It’s October and that means tomatoes are finally ripe in my area gardens. Between my neighbor, my mom and my cousin, the bounty is plentiful. (I only grew a few pear tomatoes in my garden this year.) With a near full freezer, it was time I stopped roasting tomatoes for sauce and paste and started canning. The hardest part is reaching the canner on the high shelf in my garage.
There is such a feeling of accomplishment when you can your own food. Not only are fresh, organic fruits and veggies going into the salsa, but costs are low and it all looks so pretty on the pantry shelves. I still get excited over each “pling” of the jars – the sound that assures a proper seal for storage.
When canning anything, be it meat, fish, chutney or applesauce, I don’t mess around. I stick to tried and true, “approved” home-canning recipes. The wrong ratios and/or acid content can cause canned food to spoil quickly, so always follow canning recipes to the T!
I love the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. It can be found at just about any store that sells canning jars and equipment. There are more recipes in there than I will try in my lifetime but it is worth the cost just for the detailed instructions on canning and the recipe I use every year for Zesty Salsa.
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