Pulse tomatoes till chunky (3-5 pulses).  Keep all the juice. Pour tomatoes into the pot.

Chop the green pepper and onion.  Place in blender and pulse with enough water to cover (makes pulsing easier)

Then drain the water off.  Let set in a strainer a bit to drain all the drips when all are in a big pot and chopped.

Add salt, vinegar, black pepper and cumin.

Stir together as you heat.  (Will burn if you don’t stir)

When it just starts bubbling, add the tomato paste.  

Cook for 1 more minute at a soft boil.  

Drain in a colander before jarring.

Do not use aluminum.  Only stainless steel or glass.

Day 3.  Prep jars (sanitize in dishwasher).  Boil lids for 10 minutes.

Paper towel the jar lid to be sure the lip is clean and hot.  

Screw rings on the hot jars and put in a hot water bath.  Water should be at least ½ inch above jars. Place on rack inside pot.  Canner lid needs to be off set to vent steam.  

(Not boiling- just lightly simmering.  No bubbles breaking the surface)

Place on cooling rack on counter and cool 24 hours.  Check for sealings.  

Day 4.  Cool, bag and freezer.  Strain off some juice first.  Double bag.  

Taste the mixture when hot, then again with cold.