Lets talk Salsa!

[brokenbar]

I find them less crisp if the seeds are removed...I guess it lets in more liquid and there is a larger area of the flesh exposed to the heat...Plus...I love the handy little stem for grabbing them out of the jar! I pickled some habaneros for a friend once who wanted the seeds out to reduce the hotness and they just sort of collapsed and looked crappy and were rubbery. May have just been the Habs, I don't know...they don''t have thick, firm walls like jalapenos or others. I also don't slit mine, I just stab them once with a fork. I have a Foodsaver vacuum sealer that has the wide mouth jar sucker downer thingy ( ) and I use that to suck the juice into the peppers plus it sucks the lids on real good also. When I am doing it, you can see lots and lots of air bubbles being pulled to the top. Actually, I use the "sucker downer thingy" on all my jars of whatever I am canning before I put them in the canner and I don't think I have had a jar fail to seal in about 4 years.

[Father'sDaughter]

Thank you both for the replies. And I suspected that stemming and seeding might have an affect on texture, so I guess I'm better off leaving them whole and stabbing them. Now I just need to figure out which peppers to grow for pickling next year...

And that's a great idea to use the vacuum sealer. Every year my mother hounds me for ideas for a Christmas gift and I can never come up with anything. I think this year I'll tell her we'd like a vacuum sealer with a wide mouth jar sucker down thingy!

[Ruth_10]

Originally Posted by brokenbar

........I do pepperoncini but any time I have ever "processed" peppers, they are not crisp enough. I use the basic pickling recipe on your link but NO WATER...I bring it to a boil, turn off heat, add pepperoncini, stir for about 5 minutes and then remove the pepperoncini and pack tightly into jars. Allow the liquid to cool and then pour into jars. No processing because there is no water in this recipe and the vinegar is an anaerobic environment. I store them in a cool dark place. GREAT!!! Really crisp. I do the Greek pepperoncini too but they can get a mite hotter taste-wise but I sure like them. I also do a pepper called "Sweet Pickled Pepper". They are absolutely loaded with fruit in a variety of colors and using the recipe above, make the tastiest, crispest peppers. This plant is really productive and colors up early. I pretty much like pickled anything...(except maybe pigs feet, which I have eaten but was not too turned on by...)

This salsa discussion has my mouth watering. Brokenbar (or anyone else), have you ever tried adding calcium chloride for crispness? This is what is done commercially for maintaining crispness. Food grade calcium chloride is available by mail order or in well-stocked canning sections in stores.

P.S. There is water in the recipe: vinegar = acetic acid + water. Commercial vinegars are usually 5% acetic acid, 95% water. I think you are pretty safe not processing something that's in vinegar and salt (as you attest to by your experience), but if someone wanted to water bath them briefly, that'd work too.

[brokenbar]

Originally Posted by Ruth_10

This salsa discussion has my mouth watering. Brokenbar (or anyone else), have you ever tried adding calcium chloride for crispness? This is what is done commercially for maintaining crispness. Food grade calcium chloride is available by mail order or in well-stocked canning sections in stores.

P.S. There is water in the recipe: vinegar = acetic acid + water. Commercial vinegars are usually 5% acetic acid, 95% water. I think you are pretty safe not processing something that's in vinegar and salt (as you attest to by your experience), but if someone wanted to water bath them briefly, that'd work too.

I have not tried the calcium chloride. Back in the day, they used to add alum for crispness. I know about the water in vinegar however, not adding all that additional water that many recipes include allows for a pretty sterile environment after the salt treatment. I always tell anyone if they are worried about it, as you say, water bath can for a short time (peppers will still be a little less crisp) or store in refrigerator.

[MrsJustice]

Originally Posted by brokenbar

I wanted to pass on a couple of steps in making salsa that can make a huge difference in the quality of the end product.

I HATE runny salsa…Salsa should cling to a chip without plopping in your lap before you get it to your mouth. That said, I have developed a method that leaves your salsa much thicker and richer without requiring much cooking down.

