I’ve been canning many years now but just started making salsa 3 years ago. I made medium salsa the first year but when we opened a jar it was mild. Last year I made my salsa hotter but it still seemed to lose some of it’s heat after canning. So I’m getting ready to can salsa again this year and see if others have had a similar experience and just how hot do you have to make it to turn out medium? Thank you!
by backtotheland76
10 Comments
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Yes, even if I use super hots it’s mild after canning. When I open a jar I usually add some crushed dried hot peppers or flakes, a dash of cumin to brighten it back up, and some fresh cilantro if I have it.
Yes, I’ve noticed the same thing. I guess the answer is to use more chiles in the salsa at the time you can it.
Problem with that idea is the salsa may be too hot early on, but will still lose heat as the months go by. So you’re kind of back to the same issue.
My solution is to add dash or three of hot sauce to adjust the heat if I want it hotter.
I’ve noticed salsa will get less hot even if it sits in the fridge for a day or two.
I address this by making deadly salsa. Then by the time I open the jars, it’s mellowed but still spicy.
I use ghost peppers and reapers.
Yes! Lots of peppers lose heat when they are heated/boiled. If you want to keep super spicy flavor, a lot of people go for fermented hot sauces. I like to combine a canned salsa with fermented hotsauce.
Yea it does loose heat… going in the canner, I make a medium (for kids) and hot/super hot. I have a pretty high spice tolerance though. For the hot, I leave all the seeds in the peppers and use serranos, cayenne, and my “woody” jalapeños. For the medium I use milder jalapeños and leave the pith/seeds.
I’m pretty sure vinegar reduces spice across the board
Yep, the peppers lose their heat. I generally add quite a bit of Habañero powder to the salsa when canning. I get it from Amazon.
I noticed the same. I made a batch I called Scorched Earth with tons of scorpion peppers. It was NOT hot. Made no sense.
Not with the amount of habaneros I put in it!