Salsa for Later

What can you do with all that salsa? Can it!

You can use your favorite canning salsa recipe or you can follow mine which you can find here. But because you’re going to can the salsa and shelve it for later, you’ll need to be sure to use a recipe that’s been thoroughly tested for canning and have the necessary amount of citric acid (like from lemon or lime juice).

Prepare your recipe, then prepare your jars, bands and lids for water bath canning. Place a canning rack in the bottom of your canner. Place the jars on the rack and fill the canner and the jars with water until it reaches the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a simmer and heat jars for approximately 10 minutes.

Remove the jars one at a time as needed. Ladle the salsa into the hot jar, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles with a non-metallic spatula. Wipe the jar rim, center the lid on the jar and apply the band. Adjust the band until it is “fingertip tight”. Place the filled jar back in the canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.

Place the lid on the canner and process the jars for the amount of time called for in your recipe (mine is 15 minutes). The water in the canner should cover the jars by at least 1 inch, and should continue to boil throughout the processing time. Turn off heat, remove the canner lid and let the jars stand for 5 minutes. Remove the jars, place them on a dry towel or cutting board, and let cool for 12 hours - leaving 1 to 2 inches of space between the jars so they cool at an even rate. Test jars for a vacuum seal and store in a cool, dry, dark place until needed. Your canned salsa will keep for up to a year.

Note: I use Ball’s Freshtech Electric Water Bath Canner for all of my canning. It’s super easy to use, not too heavy to maneuver in the kitchen and not too cumbersome to store. You can find it on Amazon here.