# Can I pressure can salsa?



## Werforpsu (Aug 8, 2013)

Hey all, I have never made salsa before.
I bought the Mrs. Wages salsa mix to try. the recipe is 6 lbs tomatoes, 1/2 c vinegar and the mix.
It calls to process pints in a BWB for 40 minutes (the same amount of time you process plain tomatoes in BWB).
I wanted to pressure can them (I'm still learning about the pressure canning and want practice plus its less water to heat etc).

Could I pressure can them for 10 minutes at 10psi just like i would pressure can plain tomatoes since the BWB times are the same???

my ball blue book has salsa recipes in them but you only water bath them for 15 minutes so they are obviously different and I am feeling a little lost...


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

In the Ball guide there is a recipe for Spicy Tomato Salsa that uses 6 lbs. tomatoes and 3/4 c. wine vinegar, plus a bunch of other things. It says to do a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. I don't know why the Mrs. Wages recipe would call for such a long processing time.

Yes, I think you could pressure can them. The only thing is, salsa is supposed to come out sort of chunky and the pressure canning may make your tomatoes come out more like sauce.

Let us know how it comes out.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

This recipe for salsa calls for 35 minutes in a bwb;
http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/fiesta-salsa-small-batch

In all the guides they say to process as you would for the ingredient that takes the longest time. Maybe Mrs. Wages has something that takes longer.

My mom makes pressure canned salsa. It is slightly more watery than commercial salsa but it's still good.


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## Werforpsu (Aug 8, 2013)

it is in the pressure canner now. I did not get 5 pints out of it as the package said. I got more like 4 1/2 and that was giving a larger headspace then the recommended 1/2 inch. I kept the 1/2 jar out of the canner since it was fully cooked on the stove for 10 minutes and the spice package says that it is ready to eat if you want. i figured it would be for taste testing. 
at first try, it is a little spicy for me. I do not like spicy things and I buy mild salsa when I buy it so I might enjoy it more if I use a scratch recipe instead of the mix, then I can reduce the hot peppers in it.
The 1/2 jar looks exactly like store bought salsa to me so I guess we will see.


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## mjlitt (Apr 17, 2014)

I made Mrs Wages last night and only got four jars.I thought the processing time was longer because one of her spices lowered the acid level. I never thought about pressure canning.


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## ejagno (Jan 2, 2008)

The most wonderful piece of advice I'd ever received regarding canning from a friend was, "If you see it in the stores preserved in a jar or can then you can do the same at home." So the answer is yes, you can preserve salsa in jars at home. I prefer to pressure can as well.


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

ejagno said:


> The most wonderful piece of advice I'd ever received regarding canning from a friend was, "If you see it in the stores preserved in a jar or can then you can do the same at home." So the answer is yes, you can preserve salsa in jars at home. I prefer to pressure can as well.


Your friend's advice could get a person killed. You really cannot safely can many things canned by large manufacturers. They have equipment not available for household use. I cannot find my Ball book right now but I'm pretty sure it has directions for pressure canning tomato products. People used to call all sorts of things in all sorts of ways. People died eating all sorts of things too. Just because people used to eat unrefrigerated porridge for a week doesn't mean it is a good thing to do. The current canning recommendations didn't get there for no reason. 

Canning isn't bad. Canning things that shouldn't be canned is downright dangerous.


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## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

I think they meant pressure can vs water bath. 

There are things I would rather pressure can than water bath can but I'm unsure about the times. The acidity levels in some water bath recipes seems questionable to me. Plus pressure canning is more cut and dry. 

I am pretty sure store bought Jams are not water bath canned, I would be interested in a pressure recipe for them.


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## used2bcool13 (Sep 24, 2007)

I love salsa, Mrs Wages is a little spicy for me too. I just added more tomatoes when I made it.

Let us know how the texture comes out for you. I made mine 2-3 yrs ago and really can't remember.


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## ceresone (Oct 7, 2005)

I should read more!! I had the same questions. Thanks to the OP--and all that answered


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## Werforpsu (Aug 8, 2013)

well, I must say that I have been too nervous (of my spicy sensitive mouth) to try it:flame::flame::flame:
I am going to take a jar on vacation next week when I can have others try it too. I am also thinking that maybe I can add some corn and beans to it to help reduce the spicyness as well.

I am glad that other people were interested in this information also!


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## Gretchen Ann (Aug 30, 2010)

I'be never pressure canned salsa, but I always pressure can my chunk tomatoes. They always hold their shape and are not mushy. 

My canner instruction book says to pressure can tomato products at 5 lbs of pressure, not 10 lbs.


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