I remove the skins, remove the seeds and chop my tomatoes. I then place the tomatoes in a large colander atop a bowl or kettle and go away and leave it for about 6 hours. You will be amazed how much liquid comes out of those chopped tomatoes. You will have more liquid than I do as the tomatoes I use are much, much drier, have fewer seeds and hardly any gel fraction.

The recipe I use calls for tomato paste and tomato sauce. I add my other ingredients, cippolini onions, sweet peppers, hot peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, cumin & lime juice and bring that to a boil. I let it boil for 10 minutes. Then I add the tomatoes and the cilantro, mixing well and fill my jars. Cooking the tomatoes less contributes to a chunkier and thicker salsa. My recipe calls for 10 minutes in the canner.

I have also switched to growing and using the pepper “Santa Fe Grande” exclusively in my salsa. This is a terrific pepper. Lush, 2-3 foot plants just covered with 3 to 4” long peppers that go from creamy green color to banana yellow (and eventually to orange then red.) These are a little less hot than jalapenos but than means you can add a few more and the yellow, red and orange colors contribute to a beautiful salsa. I also add the hotter, larger yellow “volcano pepper” to a batch for my Son and habanero’s to a batch for a friend who has no taste buds left at all! Whatever pepper you use is fine.
Anyway, that’s my salsa hints for the day!

Are you using fresh cilantoo? I have been doing research on the benefits of cilantoo and I need to find "heirloom ciliantoo seeds".

Benefits of Cilantro
May be able to help prevent cardiovascular damage.The School of Life Science in Tamil Nadu, India noted, after researching the activity of cilantro leaves and stem, “if used in cuisine would be a remedy for diabetes. Strong antioxidant activity. Has been shown to have anti-anxiety effects.May help improve sleep quality. Has been examined and described to have a blood-sugar lowering effect. Cilantro seed oil possess antioxidative properties, consumption may decrease oxidative stress. Research conducted by The Dental School of Piracicaba in Brazil found cilantro oil to be a new natural fungal cleansing formulation opportunity.demonstrated activity against several types of harmful organisms.

I don't know if Mexican restaurants in all parts of the country do it, but in the south; they usually bring a small bowl of salsa and a basket of corn chips when the server delivers the menus. In some restaurants, they call it "hot sauce". In some they call it "salsa". Like BrokenBar, I prefer non runny salsa. I often wonder when it stops being either hot sauce or salsa and becomes pico de gallo which to me is a liquid free salsa.

Ted

[MrsJustice]

Originally Posted by tedln

I don't know if Mexican restaurants in all parts of the country do it, but in the south; they usually bring a small bowl of salsa and a basket of corn chips when the server delivers the menus. In some restaurants, they call it "hot sauce". In some they call it "salsa". Like BrokenBar, I prefer non runny salsa. I often wonder when it stops being either hot sauce or salsa and becomes pico de gallo which to me is a liquid free salsa.

Ted

For me: If the salsa is thin: than it Hot Sauce!!!

[Ruth_10]

Woo hoo! We made salsa tonight and are snorking it down as I write this. DH just said, "This stuff is addictive!" And I agreed!

Great thread! (And a wonderful way to use up a glut of tomatoes and peppers.)

I bought a jar of Joe T. Garcia's medium heat salsa at the grocery store yesterday. I buy medium heat so my wife can eat it also. I started eating some last night and told my wife she can't eat any of it. It was way to hot for her, but still a little mild for me. Joe T. Garcia's is a well known Mexican restaurant in Fort Worth which often has bus loads of tourists stopping in. Really good food and really good salsa. Walmart's salsa with black beans and corn is still better though.

Ted

[JRinPA]

I've been making what I think is a pretty good chili sauce based off of this recipe.

Basically I cut out the tomato paste, tomato sauce, and replaced that volume with extra fresh tomatoes. Additionally swapped lemon juice in for lime juice. Upped the hot peppers to about 5 jalapeno and 3 habanero instead of the 3-5 in the salsa recipe. It is a little too thin and too tangy from the lemon juice to use as salsa (my original intent) but it makes a pretty good and easy chili using a quart of this sauce along with a pound of ground venison and a big can (52 oz) of light red kidney beans.

