I also posted this in the green bean thread...
This is the recipe I used:
nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_salsa/chile_salsa_II.htmlWe didn't peel the tomatoes or peppers, just chopped them as-is.
Personally, with the PNW having a high level of the botulism bacteria in our soil, I only feel comfortable using a recipe that's been tested and researched for tomato canning (so, a recipe from the extension service, NCHFP, Blue Ball, other "safe" source). Also, after the classes and after having worked in the food industry a while, I'm pretty leary of things and extra cautious at times.
If you've never taken a canning class from the extension office or other usda-following source, I very highly recommend it. I've learned all kinds of things to do (and not to do) to improve safety and seal rates. They do so much research on this they have a system down and have a step-by-step list you can follow. A lot of info is free on the website (go to Oregon or Georgia Extension Office then Food Preservation if your own county doesn't have a good resource.)
The recipe should have "true" quantities of weight or volume since the vegetables themselves can vary so widely in size. The recipes on these sites are all tested for acidity to make sure they are safe (and will allow any type of tomato, onion or pepper).
For the Chile Salsa II recipe, it states exactly what you can substitute.
Also found out a few extras (this all applies to canning, not freezing or fresh...):
For spices, you should only used dried spices, not fresh (the fresh may drop the raise the PH level too much, making it less acidic).
You can substitute lime juice or lemon juice if a recipe calls for vinegar, but you CANNOT substitute vinegar if it calls for lemon or lime juice (lemon or lime juices are more acidic). You should also use bottled juice since the acidity is more consistent.
Finally, you can use any kind of tomato, or you can substitute the tomato with tomatillos or green tomatoes.
You can omit salt if you don't want it.
We added a Tablespoon of Garlic Powder and 2 Tablespoons of Oregano (I'd recommend only using 1 or 1 1/2 tablespoons though).
I have an exact mix of peppers and tomatoes/tomatillos and onions we used, but we had four groups and all our salsas were very different even though we used the same base recipe.
Other recipes could be frozen, I just wouldn't (personally) trust them for safe canning unless they come from a trusted source (not "gramma's old recipe" or "some website"...)
This is the mix we used last night, it ended up being a medium heat, even though it burned my eyes when I leaned over it while it was cooking (it made a half batch):
1 large red tomato (not sure what variety) and one roma tomato to equal 2 1/2 cups
2 1/2 cups tomatillos
3 cups seeded, chopped peppers (2 serrano, 2 pasilla, 2 red chiles (not spicy), 2 jalapenos, 1 anaheim)
1 cup white onion
1 cup red onion
1 Tbs garlic powder
2 Tbs oregano (I would cut this down to 1 Tbs, it was a little much)
1 1/2 tsp canning salt (regular salt can give canned foods a cloudy look and can make it difficult to tell if it is spoiled or just cloudy from the salt, but not as big a deal in salsa)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup lime juice (bottled as it has a more consistent PH)
Then we just followed the processing directions (in the link above).
This was my first successful salsa and I was honestly really worried it wouldn't taste good, but it was really good and had a lot of color.
I'll be canning more salsa tomorrow. I got some jalapeno and habanero peppers from a coworker to add a little spice (I think one habanero in a pot of salsa would be more than enough--I'll be using mild banana and bell peppers for the rest in one batch). We also have red and white onions in the garden, as well as red, yellow and orange tomatoes, so I'm going to have fun playing around with the batches again.
