Started making homemade salsa earlier this summer. After taking some to friends at work, I got my first commission to make a batch for folks over the holidays! It's been a growing dream to get paid for the salsa I make and now that it's happening I have to think about putting them into better containers so that they'll last from my kitchen to their home. Has anyone jarred or canned their homemade salsa before?
One commission says they want it for Christmas Day mealtime but they are taking time off before the holiday, so I'll have to give it to them at work a few days before they will enjoy it. I usually give my salsa in the containers you see above the day after I make it and they usually demolish it the same day. Any tips for a potential small business salsa maker?
by HairyTroll13
9 Comments
Commenting so that I remember to come back and check these replies.
Pressure cooker, USDA canning guidelines. You can lose some texture but I don’t believe “hot packing” is legit unless youre just eating it yourself. Damn those look good.
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As someone else said, you definitely want to pressure can it if you’re not working from a tested hot water bath recipe. Tomatoes are notorious for botulism if you don’t have enough acid in the recipe. Pressure canning will impact the texture of the ingredients, but it is the far safer choice if there is any question of the pH level.
I’ve jarred it before in mason jars. You want your salad to have a minimum level of acidity, I added some extra citric acid to mine. Then you boil the jars, lids, and screw tops, put the salsa into the jar while everything is hot, make sure the jar rim is **clean** afterwards, otherwise the lid won’t seal correctly. Put on the lid and just barely hand tighten the screw lid to seal it. Then put the jar back into boiling water for a period of time.
For home use I freeze it in small freezer bags but I used to have a business that made salsas super hot and did the proper canning method.
Would you please tell me more about the roja? It looks very familiar and correct.
Would you be able to tell me about the verde? It looks delicious.
Currently stepping into the same industry. Get a ph tester pen, drop the ph below 4.6 if you want to can. I drop mine to 4.2 and sell refrigerated in deli style containers. If you really want to turn this into a business check your state and local cottage industry laws, get your business license, food handlers and serv safe, and business insurance.
I have had great success contacting breweries in my area and suggesting a pop up event where I sell a bar snack size with chips as well as full sized containers to-go.