I have tried it with skinned, seeded, and drained-6-hour tomatoes, and it was good that way. But I prefer using whole tomatoes simply cored, food processed, and then cooked down some. Done that way I used extra volume to account for the reduction - 16 cups instead of 12 cups of tomatoes, simmered back to 12 cups. They both taste good but the second is much easier for me, and I just hate throwing away the zesty taste of the seeds and juice that get scraped out when peeling. I keep the skin as well. I just run everything except the hot peppers through the food processor and into the pot. The hot peppers I dice fine - I'd hate for the food processor to leave a big hunk of habanero.

[z_willus_d]

Originally Posted by brokenbar

Well I am alive Naysen and have probably done it this way for about 20 years...I have tried to kill off relatives, but so far, no luck The salt probably kills off as much as the vinegar. They look real good. The brining may have firmed up some of the softer ones, sucking out almost all the moisture. The other thing I do basically the same way is brined pickles...I don't care what you do, if you process them, they are never crisp.

Well, it been around a month since I processed the peppers. This week I've been enjoying them. They're great! I've added them to casserole, bean burrito, and one other meal I can't recall. I find myself craving the sour tang. The green Jalapenos are perfectly crisp (I did use calcium chloride), and the riper red and salsa hybrid Burpee peppers are less so. I found that the heat is reduced somewhat by the brining process. I'm going to try and can more this weekend.
Thanks again for the instructions.
-naysen

[drew51]

I decided to try brokenbar's salsa recipe. I'm doing it right now. Taking a break. I have to wait anyway for tomatoes to drain. I used Russo, Costoluto Genovese sel Valente, and I wanted some variety so using Amana Orange too. I wanted to say that this is a dry tomato. I found easier to cut up than the others listed. It is a good producer too. All around a nice orange tomato! I also used Amish paste. Again maybe because of the shape, these are easy to get nice square chunks. I also have Santa Fe Grande peppers. I And I have a very mild yellow scotch bonnet. Bummed as I wanted a hot one for Jerk sauce. Next year I'm going to try the chocolate which is supposed to be really hot. You need a hot one for jerk for sure. Maybe put some Trinidad perfume peppers in there too for seasoning. Another pepper that may be good for salsa is the Cascabella. I'm going to pickle the rest of the Santa Fe's like you would jalapenos. Use them for whatever down the road.
A link to cascabella seeds
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/CASCABE...ductinfo/9218/

I guess the cascabella is used in this product.
http://www.tomatoville.com/showpost....4&postcount=17

[mensplace]

Dinner last night was Italian bread sliced diagonally and allowed to dry for a day, then one side dipped in EVOO with purple garlic. Then allowed to sit for a few hours and lightly toasted on both sides. Topped this on the side without the oil and garlic with Pico de Gallo when cooled. Delicious

[bower]

Drew, I grew these "Cascabella" peppers this year - came to me as "Guerito". Wow this plant is such a pumper. I find the taste is different from Santa Fe (a favourite of mine) but maybe I just can't taste that much over the heat - they are hotter than SF for sure. One little pepper is enough to season a whole pizza for me. I can see why they make pickles - so many peppers!

I'd really like to have a sweet pepper with this kind of production too...

