I've never canned my tomatillo salsa. I make a fresh tomatillo salsa - tomatillos, a bit of onion, garlic, tomato, a jalapeno or 2, juice of a lime, and seasoned with a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. I also make a roasted tomatillo salsa - where I roast the tomatillos with some onion and garlic, then whir it in a food processor with some jalapenos, lime juice, salt and sugar. I don't have a real "recipe" for either.

I'm thinking of canning my roast tomatillo salsa. Since I have a ton of tomatillos to harvest as soon as it stops raining here. I found a blog post this summer that references an article from "Plant Foods and Human Nutrition" where the acidity of tomatillo salsa was tested. They concluded:

"Results of the three studies indicate (1) acidification of plain tomatillos is probably unnecessary for canning by the water-bath processing method and (2) combinations of acidic tomatillos and low-acid onions or green chile must contain more than 50% tomatillos to have a pH low enough for safe water-bath processing."

Since my roasted tomatillo salsa is mostly tomatillos, with just a little onion and garlic, I feel I can safely can it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Salsa Verde safe for BWB

Last year I made a similar roasted tomatillo salsa as Pixie Lou. I roasted a cookie sheet full of tomatillos (whole), 1 quartered onion, a few cloves of garlic (unpeeled) and a jalapeno at 450 for about 8-10 mins until tomatillos started to brown. I then peeled the garlic and put everything in a food processor with the juice of a lime and some salt and pulsed it a few times. I didn't can it, I froze it and it kept fine. When I take a jar out of the freezer I would add some cilantro and mango to it. I thought I'd just post this idea of freezing in case you decide against canning. This year I did try the BBB recipe but haven't tried any yet, sounds like I'll be disappointed!

Thanks for the input. I would really like to can it, as my freezer is pretty darned full! I think I may just try adding some sugar or honey. I'll also probably roast the tomatillos and chiles, as that seems to sweeten and mellow them a bit. Wish me luck : )

I made it, canned it and loved it, but also thought it was too tart on its own. When I used it out of an opened jar, I thinned it with sour cream or turned it into guacamole (it was awesome in that), or used it in sauces thinned with other ingredients. Can easily add sugar once opened. I'd start with 1 TBLSP for a batch, and use white sugar, it adds less noticable taste.

ekgrows, tomatillos are low in acid so in order to can it, you have to add vinegar. That would be why it was so sour.

If you compare a canning recipe to one intended to eat right away, they are different.

My hispanic neighbor freezes hers, it freezes great and you don't have to add all the acid so it's much better than what I canned.

My plan this year is to make a bunch (hopefully with guidance of my neighbor) and freeze it in quart freezer bags.

Good luck!

I made a roasted tomatillo salsa last year. Can't remember which book I got the recipe from, maybe Small Batch or Ball's Complete Book? It was really good except too heavy on the cumin taste. I would make it with less cumin next time. Everybody who tasted it thought it was good except for the cumin.

This is the recipe I used, from the site Pixie Lou referenced last year in the thread I liked above. It was not tart at all, and very good. I canned it per the directions in the recipe.

Here is a link that might be useful: salsa verde

Last year was the first time I grew tomatillos and I was surprised at how sweet the ones I grew were! Last year's tomatillo salsa turned out a bit too sweet for me. This year the tomatillos are more on what must be the 'normal' side - a bit tart. I made 6 pints of the Tomatillo Salsa out of BBB. Last year I discovered that the lime juice was too overpowering for me, so this year for the triple batch, I used the called for amount of vinegar, but I used only one- quarter cup lime juice and replaced the other one-half cup with lemon juice. Still had tomatillos and wanted a salsa with more peppers/onions in it, so I made the Zesty Salsa out of BBB as a guideline, and substituted the tomatillos for the tomatoes. Not usually being too fond of sweet tomatillo/tomato salsas - nor cider vinegar in my salsas, I used half white and half cider. I also added 1.5 tsp. smoky paprika powder for a bit of a difference. Hubby and I both think it turned out very tasty and is now one of our favorites!

I'm glad that I still have some tomato salsa left from the crop of tomatoes we got last year. Tomatoes did lousy here this year, and right now they are being covered at night to protect them from frost. Maybe some will get enough of a blush to pick and ripen, but I'm not counting on it