I can't believe that I never finished my tomato canning entries!
Here is the final episode.
These two were Bill's projects. We had huge amounts of ripe Romas, so he decided to can them whole. Blanching and peeling them was a challenge, and he got a little impatient with the tediousness of the job, but he persevered. For the liquid, he used seasoned tomato juice.
Yield: 10 quarts - I am not sure how many pounds of tomatoes were used, but I would say at least 20 lbs.
Bill also decided to make Tomatillo Salsa after I showed him Jerry's (JDeQ on Slow Travel) blog post about Canning Tomatillo Salsa.
I don't think he put in the full one-half cup of Jalapeno chiles called for in the recipe because he didn't think I could handle it, but the salsa still turned out to be pretty tasty.
Yield: 6 pints and 8 half-pints.
We have really enjoyed our first canning experience, and we have lots and LOTS of canned tomatoes for the winter. We may actually have trouble using them all before next year's crop is ripe. Oh well, it's a good problem to have!
Canning Tomatillo Salsa
This recipe is adapted the recipe from The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving which is edited by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine. The only things changed were the types of chile peppers and the seasonings–it is not a good idea to change the amounts or proportions of acidic to non-acidic ingredients in recipes that are going to be put up in a hot water bath (non-pressure) canner. This is because the acids used in these recipes are part of what helps prevent bacteria from growing in the canned food.
11 cups husked, cored and chopped tomatillos
2 cups diced red onion
1 cup green Anaheim or New Mexico chiles, diced finely
1/2 cup green jalapeno chiles, diced finely
1/2 cup green poblano chiles, diced finely
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white distilled vinegar
8 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 tablespoons finely minced cilantro
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
Wash five pint or ten half pint jars, their lids and rings thoroughly in hot, soapy water and rinse well.
Put all the ingredients to the salsa in a clean, heavy bottomed dutch oven or stockpot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then turn heat down and cook at a vigorous simmer for ten minutes, stirring now and again. Turn heat off of salsa.
Fill clean jars with hot salsa, and leave 1/2 inch of headspace at the top. Make sure there are no air bubbles in the jars, and wipe rims of jars, then top with a lid and screw down the ring. Do not tighten ring–just scew it on until it is firm, but not tight.
Put filled jars back into rack in canner, and lower them into the water. Make sure the water covers the jars. Bring to a boil, cover the canner, and process at a full boil for fifteen minutes. Turn off heat and remove canner lid. Let the jars cool for five minutes, then remove from the canner with jar lifter and set on a folded clean towel on your counter away from drafts.
Leave undisturbed for about eighteen hours. Check to make sure the lids have sealed properly–they should be concave and you shouldn’t be able to easily pry the edges up–then tighten the rings on the jars, wipe the jars down and store them in a cool place out of direct light.
Makes ten half pints or five pints of salsa.
