Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Canning Salsa and Tomato Sauce

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Last weekend my Mom and I canned salsa and tomato sauce.  It was a long, tiring day but definitely worth it!
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First up was a stop at the farmer's market for supplies.  Look at all those beautiful peppers.
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The tomatoes were beautiful too.
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We decided to use Roma tomatoes for both our salsa and tomato sauce.  I bought one 1/2 bushel and one peck which was somewhere around 43 pounds!
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I don't know why, but I like this picture of all the canning jars in the dishwasher...
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* We followed the ingredients list (with just a few small changes) provided by Jenny of Anything Pretty.  Thanks Jenny!  And then we used my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook for the actual step by step directions.
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Salsa Ingredients:
- 10 cups peeled, chopped, and cored, tomatoes
- 5 cups chopped seeded bell peppers
- 5 cups chopped onions
- 2 1/2 cups chopped seeded chili peppers (we used a combo of jalapeño and Anaheim)
- 1 1/4 cups cider vinegar
- 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
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* Makes 10 pints
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The first step is to peel the tomatoes.  Boil a large pot of water.  Remove the core and use a knife to make an "x" at the bottom of each tomato.  Boil tomatoes in small batches for one minute or until skin starts to peel off.  As you remove tomatoes from boiling water place in ice bath.  After the tomatoes have cooled, you will be able to easily remove the peel.
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Here's what 43 pounds of peeled tomatoes looks like:
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We only used 10 cups for the salsa but decided to get the peeling out of the way for our tomato sauce at the same time.
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Directions for Salsa:
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1. Prepare ingredients.
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2.  Place tomatoes in a large stainless steel, enameled, or nonstick heavy kettle.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat.  Simmer for 1-1/4 hours, or until thickened, stirring frequently.  Add bell peppers, Anaheim & jalapeño peppers, onions, vinegar, garlic, salt.  Return mixture to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat.
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3.  Ladle hot salsa into hot, clean pint canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space.  Wipe jar rims, place lids and rings on.  Processes in a boiling-water canner for 15 minutes (Start timing when water returns to boiling).  Remove jars and cool on racks or towels.  Jars should rest, undisturbed, for 24 hours. 
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* If you are new to canning, you might want to check out this helpful overview at pickyourown.org
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The finished product:
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The recipe was supposed to make 10 pints, but somehow, we only ended up with 9 pints.
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After finishing the salsa we moved on to our tomato sauce.  We followed a recipe I learned from Mamma Agata.  I canned this last year too and I was so happy that I did.  I know I've mentioned it before, but if you ever find yourself on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, I highly recommend a day spent at Mamma Agata's enjoying her cooking class.  It's a day you will never forget!
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The only ingredients for this delicious sauce are:  tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Heaven.
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We ended up with 12 quarts of sauce.
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See the white in the jars?  Those are whole cloves of garlic.  Yum.
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24 comments:

  1. Alissa...your jars are so pretty!! I've been canning pickles and jam and am ready to move on to tomato sauce..I got my recipe from last months BH and Gardens magazine..but might try yours...43 pounds!!! Wow! I'm so impressed!

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  2. Alissa I love your jars of tomato. I also like your photo of the jars in the dishwasher all clean and ready!

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  3. So awesome! I said that I wanted to make salsa this year since I put all peppers in the garden. Never made the time, tho. :o(

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  4. I am a little green with envy because I really wanted to can tomato sauce this year. This was my first year canning (I did jam and cherry pie filling) and I love it. That salsa looks delicious as well. Love the pictures of all of the fresh produce. Job well done!

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  5. YUM!! Wishin I had this about now, as I'm without salsa in the fridge. Gasp! Beautiful pics too girl. I must admit, I'm a little shocked you didn't try tomatillo salsa for your green theme. We made this a few years back and it was delish.

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  6. Can't wait to try that Salsa this weekend!! In fact, can't wait to see my Beege, period!!

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  7. Ohhh man, both look deeelicious. I'll take a few jars of each ;) And gorgeous photos as usual!

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  8. Wow, that looks like a lot of work! But I'm sure it's totally worth it. It will be so fun and tasty to enjoy one of those jars this winter. I'm a little jealous ;)

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  9. This would be such a nice hostess gift during the holidays. Fresh tomatoes are so delicious at this time of year.

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  10. It seems everyone is busy doing this at the moment, great photographs :)

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  11. So glad you tried the recipe! Looks like you guys had so much fun! It took awhile but the finished products were so worth it. I also love all those farmer market pics....so fun!

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  12. Yum! I just made jam and plan to pickle filled cucumbers. I have wanted to try tomato sauce-must try your recipes!

    I still think you take amazing photos!

    Barbara

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  13. Oops meant dilled pickles! Silly iPod it is on auto correct and respells words!

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  14. Wow, what a bounty of a Farmers Market you have there! I am so jealous...all those beautiful, brightly colored veggies - gorgeous!

    You really inspire me to do a little canning of my own. I am dutifully making note of your recipe and if I can muster the courage, I might just give it a try! My husband is a fan of all things tomatoes, so I am sure he will appreciate the effort even if I manage to mess it up.

    Now how much will it cost me to get you to FedEx a bottle of your fresh sauce to Maui?! ;)

    Have a lovely weekend!
    Aloha,
    Angie

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  15. Love all the bright colors, looks delicious!

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  16. Your photos are just as delicious as that sauce looks!! x

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  17. Wow your salsa looks scrumptious! We went to the farmer's market this weekend and I bought lots of salsa-making veggies. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  18. Those jars look so pretty and yummy! What a fun project for the 2 of you!

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  19. Oh we love us our Salsa at Bungalow'56. We're still enjoying our tomotoes with the fresh stuff. I think I'll have to stick to the store bought though for the rest of the year.
    Dana

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  20. Oh my, You are amazing and I must try this!

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  21. This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing blog that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. salsa dancing

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