You can certainly leave out the sugar. Some prefer bottled lemon juice or bottled lime juice (singly or in combination with the vinegar, e.g. 1/2 cup lime juice and 1/2 cup vinegar) as the acid.

The bottled lemon or lime juice can always be safely substituted for vinegar because they are more acid. You can't do it the other way around, though. In other words, if a recipe calls specifically for bottled lemon juice, don't sub vinegar and don't use fresh juice either.

I hope this is clear. Maybe this will give you some safe options.

Carol

Where did you see that the pressure canned version is not recommended? I musta missed that one!
I always BWB anyway, but curious as to the reason for a change on PC?

Deanna

Hi Deanna,

I saved Annie's comment in a file. Here it is:

"Since I did this, the USDA has decided that salsa shouldn't be canned in quarts and shouldn't be done in a pressure canner because adequate testing hasn't been done to ensure safety. That doesn't mean it isn't safe, only that it hasn't been tested and found to be safe." Annie

So basically it's a resource issue and Annie no longer recommends that variation.

Carol

I pressure can my salsa and use the full measure of lemon juice. I pressure can all tomato products that are eaten cold.

Melissa - Like you said, the cherry tomatoes may have added to the sweetness. Last year we had a ton of cherries and decided to make salsa with them (about half and half). It was a batch for fresh eating so no sugar was added, but it was really sweet. Too sweet for me to eat.

Love Annie's salsa - made it for the first time last year and only made 5 jars - didn't last 2 months. Hope to make much more this year!

Happy Canning!
~ Tracy

Melissa, the only reason the sugar is in there is because I had two kids at home while I was working on the recipe and they liked it sweeter. It was all to taste.

As for the pressure canning, my personal opinion is that I think it's probably safer than water bath canning the stuff, but since it isn't tested and approved, that's only my opinion, and not something you can "take to the bank".

Annie

Thanks for the responses.....next time I am going to leave the sugar out and try using half vinegar and half lemon juice.

I would also have thought that pressure canning would be safer (doesn't it heat the product to a higher temp than BWB does?).......but I see why, since it hasn't been tested, that the USDA can't recommend it....

Oh, and thanks for the recipe Annie!

Melissa

Thanks! I DID miss that!
Won't affect my processing as I use the full cup of vinegar and BWB, but was just interested as to the "why".
Melissa, I don't know what kind of vinegar you're using, but I always use apple cider vinegar and Bragg's brand if I have it. It's not as harsh and is a little sweeter than Heinz or store brands. Bragg's is a raw vinegar, usually found in natural food stores! I love that stuff!!

Try it with some different vinegars (as long as they're at least 5% acidity!!).

Deanna

Cherry and grape tomatoes usually are a bit lower in nataral acid. If the potash level of the soil is high, the small tomatoes can take up a bit more sweet to.

I am glad to see the topic of the sugar in Annie's Salsa addressed here. I have made three 1/2 recipes of Annie's Salsa over the last three weeks. I have shared the salsa with neighbors and family members, a couple being salsa connoisseurs, and all agreed this recipe is the best. But, a few thought it a little on the sweet side. So, I left out the sugar on the third batch and liked it better myself. It could be my toms were sweeter, I was using Celebrity. I would probably add the sugar back in to balance the acid when I BWB the salsa I plan to make in the Fall. Now that peaches are showing up in our markets, I plan to try Annie's Peach Twist before my toms are gone.

Mary

Sugar doesn't 'balance' acid, it simply overpowers it. To balance or reduce acid, an alkli would be used like baking soda, but then there is a foam issue and possible premature spoilage. I would think a good meaty plum tomato type would work very well. Even a few different types of plum tomatoes, like Roma, San Marzano, etc.