Yes, you do. Airborne things can still enter during the filling and capping process. The current safety requirements for home canning are specific in that they all require either a boiling water bath or a pressure canning. Even if boiling, and hot jars are used, there is still a risk of contamnation. Botulism does survive without air, and is only killed after a lengthy heat processes and or a high acid food. No one can tell you to do it there way, but when the government sets a standard that is followed by many home canners who want things that are going to be safe to eat, there are specific rules that need to be followed. Many old recipes mention heating jars and pouring boiling liquids into them, capping and flipping the jars over. That used to be a process used by people who had the all glass domed lids, and wanted to insure the contents didn't leak out. Also, wax poured over hot jellies to seal them was used many years ago, and is also considered unsafe today. Many people may not have been sick from making things this way, but today the processes are more strict, so that a food poisoning has less of a chance of occuring.

I do admit to canning a single type pickled pepper using no heat of any kind, but because I use full strength vinegar and a very powerful vacuum pump to remove air while also forcing the vinegar brine inside each pepper, I feel my process is safe enough not to encourage any botulism from occuring.

You can expect to see quite a lot of activity about this controversal subject.

What you're doing is called open-kettle canning. It is very high-risk.

Ken has already covered many of the problems. First, the mere process of moving the sterilized jars and filling with product can allow bacteria to enter. It isn't a case of "once sterile forever sterile."

Secondly, with a supposedly high-acid product like salsa, there are still low-acid chunks present in the mixture (i.e. peppers, garlic, onions). Unless you can guarantee that the acid has absolutely penetrated every single chunk, there's always the possibility that botulism or other micro-organisms can be harbored.

Many people say they've used this method for years with no problems, but may never have attributed occasional minor intestinal upsets with low-grade bacteria in their canned products.

Also, old-timers often compensated for possible risk by boiling product out of the jar at least 10 minutes before serving. This will kill botulism toxins, though the spores will survive.

Thirdly, the mere fact that a lid has "popped" is no indicator of a vacuum sufficient to assure long-term quality on the shelf. Entirely aside from the safety issues, the longevity of the product is not as great and the waste/loss is higher. At the very least, fermentation of tomato products, mold, oxidation etc. are more likely.

You may not have personally experienced these problems (yet) but statistically one person's experience is not sufficient to draw a conclusion. It's a crap shoot. One day the results may not be so lucky.

I have a canning book from the late '40's. Even then open-kettle canning was not recommended with the exception of such things as jams and jellies, where there is essentially no risk due to high-acidity and high-sugar for a natural preservation.

Carol

Why take the risk when for a few minutes of boiling water you can be assured no one will get sick (or worse)?

It just isn't worth it to me.

There are a lot of "recipes" out there that haven't been tested. They may or may not be safe....who knows?
Science has come along way since our grandmothers were canning. Equipment has come along way. And mostly, the ability to easily share information has greatly improved.

An example: Many folks used to water bath green beans, then boil them another 10-15 minutes when they were opened.
Yeah, not many died (do we really know? unknown causes of death??), but the texture was mush! If that were your only option to preserve beans to SURVIVE on during the winter that's one thing, but it's a different ball game today. We can pressure can and just heat to serving temperature with the assurance that our food is safe and tastes better. I'm going with up-to-date information!! :+)

Deanna

My question is this...if the jars are hot and sterile, do you necessarily need to hot water bath them?

I can only add to all of the great advice you have already gotten above...most definitely you still need to BWB them.

Progress can be a real pain in the backside sometimes, but it keeps us alive and healthy so we can make more...progress that is. ;)

Dave

If you are just "open kettle" your salsa, perhaps the recipe is not safe to water bath, but would need pressure canning. If you add peppers, onions, etc. to the tomatoes and don't have enough added bottled lemon juice or vinegar, your results could be deadly in the form of botulism. Even plain tomatoes need added bottled lemon juice or citric acid added to prevent botulism. Adding anything else makes the whole product low acid, needing pressure canning or high amounts of added acid.
Be sure to use modern, safe, tested recipes and methods for food preservation.
Here is some info on salsa :
CAUTION: Most salsa recipes contain a mixture of low-acid foods, such as onions and chiles. Acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice must be added to prevent the bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, from growing. This bacteria produces a deadly toxin that can cause serious damage to the central nervous system or death when eaten in even small amounts. These salsa recipes have been tested to ensure that they contain enough acid to be processed safely in a boiling water canner.

I will send the link so you can read the rest for yourself. It will also provide recipes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Making safe salsas.

