Would it be ok to keep?

Probably but no guarantees. Acidity of fresh limes/lemons varies greatly. Is that 3 T per pint? If so, it is a good amount. 3x6=18 and 18 T converts to a little over 1 cup of acid.

Dave

Sorry, no. Not will all those low acid vegetables added, especially.

Yes I put in 3 tablespoons per pint

Linda Lou I didn't think it would be you saying no:(

Mike

There is no way I could say that even though you used 3 T. that it would be acidic enough. We cannot determine how acidic fresh limes are.

Hope you know I was just teasing you. Do I need to throw the jars away as well? This will be my third unsafe recipe, totally bummed. Oh well it is the LAST one, everything else is approved.

Have a batch of Ball Tomato sauce boiling down right now!

Mike

Mike, if you've been cruising this forum for a while, you may have noticed that Dave and I don't always agree, but I think his wording is exactly right in this case: "probably but no guarantees."

That's a comparable ratio of tomatoes to low-acid veggies (peppers and onions) as in some tested recipes, and a comparable amount of acid (Annie's salsa calls for a cup of vinegar in a 6-pint recipe, and lime juice is MORE acidic --- even fresh lime juice [with fresh lime juice we just don't know how MUCH more].

The thing about tested recipes is that you KNOW they are safe---EVEN if there is botulism present (rare but possible), and EVEN if the cooking process doesn't kill it, then you KNOW that there is enough acidity in those recipes, and they'll penetrate the density enough, to kill it. For sure.

Me, personally, I would eat your salsa happily. (Name the time and I'll be over.) Lots of people are presumably following eHow instructions. Lots of people can the way their grandmas did. Lots of people follow MOST of the modern regulations but not every single one. Most of them don't get sick.

When I think about the level of risk of some of the other things in my life (crossing the street, eating hamburger from the grocery store, not getting as much exercise as I should), it just doesn't make sense to me to get really anxious about the level of risk associated with slight deviations from the tested guaranteed recipes for home canning. Botulism is RARE.

BUT botulism poisoning is also VERY DANGEROUS. It's often fatal. (The two parts of the risk equation are the LIKELIHOOD of the problem and the SERIOUSNESS of the problem.) That's why I DO follow the modern guidelines as best I can, since it's easy to do.

And I see why some people only want to deal with 100% certainty. I mean, home-canned food is supposed to be lovely and delicious and special, not dangerous! But I think it's important to keep the level of risk in perspective.

SO it's not a question of "is this OK" or "is this safe." As so often in life, you're balancing things: What's the cost to you (including any emotional, practical, etc. costs) of pitching a batch of salsa you've made? How does that compare to the level of risk associated with eating it? (And to the level of anxiety you might feel because of that risk?)

Nobody can answer THAT question but you.

Z

Zabby that makes a lot of sense to me. I am curious does the danger increase with time or if it is deadly is it deadly from the beginning?
Z that would be a long road trip!

Thanks all

Mike

Botulism can grow to a deadly amount in a sealed jar withing 2 to 3 days. That is why it is said to not reprocess after 24 hours of the initial canning since not all bacteria may be destroyed after that 24 hours.
I am not trying to frighten anyone, just giving him the facts he asked about.
So, the call is yours what you want to do.