I do a lot of canning but Sunday was my first attempt at canning tomatillo salsa. Last year I roasted them and then froze them, but we have such an overload this year that I thought canning them was a longer lasting solution.

It came out looking and smelling pretty darned good and it’s delicious; there was just a small ramekin left over from this recipe for my husband to enjoy.

Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde) Recipe for Canning

• 11 cups husked, washed and chopped tomatillos
• 2 cups diced onion
• 1 cup hot peppers of your choice, chopped
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 3 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

Put everything into a large pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low boil and let cook about 15 minutes.

Ladle hot salsa into sterilized jars, leaving about 1/2 inch space on top. Wipe jar rims, place sterilized lids and rims on the jars and loosely seal. Place jars in a boiling water bath, making sure the jars are covered by an inch of water, and process for 12 minutes.

Carefully remove jars from water and place on a towel on your kitchen counter. Let jars of salsa cool, making sure you hear that magical “pop” of the seal or see that it’s indented, showing that it’s sealed properly.

Now keep in mind that the ratio of vinegar and lime juice is important to this canning recipe; the acidity is part of what helps preserve the salsa. But if you don’t like your salsa hot, then leave out the hot peppers. If you like it mild, add a little bit and if you like it hot, add a lot.

The cumin is also adjustable – the most important thing you can do when you’re making this salsa is to taste it while it’s cooking and see which of these you need to add more or less of.

I’d like to try this again, using roasted tomatillos, for the smoky flavor. We still have a lot of plants producing, so time will tell!