So, this is my first attempt at canning.
Nothing exploded. The goggles are for the onion and jalapeno chopping.
Thus far, no one has botulism.
I’ve been in awe and fear of canning for many years now. I asked for a canner last Christmas, and it’s been sitting on the top shelf in the closet for 19 months. I froze the last batch of salsa, and then realized that it would not last long enough for winter. I remember this past March, when I was absolutely craving something closer to fresh, something local. I had two cubes of pesto left in the freezer, one bag of kale. It was sad.
I wasn’t going to have enough freezer room, either. Especially if there were things that I COULD be canning that I was currently freezing. So, off to the farmer’s market for a bushel of tomatoes and a dozen peppers. I pulled the jalapenos that Elizabeth Bradley grew out of the freezer, got some cilantro, some onions, some garlic, some lime juice. In fact, LOTS of these things. I made salsa from 1 pm to 11 pm on Monday. This is it. All of these cans now reside under my counter, in a spot that I seldom use. When I got ready for bed, my gut instinct was “wait, I need to put them in the fridge…” But no. They are ready, preserved, for a good long while.
Thanks to Kristie Vanderpoel, my sister in law with a home economics degree and a heart for homesteading in the ‘burbs. Her pictures of canning salsa on Facebook and Salsa Hotline answers got me through. ”Should these separate like this?” ”How did you sterilize your jars-wait, how do you get them out?” ”Maybe I didn’t leave enough headroom…” ”There’s a troubleshooting guide in the back of the Ball Blue Book? No kidding…”
Also, thanks to Elizabeth Bradley for jalapenos, and the snappy apron.
Come over soon. We have salsa. 1/2 qt per week for the rest of the year.
you crazy lady, you! the salsa looks yummy, and you look just as lovely and zany as ever! <3
Wow. Just Wow! So what separated out of the salsa to make them 2 tone? That’s amazing Katy! I look at that whole process with a smidge of envy and a whole lot of concern that I will poison myself with botulism. Someday I will be brave enough.
Well, all the liquid settles out. But if you flip it over, it re-constitutes. Non-homogenized salsa.
I’m with you, Ariana. The fear of burns and botulism kept me from this for a long time. But the desire for lycopene in February won out.
inspirational! i, too, live in awe and fear of canning. maybe next year?!
This is wonderful: slow food, slowly made, to be enjoyed slowly, as God intended, over slow conversation.
Can Margie and I come for dinner? We’ll bring wine.
Hooray for outer space quart jars of salsa that settle back down once they cool off and you turn them upside down! I don’t think I’ve ever made it into a blog before. Not that I’ve been tryin’, but still. Did you see the planting/canning quantity guide also in the back of the Ball Blue Book? It even tells you how many rows of plants and pound of produce etc.
For my next trick, I will hypnotize you into making whole grain breads using a grain mill and a stand mixer.