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About 7 years ago, when I was a full-time stay at home mom, I thought I would give canning a try. I didn’t have a clue what to do, but I knew we could reap benefits cost-wise and hopefully waste less food. It turns out, it’s not too difficult, especially if you can find easy to follow recipes. If you enjoy this, be sure to comment. I’d be happy to add other recipes that you can easily try.
Here is a family favorite for medium tomato salsa. I end up making it at least twice a summer when tomatoes are at their cheapest and I can get everything I need from the local farmers’ market.
Medium Tomato Salsa
INGREDIENTS
36 medium tomatoes, peeled and quartered (use a variety of tomato colors). An instant pot makes peeling them a breeze. You can even skip cooking the tomatoes if it gives you the 2 cups of reserved liquid.
2 medium green peppers, chopped
2 medium sweet red peppers, chopped
2 large sweet onions, chopped
1 large purple (aka red) onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
15 cloves of garlic, minced
5 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
2 cans (12 oz each) of tomato paste
1 ¾ cups white vinegar
½ cup sugar
¼ cup canning salt
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
DIRECTIONS
- Cook tomatoes. Two options:
- In a large stockpot, cook tomatoes, uncovered, over medium heat for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving 2 cups liquid.
- If you have an Instant Pot, halve tomatoes and place in Instant Pot. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them and add one cup of water. Put on manual for “0” minutes—be sure to seal it. When it beeps, quickly relieve the pressure. The skins peel off super easily. Save 2 cups of reserved liquid. You may have to do this in 2 batches.
- Return tomatoes to the pot. Be sure to cut them into smaller chunks (I take kitchen scissors to them and do it right in the pot so there is less mess.)
- Stir in the remaining ingredients including the 2 cups of reserved liquid. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for one hour, stirring frequently.
- While this is happening, prep your canning jars (you should use 10–12 16-ounce jars) in hot water to sterilize them.
- Ladle hot mixture into the canning jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if necessary by adding more hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars and screw on bands until tight.
- Place jars into canner with simmering water. Make sure they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil, process for 20 minutes. Remove jars from water when done and cool completely.