Did anyone see this on the morning show yesterday with Matt Lauer? This lady has a business making Taco sauce. They showed her in her kitchen putting it in jar, then putting on the lids with that gizmo that takes the air out of the jars, then she turned the jars upside down. No BWB. She sells this stuff online.

Shirley,
Suspect that the method she uses is approved?? If not, she might get shut down very soon!! Here, I do use a strong vacuum pump, but its only for the pickled pepperoncini that is canned in full strength white vinegar. Looking at some commercial chunky style salsas, they too seem as if they were not heated either, although I also see some fresh in plastic containers in the refrigerated section.

Maybe there are so many preservatives in the sauce that it doesn't need processing. Look at all the items on store shelve these days that are in plastic. All kinds of sauces and mayonnaise. Sure makes you want to can most of your own food. I know store bought left over items last a long time in the frig. We don't know how bad this store bought stuff is for us.

Carol, Linda Lou ...

Is washing and putting jars in an oven at low heat an acceptable method of sterilizing jars .... I thought 10 minutes in boiling water was needed.

It's not recommended. Douglas Holt, UM Extension food safety specialist, says he hasn't been able to verify the safety or efficacy of oven sterilization. We do know that wet heat (i.e. BWB) is more lethal to microorganisms than dry heat. USDA recommends 10 minutes BWB to sterilize.

I kind of think of it as a moot issue in most instances because unless you're processing for less than 10 minutes, jars don't need to be sterilized anyway. The only time I do that is with jellies because they're so delicate. Otherwise I just bump up the processing time to 10 minutes. It doesn't seem to make any difference.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Extension Food and Nutrition Answers

The dry heat of an oven is hard to keep under a temp where the glass can get stressed and crack. Most oven can't control below about 250, so at that temp your risking a facture if the glass comes in contact with cooler product. Many people run the jars through a dishwaher cycle with the heat turned on for drying part.

Do you BWB your jams and jellies?
The recipes in the pectin says to just pour hot product into hot sterilized jars and screw lid on finger tight.
No mention of further processing at all.
Also, is there any substitute for lemon juice? (fruit or veg please - no chemicals)
Citrus fruit won't grow where I live, I was wondering about rhubarb juice? Any thoughts?

The great majority of home canners in the U.S. and Canada BWB jams and jellies. Most Europeans do not.

It's not particularly a safety issue because you're dealing with a high-acid high-sugar product. However, shelf life can be reduced and there is a somewhat greater likelihood of mold. Jars with mold have to be discarded as a correlation between the mold and cancer has been found.

It's your call. Not a big deal either way, though BWB is recommended by the USDA, Extension services, all standard sources (except for the pectin inserts, for some unknown reason).

If you're referring to lemon juice in tomatoes, that is bottled lemon juice (i.e. ReaLemon) because the acidity is standardized. The alternative is powdered citric acid (which most feel has less effect on the flavor). It's commonly available in grocery stores/pharmacies or can be ordered online. Vinegar can also be used at 2x the amount of bottled lemon juice, but it does affect the flavor. I wouldn't use it for plain canned tomtoes.

Rhubarb is much less acid than lemons and somewhat less acid than vinegar, so I don't see that as do-able.

I hope this helps. Let us know if you have other questions.

Carol

Hmmm, still no response from the OP. Think we scared her away? I sure hope not.

Dave

I hope not too and many people just go on canning the way Grandma did it and that's just fine too...if you are willing to risk it....I get such pleasure out of the whole process including the BWB that I can't imagine not doing the whole process...and it's so easy to do so why take any risk for your health or for spoiling all the effort you put into the process....doesn't make sense to me.

I wrote Ortega inquiring how they processed their sauces. The response came today. They do not water bath or pressure can the sauces. Ingredients are heated to 190 degrees and held there for a short time and then brought down to 180 degrees before being placed into sterile jars and lids are vacuum sealed on. No need to process as everything is pasteurized. Must be an awful lot of preservatives in the sauces. USDA keeps watch over them.

Good old polysorbate 80... The commercial vacuum process is probably also done at that 180 degrees, where its almost impossible to do at home without getting burned.

I know it's tough to change methods that have worked -- apparently well -- for years, but add just one more argument to the case for heat processing. Remember that we're not dealing with the same tomatoes , etc., that Grandma had. Genetic engineering and hybridization have just plain bred out all of the good stuff that kept Grandma alive, preferring instead to breed in low acidity (one of a canner's necessities) and long shelf life and stabilization for shipping. The genes are just not the same. The taco sauce lady on television was just plain scary. A really good lesson that we should know where our food comes from! How many people do you think die from food poisoning or poor methods and we never know?