Now this is a thread I can get into. I have lots of salsa making questions. I will start with two propably easy ones for now.

1. I like to make salsa at various heat levels. I personally like it EXTREMELY hot, my wife enjoys the mild, others that we share with like somewhere in the middle, maybe call it simply, hot. Annie's receipe looks great, would Annie approve of reducing some of the chopped green pepper and adding more jalapenos for a "hot" salsa, and then maybe leaving hte 1.5 cups green pepper and replacing jalapenos with habaneros for a EXT. HOT??

2. Melly, I plan to try the tomatillos salsa recipe you sent me. There is a resturant near home that serves this salsa but it has the consistancy of a thin veggietable dip, rather than a normal salsa. No chucks or anything, just almost like a paste. Does anyone know how to accomplish this and still get a good falvor??

Hot in ky,
I think I can answer your questions.

1. You can substitute different types of peppers freely. Just don't change the total quantity.

2. I would think you could puree your final salsa for a smoother consistency. I am not familiar with your recipe, but if it contains plenty of vinegar (or lemon/lime juice), you shouldn't have to change the processing time. If it does not contain additional acid, I wouldn't do it. Maybe can it as is, then puree before serving.

Deanna
(who's more than willing to be corrected if necessary ~grin~)

hot in ky, since I grew habaneros for Habanero Gold jelly, I blithely subbed them for jalapenos in the salsa a couple of years ago. I got two types of salsa that year: "Sissy Salsa" with jalapenos and "Serious Salsa" with the habs. (grin) I've even put in three or four different types of hot peppers, depending on what was ready in the garden or available at the markets.

I agree, the salsa could be pureed. I think I'd cook the whole mess, then just put it through my Foley food mill. I did that with KatieC's roasted garlic and tomato soup because Ashley didn't like the "chunks" and got a nice consistency.

Annie

This morning I decided it was time to do some serious "saves" to the many recipes that are stored "somewhere" in my computer data base.

So - got out a CD-RW and turned on the old "burner" to save those special recipes.

Anyway, I note that Annie's Salsa has little boxes in front of the ingredients - that don't print out on my computer, so I would appreciate it if someone could enlighten me as to the following amounts:

2 ? cups chopped onion - (either 1/4 or 1/2 maybe)
1 ? cup chopped green pepper - same as above.

Then down a bit -

? cup choped fresh cilantro.

Thanks - dunno if I'm the only one with the problem - or not. I think I asked this and got an answer about a year ago, but at that time did not make the proper save on the recipe - sorry.

Bejay

Bejay, I'll write this out for you so you're sure to have the amounts. Sometimes this happens with certain software cutting and pasting. I've seen it happen lots of times with recipes cut-and-pasted onto the King Arthur Baking Circle.

So onions two-and-a-half cups, peppers one-and-a-half cups and cilantro one-quarter cup.

Carol

Much obliged RL - sorry I didn't make a note the last time - With all of the raves about Annie's Salsa, I vowed I would make some with this years harvest.

Sun came out today, maybe there is hope for those maters before September after all.

Bejay

We just made some of Annie's salsa with produce from the farmers market. Excellent salsa!

The only variation we made was to smoke the jalapenos for a while. Aside from this, we followed the recipe to a "T" but ended up with seven pints plus a little extra for the refrigerator. The recipe says it produces six. Anyone experience the same?

Bejay, sometimes those characters are from fonts that you don't have installed. If MS Office were installed, along with some other font necessary software, its usually not a problem. The other option is to copy and past all the text into Wordpad as that will 'convert' the unknown font to a generic default font, where you should see the numbers.

dcumba, everytime I make Annie's Salsa I always get 7+ jars. I think it is because before I measure the tomatoes, onions & peppers I strain them possibly making them denser, I guess.

And my family prefers the lemon/lime acid, from fresh lemons & limes no bottled juices used here.

Mine made extra last year too..........family LOVES that little bowl left on the counter.

I think maybe Annie "tests" too much!!

Deanna(running and ducking....)

Well, Deanna, you gotta taste it to make sure it's right. Then Ashley has to taste it to make sure it's right. Sometimes I have visitors.....(grin)

Really? I think it's because I cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out all the goop with my fingers and use just the meaty part of the tomato, no seeds or juice or "gel", just nice big ole' hunks...

Annie

Annie, I just have to tell you your salsa is a really big hit here at my house, my husband raves about it at work! He has taken in jars to share and everyone says it is the best they have tasted! I always say where I got the recipe, and how I found this site, so I can give credit where credit is due! LOL!!
I have a question, I HWB mine, still working on the pressure canner! Someone mentioned using lemon or lime juice instead of vinegar would that be safe to HWB, and if so would that be 1 cup of juice? I tried lime juice when I made a fresh batch for a party and liked the results! I just used 1 lime and since it was to be eaten not canned I just added to taste!
I can't wait to can this again, we added jalapenos, and onions to the garden this year, just for making your salsa!
Thanks,
Brenda

Yeah, that's a good story Annie! Blame it on the kids! (devious, I LIKE it!)

Maybe we need to rename it: Annie's Motivational Salsa.

I, too, am growing jalapenos just for making your salsa!! And I planted lots more tomatoes than last year (I actually ended up buying some after I made the first batch last year). I am all out for this year.....too many jars went to my daughter's apartment and other family!

