Corn Salsa from any source is a risky product. Not only is it full of low acid ingredients but it is eaten fresh from the jar with no further cooking to render any bacteria inert. So extra care needs to be taken with using recipes from un-verifed sources.

We have talked about this particular book here before and generally found it "not for the untrained/inexperienced" as some of the recipes are borderline questionable and the author provides no credentials in food preservation. Is that fair? Maybe not but unless the author provides details on the testing done on the recipes it is a do-at-you-own-risk decision. You can read all about her on the amazon website for the book and on her own website.

So can this particular recipe be assured as safe? No. Is it probably ok? Maybe. Personally I don't think it is enough acid for all the low-acid vegetables it contains to be BWB processed.

Could it be made more safe? Yes, easily. By pressure canning it and replacing 1/2 the vinegar with bottled lemon or lime juice which are more acidic. What would that taste like? Have no idea although both lemon and lime juice lend themselves well to salsas.

It boils down to the choice is yours. Or you can just go with one of the tested and approved salsa recipes instead and add the corn to it after opening. Of you can make this recipe and freeze it.

Dave

PS: Check out the previous discussions below

Here is a link that might be useful: Corn salsa discussions

I have to respectfully disagree. This is a 100% vinegar corn relish. It may be called a salsa, but from my perspective, it's just another pickle. It's pretty difficult to run into problems with 100% vinegar.

The only caveat (and it applies to any relish) is that you don't want the mixture to be dry. The corn and other ingredients should be "bathed" by the pickling solution. For that reason, I often do a small trial batch, make notes and sometimes find myself preparing 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 times the solution the recipe calls for.

Sherri Brooks Vinton posted on a previous discussion regarding another recipe in her book and attested to the fact that all recipes comply with USDA standards. You have to decide whether you accept her word on not, but I found her credible. I have the book myself and haven't seen anything to concern me.

The previous discussion is linked below.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Discussion of Put 'em Up

Since Carol has the book and has checked it out and finds it safe, great. Her opinion is more than enough for me. And that is a good point about it being more of a relish than a salsa. I didn't even think of that. Just fixated on the 'salsa' part.

Good points Carol. Thanks. :)

Dave

Thanks for the all clear Carol and Dave. I seemed to recall purchasing this book shortly after the post referenced above. I am excited to try a new corn recipe. I just picked up 60 ears for $7 (no room for corn in my new garden). I am making a few double batches of Fiesta Corn Relish from Small Batch Preserving and thought that I would try something new with some of the extra.

Dave, I liked your idea of just freezing some corn and adding to a jar of Annie's Salsa when ready to serve. We really like Annie's Salsa around here. We will have to try that.

Happy Canning!
Heather

60 ears for $7!! Wow. I'd go back and buy more. Had to pay $3.95/dozen here from the market stands.

Dave

I was tempted to buy more, but with limited freezer space and two little ones home I was reluctant to! This is the lowest price I've seen on corn in years. Last year it never dropped below $.25 an ear. If the sales hold I might pick more up next week... peaches are coming in though, so will be busy for a while...

HI,

I can assure you that the recipe --and all recipes in the book-- are USDA compliant and completely safe. The amount of vinegar "pickles" the corn, making it a candidate for the Boiling Water Method. It's the same technique used in making relishes and chutneys, many of which use non-acidic ingredients in a vinegar solution to reach a safe pH.

I do not recommend replacing the vinegar with lemon or lime juice as bottled lemon juice has roughly the same acidity as distilled white vinegar (5%).

If you have any further questions regarding the validity of the recipes, I am happy to answer them. The easiest way to contact me is through my website, sherribrooksvinton.com.

Kindest regards, Sherri Brooks Vinton

Thank you for responding to my concerns directly Sherri. Your corn salsa recipe is really good! I love that your book is organized by ingredient. It is so easy to figure out what to do with what's ready to go in the garden, and dream about what's next. I am so pleased to find out that youR recipes are safe. I can't wait to try more of them!
Best,
Heather

Concerning this same book, Put Em Up!, I made her Charred Chili Salsa last year. It was everyone's favorite, but I have three questions. Having followed the recipe exactly (including weighing ingredients) I found it made much more salsa than stated. Why does this happen? It makes me crazy.

Second, when I made additional batches I eliminated the 1/2 cup cilantro and replaced it with 1 tablespoon ground cumin. I also added three cloves garlic (put through a press.) Was I playing with fire or does the recipe remain safe for water-bath?

Finally, can I process this in pints?

Here is the recipe and it really is a stunner. I have shortened some instuctions (i.e. charring chilies) for the sake of brevity.

2 pounds chili peppers
5 pounds tomatoes, peeled, cored and diced
1 pound onions, diced
1 1/2 cups vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro.

Char chilies, skin and cut into 1/2 inch dice
Combine all ingredients except the cilantro and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes to thicken. Add cilantro and remove from heat.

Water-bath in 1/2 pint jars for 20 minutes.

Thanks for posting. There are a lot of questions there. Here are my responses to each:
--Yes, you can add a small amount of dried spice to the recipe without risking safety.
--It's hard to say if adding garlic would throw the pH off. Depends on the size of your cloves. I can't give a response without testing the altered recipe myself.
--Yes, you can process it in pints.
--The volume can vary a bit on all canning recipes (that's why their yield often says "makes about this much"). Here are things that can effect it. Size of your pan (deep pans lead to less evaporation), intensity of the heat ( a mild simmer will evaporate less than a vigorous one), ripeness of the tomatoes (juicy tomatoes will have more liquid), how you core your tomatoes (I run an apple corer through the middle to remove the entire core and most of the seeds), type of tomato (plums are meatier, globes are more watery).

Hope that addresses your concerns.

Best, Sherri

I appreciate your response, Sherri. My husband reminds me that he bought an alarmingly expensive ph meter when I started fermenting vegetables a couple of years ago. It's time to put it to work.
Much obliged.
Deborah

Why cann't you substitute bottled lime or lemon juice for the vinegar. I thought it was 5% just like the vinegar.

Why cann't you substitute bottled lime or lemon juice for the vinegar. I thought it was 5% just like the vinegar.

The pH level of bottled lemon juice and the substitution of it for vinegar is debated (and debatable) but per NCHFP you can substitute them and bottled lemon juice is more acidic than vinegar.

Not to mention that the flavor lends itself better to some foods than vinegar does.

Dave

Thanks Dave. I agree some things are better with vinegar, like pickles and 3 bean salad. But I was thinking the corn relish would be better with lemon or lime juice. I really appreciate your input.

Mother Earth News just featured this recipe in their Home Canning Guide. I compared it to the NCHFP Corn Relish which used 5C of vinegar for 18.75C of low-acid veggies to make 9 pints. The salsa recipe uses 3C of vinegar for maybe 11C of low-acid veggies (including the 1/2C of cilantro), depending on how big the ears, onion, peppers are. It's really close (3.67C of veggies/C of vinegar compared to 3.75C) but could easily go over. I'm not sure how much of a safety margin there is in the NCHFP recipe, but I'd be tempted to replace the vinegar with lemon/lime juice. I know NCHFP did a study on acidifying peppers and onions, but I'm not sure how much acid is needed for corn.