It’s prime peach season in western Colorado! People come from all over the state to buy our peaches, and in a couple weeks we will be celebrating the Palisade Peach Festival. Every year I buy a flat of peaches and make everything from peach cobbler, to peach jam, and my favorite – peach salsa! If you’ve never canned before, there’s no need to be intimidated! One whole intimidating step (sterilizing) is actually removed from this recipe because you will be processing (boiling) your canned salsa for 10 or more minutes depending on where you live. If you are not familiar with canning, please review the USDA guidelines for safe canning so you do not make any mistakes.
Supplies You Will Need
Note: if you buy a Ball Canning Kit, it will come with almost everything you need. It includes a rack, jar lifter, headspace tool, funnel, and a few mason jars.
- A large stockpot with lid
- A trivet or rack for the bottom of the stockpot (I use the trivet that came with my Instant Pot)
- Jar lifter (do not try and use tongs. Trust me as I say this from experience – they won’t work)
- Wide mouth funnel (you could technically get away without this piece, it just makes things less messy)
- Headspace tool
- 6 – 8 half pint (8 oz) mason jars with brand new lids (you CANNOT use used mason jar lids when canning!)
- Cooling rack
- Ladle
The Recipe
- 2 lbs ripe peaches, peeled and pitted
- 2 lbs fresh, ripe, garden tomatoes, roasted and peeled
- 0.5 lb sweet mini peppers
- 4 jalapeños
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 large purple onion
- 1 bunch cilantro
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp tajin
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Preheat oven to 425 F, and roast tomatoes for 20 – 30 minutes, flipping tomatoes half way through roasting. Let cool for 15 – 30 minutes, or blanch in an ice bath to cool faster. Chop into 2 inch chunks and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil peaches for 2 minutes, then immediately blanch them in an ice bath. Remove peels and pits, chop into 2 inch chunks, and set aside.
Place a trivet or rack at the bottom of a large stock pot, fill the stockpot with water so that it covers an 8 oz mason jar with at least 4 inches of water. Bring water to a boil while preparing your salsa, and cover to prevent water from evaporating.
Chop sweet mini peppers, jalapeños, and garlic into 1 inch pieces (deseed jalapeños if you want a more mild salsa). Add the chopped peppers and garlic to a food processor and quickly pulse 5 – 7 times. Transfer peppers and garlic to a large bowl.
Chop red onion into eighths, and coarsely chop cilantro. Add onion, cilantro, and juice from one lime to the food processor and quickly pulse 5 – 7 times. Mix in with peppers and garlic in a large bowl.
Add tomatoes to the food processor, and quickly pulse 2 – 5 times depending on how chunky you want your salsa to be. Transfer tomatoes to your salsa mixture.
Add peaches to the food processor, and quickly pulse 2-5 times depending on how chunky you want your salsa to be. Transfer peaches to your salsa mixture.
Stir in all remaining ingredients to your salsa mixture, and place into a large pot. Bring salsa to a boil, uncovered, for 5-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. If you want your salsa to be thinner, boil for 5 minutes, if you want your salsa to have less liquid, continue to boil for a full 15 minutes.
While your salsa is cooking, wash jars and lids with warm soapy water, and then boil the jars for at least 5 minutes. Once your salsa is done cooking, remove jars from the boiling water and fill the jars leaving 1/4 – 1/2 inch of headspace. Wipe away any residue on the lip of the jar. Center lid and screw the lid on fingertip tight (you should easily be able to unscrew your lid with your index and thumb fingers).
Process (boil) your jars of salsa for 10 minutes if you are less than 1,000 feet below sea level. Ensure your jars are sitting up straight in the stockpot and not tilted or leaning over. You will likely have to work in batches. I can fit 4 jars in my stockpot at a time.
- Process for an additional 5 minutes if you are at an elevation of 1,000 – 3,000
- Process for an additional 10 minutes if you are at an elevation of 3,001 – 6,000
- Process for an additional 15 minutes if you are at an elevation of 6,001 – 8,000
- Process for an additional 20 minutes if you are at an elevation of 8,001 – 10,000
Remove jars with a jar lifter and let your canned salsa sit undisturbed on a cooling rack for 12 hours. Test seal by pressing down on the lid of the jars. If your jars are sealed, there will be no give to the lid. If for some reason one of your jars didn’t seal, the jar lid will “pop” back up when your press down on it. Consume unsealed goods within 5 days. Consume sealed goods within 18 months.
