Salsa/Pico Fresh and Canned

Several summers ago I fell in love with making fresh Pico from the ingredients growing in my own garden. I make it year round now but it is best when the ingredients are picked right off of the vines.

Pico/Salsa -fresh
4-5 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 red, orange, yellow, or green bell pepper, chopped
(or several colors in smaller amounts of bell pepper)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, yellow or red, chopped finely
½ -1 jalapeno pepper, chopped finely
½ bunch cilantro, chopped (optional)
½-1 t. salt
1 t. salt

Mix all ingredients and serve with tortilla chips or on salads etc. It is better if it has had time to set and let the flavors blend before serving. Refrigerate remaining salsa.

I have been looking for a good salsa recipe that I am able to use the same ingredients and be similar to my own Pico. The recipe that I used before had sugar and vinegar. After a lot of research this is what I came up with.

4 c. chopped onion
6 large cloves of garlic, minced

10 c. tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and diced

3 1/2 c. bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I like to use various colors to make it pretty)

1/2 c. Anaheim peppers, seeded and chopped

1 c. Jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (use gloves for this process to keep from burning your hands.)

Combine all of the ingredients and add 1 c. lemon juice and 1 T. salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Place in sterilized bottles and place lid and ring on. Place in cold pack canner and process for 20 minutes.

I did them in 1/2 pint containers for my own recipes but they can be done in pints and will make 6-7 pints. I still love the fresh Pico/Salsa better but this is really good as well and is better than the recipes that call for vinegar.

(If you want to add cumin, and cilantro for additional flavor you need to add 10 mins to cooking and processing time. I decided I would rather add fresh cilantro when it is opened since not everyone in my family likes the flavor of cilantro.)

Thanks to all of you who gave me ideas and suggestions when I asked for recipes for this. After doing some research on recipes with times and temperatures this is what I came up with and no vinegar or sugar!
Happy Fall
Lauri
What I Love What I Do(from the kitchen)