“A farmer friend of mine told me recently about a busload of middle school children who came to his farm for a tour. The first two boys off the bus asked, “Where is the salsa tree?” They thought they could go pick salsa, like apples and peaches. Oh my. What do they put on SAT tests to measure this? Does anybody care? How little can a person know about food and still make educated decisions about it? Is this knowledge going to change before they enter the voting booth? Now that’s a scary thought.
”
Canning Salsa
Ingredients:
3 gallons of whole, fresh, tomatoes
3 yellow onions
6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon avocado oil
6 Thai red chilies
4 jalapenos
2 cups roasted, chopped green chili
1 bunch chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons ground cumin
12 limes, juice only
Salt to taste
Directions:
1. Wash, core, and remove any blemishes from the tomatoes. Place them in a heavy bottomed, non reactive pot. Cook them on low, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
2. After they get nice and soft, their volume should be around two gallons. Puree the tomatoes, and pass them through a food mill. Feed the seeds and skins to your chickens, pigs, worms, or compost.
3. Reduce the tomato puree over medium low heat until it is nice and thick, and about half the volume, or 1 gallon. This will take a couple hours. Stir every 15 minutes, or so.
4. While the sauce reduces, roast and peel the green chilies. Chop these, and all of the other vegetables.
5. Lightly caramelize the onions in the avocado oil, over medium high heat, in a cast iron pan. Add the garlic, and cook for another minute.
6. Wash and sterilize 10 pint canning jars. Get a water bath canner up to a boil.
7. Once the tomatoes are reduced, add the peppers, onions and garlic, lime juice, salt, cilantro, and cumin to the pot, and bring to a boil.
8. Pour boiling water over your canning lids. Fill jars, leaving 1/2” head space. Use a skewer to remove any bubbles. Wipe rims, apply lids, and secure with bands, finger tight. Process under at least a 1/2” of water for 15 minutes (10 at sea level).
9. Move jars to a towel on the counter and allow to cool for 12 hours. Label, date, and store in a cool dark place.
We eat a ton of canned salsa, in the winter. This recipe is flexible, so make it as hot, or mild, as you like. Don’t use green peppers, though, because those aren’t food. If you want a chunkier salsa, peeled, diced tomatoes can be added, at the end. Making your own salsa from tomatoes you’ve grown, or vine ripened one from a local farmer will make it hard for you to be satisfied with the salsa in the grocery store. DO NOT use canned tomato products, and re-can them. Happy canning!
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