If I get enough peppers and tomatoes at once, I can a batch or two of salsa, but mostly my tomatoes are for eating fresh and giving a few away. Commercial canned tomatoes are so good and so cheap, it hardly pays to can your own -- except occasionally as practice so you know
*how* to can your own if you need to someday. In a pinch I can use canned whole tomatoes (the big #10 cans from Sam's Club) and fresh chiles and onions to make salsa.Tomatillos actually grow better here (Minnesota) than tomatoes, so I like growing a few of them for green salsa. They usually reseed themselves and I just transplant a few, but I didn't get any volunteer seedlings last year so I bought some fresh tomatillos and planted seeds saved from the biggest one. They are coming along nicely.
Here's my favorite salsa recipe:
Chile Salsa (from USDA bulletin 539) yield: 6 to 8 pints
5 pounds tomatoes 2 pounds chile peppers 1 pound onions, chopped 1 cup vinegar (5%) 3 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepperRoast and peel peppers if they have tough skins (not necessary with jalapeños or serranos) remove seeds and stems, chop. Scald and peel tomatoes; chop. Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle into pint jars, leave 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Notes: If the tomatoes are too juicy, add an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce or a tablespoon of tomato paste. I like using half bottled lemon juice and half white vinegar instead of straight vinegar. I don't know why but it tastes better than using all vinegar or all lemon juice.
-Bob