Must make more....must make more.....must make more!
Deanna

Deanna, I've been making it for years and I'M all out this year, there must have been a mass salsa yearning! LOL And you know perfectly well that it's ALWAYS the kids' fault. :-)

Brenda, thank you, I appreciate your kind comments. As for the lemon or lime juice, it will certainly be a safe alternative to the vinegar. It is my understanding that the juice of lemon or lime is even more acidic than vinegar.

I like the vinegar in the red salsa, but I really like lime juice in the green stuff!

Annie

The bottled lime juice from Nellie & Joe's is about the best tasting one you can find, and isn't awful tasting like the Real Lemon brand. There is also a stronger lime juice from Kermits, which has a bit more of the bitterness of the pith added.

Brenda, I used a mixture of cider vinegar and lemon & lime juice in Annie's salsa last year & liked the results. I think it was more lime, medium vinegar, less lemon.

They're still selling South Carolina tomatoes in VA but as soon as local tomatoes start coming in I will be breaking in my new pressure canner on Annie's salsa!

Melissa

I just used my last jar of this today, and I'm DYING for my tomatoes to start producing so I can make more!

Just winding down from a fun but exhausting long weekend (it was Canada Day up here in the True North on Saturday) during which all but one of my four siblings, their partners & kids, and my parents all visited me (total of 16 people, when my household usually consists of 2). It was great --- the arrivals and departures were staggered so there was only a huge crowd for a short time, and everyone pitched in really well to help, and we mostly ordered in or did really simple food so not to much kitchen work for me.

But I wanted to come on and say that I put out tortilla chips with Annie's salsa at one point and it was a BIG hit. My oldest sister liked it so much that I gave her the one jar I had left after that to take home. I can't believe I did that, as it'll be 3 weeks probably till I have ripe tomatoes, but she did give me some of her "picked today" strawberry jam (which totally rocks) last year, and she had never visited me before so I really wanted to impress her. Sigh, I am already regretting it.

;-)

Zabby

Zabby, At least you don't lose a friendship of the older sister. Here, if I give away my canning, its usually to get rid of the oldest dates of my jars. The people still enjoy them, even if the pickles or sauces are a bit softer.

You're right, Ken, a good sister is worth even more than a great jar of salsa. But just barely. ;-)

She did, after all, do the dishes Saturday night, when we had the biggest crowd, while the rest of us put kids to bed.

Zabby

Zabby, you're a good person to give your sister that last jar of salsa, she's worth it!

Like you, it'll be at least three weeks before tomatoes are ripe and I've been out for months. Sigh. My Dad has taken a liking to it as a topping for hamburgers and other sandwiches and as a topping for meatloaf and to simmer swiss steak. Salsa as a condiment or ingredient rather than a dip.

Oh well, it's good for him, at least.

Annie

Annie's red salsa is long gone, but I still have 3 jars of the green....DH made a snack yesterday by mixing the green salsa with sour cream.

Just patiently waiting for toms so make more red!

I'm already almost regretting it; we had some leftover tortilla chips from the big weekend, so we had them with burgers for lunch today, served with some purchased salsa (that has been sitting totally ignored in the pantry since before the tomatoes started coming in last year). It is SO not even in the same league!

I love my sister... I love my sister... I love my sister...

Zabby, off to check and see if those first few little green tomatoes look bigger today... ;-)

Zabby, I have read that if you set down a red plastic mulch at the base of the tomato plants, it helps to improve ripening for some reason. Something to do with the reflected color red going back to the plants leaves

Can somebody clarify measures & weights?

When it says "8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained" is that a before or after? I always thought "8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained" is different than "8 cups peeled, chopped and drained tomatoes," am I right?

How do you measure 8 cups of something bigger than a cup without cutting them all up?

About how many pounds of tomatoes is "8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained" and is that before/after? I know that would change depending on the type of tomato if "before" but maybe that's one reason some are getting 7 qts vs 6qts.

Thanks for any help converting.

Ken, the red IRT plastic mulch you are talking about does work, however it is mainly effective for determinate type, early varieties of tomatoes planted in rows with enough space between plants for the sun to penetrate around the plant canopy & reflect. using it with main season indeterminates you may not see any benefits and just a small area of cover isn't effective either--you would need plants spaced maybe 4ft or more apart I think, which isn't possible in my yarden. Plants spaced closer, say 2ft apart, the canopy of the plant would fill in between plants and the mulch would rarely see the sun to reflect it.

Mark

You're right about the difference. 1 cup of flour, sifted is different than 1 cup of sifted flour.

But in this case what Annie means is 8 cups of peeled, chopped and drained tomatoes, despite what it says. This often happens when cooks develop their own recipes.

Here's a link to a good equivalents page of tomato measures.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Equivalents

My tomatoes this year are in two rows about 2 feet apart, so there is no way any sunlight could ever reach in between the rows or each plant. I must say that even tjough I supposedly started all these seeds as jumbo type tomatoes, like big boy, beefsteak, and other large varieties, I have a few plants with small elongated clusters of tomatoes a little larger than a grape tomato. I must say I wish I kew whct kind these tiny ones are, as they were totatly unexpected. They also seem to ripen a bit sooner than the rest. I have not harvested a single big tomato yet.. NO sauces from these, this year. They are bascally give-aways and selling at my garage sales, whenever they finally decide to star ripening. I see some really big stems out there now to.

Oooh...I just thought of something...If you have homemade sauce & paste can you use that also instead of canned?

I'm assuming you can...you'd just measure out 16 fluid oz?

ladykitsu, of course you can use your own. I only added the sauce and paste for texture, homemade would be even better, I think, as long as it was properly prepared and preserved.

Annie