You need to follow a tested recipe for salsa. Trying to guess on how much to add with your own recipe is not a good idea. If you want to use your own recipe then it is recommended you freeze it instead.
Also, salsa is cooked before it goes into the jars because that is part of the safe acidification of the salsa. It allows the vegetables to start accepting the vinegar/bottled lemon juice.
Elizabeth Andress from NCFHFP is the one who taught me about the science behind it. She says you need to cook the salsa first.
I would have to look up the exact term she used.Sorry, I am too tired to remember right now the term she used.

in addition to the safety issues
... once you apply heat, it is no longer RAW and the taste will be quite different. Freezing seems the only way to preserve the "incredible" taste.
kay

Yes, thats tree about heat. The ONLY thing I can at home which iuses no heat processin is a very tender pepperoncini hot pepper. Its pickled in a full strength distilled vinegar and salt, and is done by use of a vacuum system I have, that pulls a vacuum on a canning jar to make the seal. If I were to attempt to pickle these using a heat process like a boiling water bath, it would soften the peppers too much and they would be mush. I do not use that process for anything else. and salsa would be dangerous to can without heat processing.

Incadove,

If you give us the recipe we can make suggestions. Perhaps all but an ingredient or two could be canned and some ingredients added just before serving.

jt

You might want to look through the thread below. There are several cannable recipes for salsa. Like JT said above, you can add some fresh ingredients to the salsa before serving. I'm very fond of Annie's salsa. I'm eating it right now!

Here is a link that might be useful: Greatest recipes for Leesa

I love the fresh taste of raw salsa, too (tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, lime, a hint of cumin -- heaven!).

But as has been said, even if you felt comfortable ignoring the current recommendations to cook salsas before canning, the canning itself would cook it even longer (Annie's salsa, for example, cooks for 10 minutes but then is canned for 35).

Freezing the salsa will preserve a lot of the fresh taste, though you will lose a lot in texture. I have resigned myself to having fresh salsa only in fresh tomato season, and eat Annie's tested canned version --- maybe with a few fresh herbs or corn or beans added after opening, for variety --- all winter. It's much better than any commercial canned one. You can leave out the tomato paste for a fresher taste (and a runnier texture).

Zabby

Just adding a bit of fresh veggies and herbs to a canned or frozen salsa helps to bring it back up to a tastier level.

can

There is no way to do it. Even if you didn't worry about safety or care that it turned into a botulism bomb in a jar. The bottom line is that nothing that is canned - be it at home or commercially - can or will taste like fresh-made. And even if it wasn't cooked before it went into the jar it would be "cooked" while processing to create a seal on the jar. Freezing is the closest to fresh flavor you can get.

But salsa is one of the most risky vegetable mixes to mess around with when it comes to canning simply because it is a mix of low-acid vegetables packed in a vacuum for a time and then eaten fresh from the jar.

We can't always have what we want.

Dave

Why not just can your tomatoes and make salsa whenever you want that way retain

Ann Orpin - not sure if you realized it, but you are addressing a member with only one post from 13 years ago.

You can always freeze can it