"Jason" > wrote in message >...
> With Salsa, I dont think it would hurt to add a small quantity of white 5%
> acetic vinegar (to avoid discolouration). The recipes in the Bernardin guide
> to home preserving I believe includes vinegar anyways. I'd consider adding
> a small amount of vinegar to be a safety insurance policy on top of pressure
> canning (at least for salsa).
>
> But you're right. If you're just canning tomatoes I wouldn't add vinegar to
> them either
>
> Pressure canning is a must in either case.
>
> Jason
>
> "zxcvbob" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Jason wrote:
> >>
> >> PS: You have to be extra careful with tomatoes because they are
> >> borderline on the acidity scale. Use vinegar in your recipe (can't
> >> remember if the bernardin book does it or not), and pressure can those
> >> suckers. I wouldn't boil water bath them even with some vinegar. Not
> >> worth the risk to me.
> >>
> >> Jason
> >
> >
> > There's no need to add vinegar or lemon juice or citric acid to your
> > tomatoes if you pressure-can them. If you did have to add vinegar, you
> > would also need to add vinegar to your green beans, etc. :-P
> >
> > If you BWB your tomatoes, use citric acid or lemon juice rather than
> > vinegar -- the amount of vinegar they tell you to add is enough to ruin
> > the taste of the tomatoes, but citric acid tastes OK. (Even commercial
> > canners add citric acid to their tomatoes.)
> >
> > Best regards,
> > Bob

thanks for the tips, guys. I had the same thoughts - if the seal is
good, then the salsa should be OK, except for some discolouration on
the top. So I'll just leave it. It is only 4 jars.

BTW, the recipe called for 1/2 cup lime juice. This was a first for
me because most tomato based recipes I've made so far called for
either white vinegar or cider vinegar. And this recipe was BWB for 20
minutes for 500ml jars. I guess I should give it a try soon, so see
if I like it - I still have quite a few green tomatoes left - could
make another batch.

Kathi