Originally Posted by drew51

I decided to try brokenbar's salsa recipe. I'm doing it right now. Taking a break. I have to wait anyway for tomatoes to drain. I used Russo, Costoluto Genovese sel Valente, and I wanted some variety so using Amana Orange too. I wanted to say that this is a dry tomato. I found easier to cut up than the others listed. It is a good producer too. All around a nice orange tomato! I also used Amish paste. Again maybe because of the shape, these are easy to get nice square chunks. I also have Santa Fe Grande peppers. I And I have a very mild yellow scotch bonnet. Bummed as I wanted a hot one for Jerk sauce. Next year I'm going to try the chocolate which is supposed to be really hot. You need a hot one for jerk for sure. Maybe put some Trinidad perfume peppers in there too for seasoning. Another pepper that may be good for salsa is the Cascabella. I'm going to pickle the rest of the Santa Fe's like you would jalapenos. Use them for whatever down the road.
A link to cascabella seeds
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/CASCABE...ductinfo/9218/

I guess the cascabella is used in this product.
http://www.tomatoville.com/showpost....4&postcount=17

[drew51]

Thanks Bower for the report on Cascabella. Santa Fe is hot enough! I got some sweet peppers from the UK, well hope to. I will report on them next season. I'm trying to find a productive sweet too. Interesting observation, a strange pepper, peppadew. It is a super productive plant. Grows 5 feet tall, and best support it. I lost a branch to pepper weight.
They are pretty hot raw, but cooked the heat is gone and they are very sweet. Thin walled though. The sweet Italians look good, one must be productive, I'm going to try some next season.

Here are some peppers I want to try along with seller descriptions

Corno di Toro Rosso Pepper - Long 8-inch tapered, bull-horn shaped,
red peppers are sweet and spicy. They are great fresh or roasted.
Large plants yield well. Among the best peppers you can grow and so
delicious. Pure Italian seed. Great for market growers and home
gardeners alike. Purchased from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company

Donkey Ears AKA Slonovo Uvo - 90 days. About 6 inches long and 1.5 to 2
inches wide at the top, this looks like an Anaheim chili, but is never
hot. One of the best tasting sweet red peppers ever. Stuff with cheese,
use in salads or make a rich pepper sauce. (If you order any sweet pepper,
ask for my pepper sauce recipe. I serve it over chichen on a bed of rice.)
Tall plants are very productive. A seedsaver in Minnesoto found this
heirloom in Butan, Bulgaria. C.Annuum
Midium tall plant produces good yields of 18 cm long by 7 cm wide extra
sweet peppers.Great variety to make " Ajvar" pepper spread.New variety
from Serbia. Purchased from Skyfire garden Seeds

Doux D' Espagne Sweet Pepper - This variety was introduced before 1860.
In the 1880's, this pepper was shipped to the large markets in Paris from
warmer areas like Algeria and Valencia. In the 19th century the 6-7-inch
long fruit were among the largest offered, and popular with cooks.
It produces long, cone-shaped peppers that are perfect for frying and
salads. They are sweet and flavorful, but hardly ever offered in America.
A good-producing pepper that is reported to be disease resistant.
Heirloom Doux D'Espagne Pepper also known as Spanish Mammoth because of
it's large sized fruit.The 6" - 7" peppers of Doux D'Espagne start out
green and ripen to a deep red color. Doux D'Espagne Pepper grow upon
large plants that produce excellent amounts of cone shaped fruit.
These are a good choice for frying peppers. 90 days until harvest.
Purchased from Azure Dandelion Herb N Art Store

Marta Sweet Pepper - An early season sweet pepper, Marta is suitable for
indoor or outdoor growing. Marta is a yellow coloured sweet pepper and is
a prolific producer of blocky, well flavoured, juicy, thick walled fruit
Purchased from packetseeds.com

Pointy Kaibi #1 (organic) - A Bulgarian family heirloom from Mitko
Antonov, this pepper is medium-sized, wide at the top and, as the name
says, pointed at the blossom end. One of the best of the 2013 garden.
Rivals Donkey Ears for good taste, but it does taste different than
Donkey Ears Purchased from Skyfire garden Seeds

Yellow Monster Pepper - 90 days. Gigantic, behemoth elongated yellow bell
peppers can grow 8 inches long by 4 inches wide! These impressive
fruits are really sweet, meaty and wonderful, so pretty after they turn
from green to bright sunshine-yellow. These are great fresh, fried or
roasted, so you will be happy the plants produce plenty of these
colossal beauties. Purchased from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company