So with tomatoes coming into season, my mom suggested I try my hand at another canning venture...
SALSA!!
I was pretty excited about the prospect... but unlike the last time, this canning experience would take place in my NYC kitchen. For those of you who have visited me, you know that my kitchen is "cozy" and "modest", both terms that brokers here use to make tiny kitchens sound nicer!
So after lots of phone calls home asking every possible question I could think of, not to mention a package from the midwest full of canning tools and a nice new canning pot, I was ready to make my salsa!
So I gathered up my ingredients: tomatoes, salsa seasoning and vinegar!
Then I set up my canning stations. With very little counter space available, along with a mini-stove, I had to be pretty organized to ensure that I had the space and heat sources available for everything I needed.
I started by blanching the tomatoes. After 1 minute in boiling water...
I dropped them into a bowl of ice water.
This easy step makes the skin slide right off the tomato. Then I took that funny looking tool and dug the stem right out of the fruit before tossing it into my food processor.
I prefer salsa with a few lumps, so I chose to process some of the tomatoes while I diced the rest by hand.
I poured the 10 cups of tomatoes into my soup pot along with the salsa seasoning...
And a half cup of white vinegar before heating the mixture until it boiled.
While the salsa heated, I also boiled some canning jars and lids. Once the salsa was boiling I pulled a jar from the pot...
Placed a funnel in the mouth of the jar...
And ladled the piping hot salsa into the jar, taking care to leave about half an inch empty at the top.
Once I wiped the lip of the jar to ensure that there wasn't any tomato residue that might have prevented the sealing, I placed a lid on the rim and screwed on the ring to secure the lid.
When I had finished canning a double batch of the salsa I was very proud of two facts:
#1: All 10 pints of my salsa "popped" (which meant that they ALL sealed)
#2: I was able to take photos during my canning, which is a pretty fast and stressful process for a newbie canner like me
Oh- and to top it all off, the salsa tastes great! (We really like the Mrs. Wages seasoning brand in our family!)
So if you're ever interested in canning salsa, you should pick up a packet or two of Salsa Seasoning- it's delicious, and the canning recipe is included on the back of the package!
Thanks for stopping by and joining me in this little canning adventure- I hope you have a great weekend!
