It’s the time of year when vegetables in your garden are starting to ripen. Before you know it, you have more vegetables than you know what to do with. You can always hand them off to your friends and family to enjoy, but what about the excess that you can’t find a home for? 

Salsa is a favorite snack at almost any football gathering or party. And it doesn’t get much better when that salsa is made with fresh vegetables from your garden. We’ve discussed the proper ways to can fruits and vegetables in a previous blog post in a generalized way, and now we’re going to tell you how to preserve salsa to enjoy months after the last vegetables are picked. We’ve also included a salsa recipe for you to use. Feel free to customize it to your preferences.

Recipe Ingredients

• 9 cups chopped, cored and peeled tomatoes (roughly 9 medium-sized)
• 3 cups chopped green peppers (roughly 3 large)
• 3 cups diced onion (1.5 medium)
• 2-3 jalapenos, diced 
• 7 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 6 teaspoons of canning salt 
• 1 cup white vinegar 
• 1 12-ounce can of tomato paste

*The vinegar in this recipe is what makes it safe for canning using a water-bed method. If you’re using the pressure-can method or plan to eat this salsa right away, you can omit the vinegar.

Instructions

1. Remove the skin from the tomatoes. To do this, make an ‘X’ at the bottom of each tomato and place them in boiling water for roughly one minute. Remove them from the boiling water, and place directly into a bowl of ice water. This process is known as shock, and the skin will peel right off the tomatoes! 
2. Place all prepared ingredients into a large pot. You will need a 10-quart saucepan for this recipe, or you can split the batch into two smaller saucepans. Allow the ingredients to simmer for 20- 30 minutes. 
3. Place your salsa into jars (this recipe will yield 7-8 jars) and seal them.
4. Next, it’s time to process the tomatoes using a water bath. Using a large pot (the pot should be large enough to cover the jars with two inches of water) bring water to a boil. 
5. Add the jars to the water bath and cover with a lid. Process them for 30 minutes then remove using tongs. 
6. Let the jars sit for 24 hours. Discard any that haven’t sealed. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 18 months.

You now have salsa to enjoy year-round!