Mild Tomato Salsa

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1Wash 6 pint jars (or 12 half-pint jars), bands, and new lids in hot soapy water and keep the jars hot until ready to fill.
2. 2Simmer the new lids in hot water per the manufacturer's instructions.
3. 3Wash the tomatoes, score an X on the bottom, blanch 30 to 60 seconds in boiling water, cool in ice water, slip off the skins, cut out the cores, and chop the tomatoes; wash and chop the onion and peppers.
4. 4Combine the chopped tomatoes, onion, peppers, the 1 cup bottled lemon or lime juice, garlic, cilantro, salt, and cumin in a large pot, keeping the combined onion and pepper amount at or below what is listed here relative to the tomatoes and acid.
5. 5Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes to blend the flavors and reduce excess liquid slightly.
6. 6In addition to the bottled lemon or lime juice already cooked into the salsa, add the required extra acid directly to each hot, empty jar before filling: 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid per half-pint or pint jar.
7. 7Ladle the hot salsa into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.
8. 8Remove air bubbles with a nonmetallic tool, wipe the rims clean of any seeds or pulp, center the lids, and screw the bands on fingertip tight.
9. 9Process in a boiling-water canner, jars covered by 1 to 2 inches of water, timing from a full rolling boil: 15 minutes for half-pints and pints at 0-1,000 ft, adding 5 minutes at 1,001-3,000 ft, 10 minutes at 3,001-6,000 ft, 15 minutes at 6,001-8,000 ft, or 20 minutes above 8,000 ft.
10. 10Turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes, then move the jars with a jar lifter to a towel-lined counter and let cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
11. 11Press each lid to confirm sealing, label with contents, acid added, and date, and refrigerate any jar that did not seal.
12. 12Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place up to about 1 year; refrigerate after opening and use within about a week.
13. 13Do not reduce the bottled lemon or lime juice cooked into the batch or the extra acid added per jar, and never increase the combined onion and pepper beyond the tested amount, since this salsa's safety depends on both the acid and the vegetable ratio staying exactly as specified.