I'd like to can some tomato salsa. Is it necessary to boil the mixture in a hot

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baffled

New member
water bath for 20 minutes? Or is it okay to just get it hot before putting it in the jars and then let the heat seal the lids. I'm trying not to cook it so much.
 
Yes, if you don't boil it long enough you won't kill all the bacteria. Those bacteria will multiply and cause the salsa to rot inside the jar.
 
You have to bring the entire mixture to a temperature of at least 170 degrees F. for at least 20 minutes. Although tomatoes are acidic, they can still harbor harmful bacteria, which you destroy with heat. You should also sterilize the jars and lids and the screw-on rings before you fill the jars - which you do by completely immersing the clean jars and caps in boiling water.
You can't cut corners when canning. You could inadvertently poison someone by serving home-canned food that isn't properly preserved. For young children and older folks, that can be fatal...and sometimes, even for hale and hearty twenty-somethings!
 
You absolutely have to process it in a hot water bath. I only do mine for 10 minutes though. You can't trust the seal if you just put the hot mixture in without processing it. You don't want to get food poisoning. I don't cook mine much before hand. I put all the vegetables (tomato, garlic, onion, and jalapeno) in the oven and broil them to give them a roasted flavor. Then put them in the food processor with the other ingredients.
 
If the recipe tells you to boil it for that long, do it. Some things need that time to kill bad stuff that can cause things like botulism. Yuk!!
 
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