Fall is the perfect season to incorporate fruit and veggie salsa into your meals. If you want to get really creative, Hearn Kirkwood is here to tell you how to make homemade salsa and what fall meals would go great with your healthy and flavorful salsa recipes.

Making homemade canned salsa is the prefect way to use fresh garden vegetables and fruits before the winter comes. Canning tomatoes, peppers, apples, peaches and more are a way for you to enjoy the farmers’ harvest throughout the year.

Canned salsa can be kept for a whole year if properly canned.

If you are a fan of tomatoes, a variety of tomatoes can be used for making salsa and peppers can be mixed in to vary flavor and spiciness.

If you are not a fan of tomatoes, you can create salsa with cilantro, corn, pineapple and a variety of seasonings.

Salsa can be eaten with chips, crackers, or breading. Salsa can also be used as a topping for any meal of the day or added as an ingredient in other homemade dishes.

To properly can salsa, you need to make sure that the jars are sealed properly once you have cooled them. To make sure this happens for every can of salsa, your salsa must be brought to a full boil and poured into the jars while the salsa is still hot. These hot jars should be sealed with lids that have been prepared properly.

The following are homemade canned salsa recipes you can try today:

Homemade Canned Tomato Salsa

This recipe can make 12 to 14 pints. More or less pints made depend on the actual quantity of vegetables used in the recipe. You will need the following ingredients:

-24 cups of skinned and chopped tomatoes.

- 4 cups of chopped onions.

- 4 cups of chopped green peppers.

- 2 Jalapeno Peppers (the spicier you want your salsa, the more peppers you should add).

- 5 tbsp. Salt.

- 1 tbsp. Pepper.

- 2 tbsp. Chili powder.

- 1 cup of vinegar.

- 6 cloves of garlic- minced

- 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste.

To remove the skin off of the tomatoes put them in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds and transfer them to a boil of ice water.

The core and skin of each tomato should be removed.

Next, onions, green peppers and jalapenos should be chopped. Don’t forget to remove the seeds from the jalapenos prior to chopping.

Once chopping is completed, place the vegetables and salsa in a large pot. Put the pot over medium high heat until you see the salsa is at a full rolling boil.

As the salsa is cooking, prepare your canning lids and rings. You can do this by placing them in a saucepan with water covering them. Put water to a simmer. Turn off the heat after the lids have come to a simmer but don’t take them out of the hot water until ready to use.

Fill up your jars and place the prepared lids and screw on the rings to tightly seal them.

The jars will seal while cooling. You can make sure each jar is sealed by pressing down the center of each lid with your finger or thumb. If properly sealed, the lids will not move up or down.

Spicy Stone Fruit Salsa

Fruit salsa is quicker to make than vegetable salsa. One great recipe is the spicy stone fruit salsa. It only takes 10 minutes to prepare and makes for 5 servings.

For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

- 4 peaches, chopped.

- 2 cups of cherries (pitted and chopped).

- 2 small or 1 large jalapeno pepper (diced).

- 1 lime, zested and juiced.

Combine all the ingredients and let the mixture sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Serve at your leisure.

These salsas can be served over fish, chicken, Greek yogurt and more.

For a great selection of nutritious and fresh foods, shop at Hearn Kirkwood, contact Hearn Kirkwood by calling410.712.6000 (Baltimore), 301.621.2992 (Washington DC), or visit our website!

Hearn Kirkwood is a privately held Food Service Distributor specializing in produce, meat, poultry, dairy, and seafood. Since our founding in 1946, we have grown from a store front on the downtown Baltimore Produce Market to a 60,000 sq. ft. facility. Hearn Kirkwood purchases 90% of our fresh produce direct from California, Florida, Texas, etc. with the balance supplied by local markets. We are located within one mile of Route 295 and I95 providing us with easy access to Baltimore, Washington and Virginia.

Hearn Kirkwood currently operates a fleet of 33 refrigerated trucks. Our service area includes all of Maryland, Washington D.C., Delaware and Northern Virginia – with limited service to Fredericksburg, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.

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Source: http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t–1501/how-to-make-homemade-canned-salsa.asp