Since it has been less than 24 hours it can be salvaged but yes you will have to reheat it all to boiling and boil it for 10 mins. then fill fresh washed and boiled jars, use new lids and put it in the fridge immediately. Plan to consume it within 3-4 days max. as it will have a very limited storage life in the fridge due to listeria problems. It can only be stored longer or processed and vacuum sealed if you used one of the approved salsa recipes. So first question would be what recipe did you use?

Salsa is one of the most risky foods for inexperienced canners to make since it is a mix of low-acid vegetables with no natural protection against botulism. That it is then eaten straight out of the jar with no further cooking can make it doubly dangerous. It requires very specific amounts of ingredients to be safe to store and very specific amounts of added acid to remain safe for any period of time. If it is to be canned/processed/vacuum sealed only a few recipes are safe to use.

Dave

edited to add see this link: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/salsa.html

Here's the recipe.

http://www.food.com/recipe/delicious-tomato-salsa-recipe-for-canning-132469

I scaled down the recipe to 2 pints so I can try the salsa before I make ten pints of it.

So correct me if I'm wrong, I have to open the can, re boil the salsa for ten minutes, and then put it in a sterilized jar which will be placed in the fridge immediately. Then I will have to eat it within four days.

I can't tell you if that is a safe recipe for canning or not as it has never been lab tested. However I wouldn't can it as it is quite low on acid (vinegar). Only 1/2 cup for 18 1/2 cups of low acid ingredients? When compared to the approved salsa recipes most of them call for at least 2 cups vinegar for that much low acid ingredients. Personally I think it is a recipe that was intended for fresh eating only, not canning, and someone just decided to try canning it. Hope their luck held. ;-)

But yes, if you have 2 pints for fridge storage (not canning) then within 24 hours of making it you dump both pints back into a pot, boil for 10 mins, put it in sterile jars and into the fridge and plan to eat it within the next few days. Beyond that it turns risky with that little amount of acid added.

And if you want salsa to can for shelf storage use one of the tested and approved recipes like the ones in the Ball canning books, one from NCHFP or the Annie's Salsa from this forum.

Dave

Dave,

what did if you have a fresh salsa recipe and thought you could can do started a hot water bath only to find out I was wrong so I took it out of the bath and left on counter to cool overnight. Do I throw it away

HU - Dave hasn't posted here for a couple years now. If I understand the question correctly, yes I would toss it.