Salsa

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Beyond the Sidewalks : One Thread

Hey everybody. I need a good thick salsa recipe. My salsa last year was good but waterie. I think part of that was the type of tomatoe I used. Hints and pointers are very much welcome. Sherry

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001

Answers

O.K. Sherry if nobody else is gonna share, I guess I will. smile. My Salsa got me a 2nd place ribbon at the County Fair last year, so I guess it is pretty good. I was disapointed tho. cause there was a special Hocking award for the best of salsa and for the best of cornbread. Well, I got 2'nd in both. Hows that rate! Hubby coudn't understand why I was disapointed when I got 2nd place! But hey 2nd didn't get the prize!

If you use roma tomatoes you won't have to cook it down so much, to get it thick.

I love making this when all the ingredients are ready from the garden! I always like to stick a whole cayenne pepper in the side of the jar, for pretty, and a few leaves of the herbs too.

Chunky Salsa

7 pounds tomatoes

10 chili peppers, or cayenne

3 jalapeno peppers or chili

2 cups corsely chopped onion

1/2 cup snipped fresh cilantro or parsley

5 cloves garlic

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tb. suger

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

secret ingredients- tb lime basil. tb. lemon verbena

Wash tomatoes. Remove peels.(plunge into boiling water a few at a time forabout 1/2 a minute, then rinse in cold water. Remove skin with small paring knife.remove stem ends, cores and seeds. Coarsely chop. Measure 14 cups. Place in a large colander. Ler drain 30 minutes.Place drained tomatoes in an 8 qt. Dutch oven . Bring to boil. Reduse heat, Simmer uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes or till thickened to desired consistency, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, seed and chop peppers. Add peppers, onions, cilantro, secret herbs, ,garlic, viniger, sugar, salt and pepper to the tomatoes. Return to boil. Remove from heat.

Ladle salsa into hot, clean pint canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Process jars in a boiling water canner for 35 minutes( start timing when water comes to a boil). Remove jars from canner, cool on racks. Makes 4 pints. Can double.

Have fun! TREn

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001


I have a salsa recipe but it's not very good - that's why I didn't post it here.

But your recipe looks good, Tren! I'm gonna print it out and try it when my tomatoes are ripe (which I'm hoping will be in the next couple of weeks).

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001


Oh, I also meant to add that my recipe is *also* watery, like sherry's. I hope Tren's recipe is thicker than mine...

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001

I'm hoping that the roma's may help with that since I had about half and half. I don't remember where I saw it maybe CS, where someone wrote that they done the paste tomatoes in the food processor peeling and all and used this like a base and chopped the other toamatoes and peppers for texture, does this ring a bell with anyone or was I dreaming of canning and I'm having trouble telling the difference in my dreams and reality. Sherry

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001

Just a goofy note from me:

my family always makes salsa together, and we stopped cooking it years ago. We dont care for the thick, cooked stuff as much as 'fresh' so we just make up a huge batch, eat about fourth of it during our salsa-makin-party (yuuummmmmmm) and then throw the rest in freezer containers. It is kinda watery, but thats gotten better since we started drainin and squeezin the tomatoes real good. Tried all Romas one year, didnt take so much squeezin, but we just didnt think there was as much flavor. I know, I know, you arent supposed to freeze without cooking/blanching, but our salsa is damn fresh tastin, and we have lotsa converts. (way less work!)

If it's too watery, I dont care anywho, cuz I usually use it mixed with some sour cream, which thickens it and adds wonderful yummies! When my salsa was way too watery, I just poured off the liquid and put it in my soups/sauces.

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001



Got a recipe, Earthmama?

I had fresh salsa once (when we lived in southern California). It was *really* good - but I haven't had it since.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001


A trick I found accidentally is to dice the tomatoes and let them sit in a colander overnight. A lot of the liquid drains out. I would guess if you salted them (like pickles) it would happen even more.

We don't have a real recipe, but just season whatever tomatoes we have excess of with fresh coriander, finely chopped onion, green pepper and salt. Lemon is good too if you're going to can it. Tomatillos make the best salsa, especially mixed with a real sweet tomato.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001


I had a really good salsa once that was made from barely ripe papayas (yeah, I know, hard to get), pineapple, tomatoes, onions. Maybe there was some mango in it. It was GOOD!

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001

Recipe?? Well shucks, we kinda go by instinct! But the basic one would go somethin like this:

25 medium tomatoes 8 Anaheim chiles 2 cups chopped onions 3 very hot chilis (like serrano or habenero) 1/3 cup vinegar 10 cloves garlic 2 cups chopped fresh cilantro as much salt necessary to remove most of the water from tomatoes, and taste tests good!

Course we do some tomatillo salsa too......later for that.........

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001


Oh yeah, the tomatillo salsa, please!!!!

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001


Oh! You guys are making my mouth water! TRen

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001

Oh man, what a great idea . . . SALSA!!!. Want it, need it, gotta have it. Our tomato plants are coming in right now, am overwhelmed (for a so short time only now) with what to do with them. Frito Lay is gonna make a mint this weekend.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001

Well I'm forty pints of salsa richer and I believe it's pretty good and thick, I haven't looked at it this mornig to see if it separated. I done the thing with the the whole unpeeled tomatoes and it sure thickened it up. We are going to have to buy another freezer ASAP, when we do I'd lide to try a batch of the fresh in the freezer, that sounds yu;m, I like the fresh taste better. Have a good day Sherry

-- Anonymous, July 19, 2001

Well, I've never made salsa with my excess tomatoes, but all these recipes sound so great I've gotta try one! But...since I have a "stomach" problem, how spicy are these recipes??

-- Anonymous, July 19, 2001

Marcia, throw those peppers in ! I don't have any tomatoes yet. I'm kinda in a get ready or not ,here they come stage here,as the tomatoe vines are loaded with green tomatoes, the apple tree is gonna 'give it to us!'Yah! this year, and the peaches are just getting their blush. I am taking a deep breath. It's all gonna happen at once, I am finding my recipes, getting them sorted,lining up the boxes of jars, finding my labels, marking sea salt ,viniger, and clove buds off of my grocery list.The Dill is starting to head up, perfect, just in time to help the cucumbers become pickles! I used to do alot of experimenting, but now I focus on tried and true mixtures, O.K. One more day to sit on the porch and catch the breeze , and I always feel guilty when the Amish Man and his boy, catch me out here on this porch, in the morning , on their way to the fish spot with their pole's, there I am again when they go back in the evening, I tell my neighbor Jackie, who sits with me,as we watch a storm approching, that they probably think I have been there all day. I'm sure that their industrious little wife's are home getting something done, besides watching the north sky, or maybe not, who knows . grin Tren

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