First, roast the tomatoes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. After you wash all of the tomatoes, add them to a baking sheet (you will need to fill 3 large baking sheets with tomatoes). Roast the tomatoes until the skins are wrinkly and start to char, about 25 minutes. Note: a lot of water will be released from the tomatoes when roasting. Very carefully remove the trays from the oven and discard some of the water half way through roasting to avoid it spilling over and burning in your oven. After they are roasted, you'll want to let them cool a bit before peeling or you'll burn your fingers.

Next, preheat the jars. For this step, you want to place the jars in a large pot of simmering water (not boiling) to help sanitize them and keep them from breaking when adding the hot salsa. Simply insert each jar into the simmering water and let them sit in there until you're ready to fill them. Tip: to keep them from floating you'll need to fill them with some of the water until they sink. You may have to add a bit more water to the pot after doing so.

Now prepare the salsa. After you dice and chop the cilantro, jalapeño pepper, onion and garlic, you'll add everything to a large pot, including the peeled, whole tomatoes, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, and salt. Stir everything together, cover and simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes.

At this point you’ll want to blend the salsa to your desired consistency. I used my immersion blender right in the same pot, but if you don’t have one you can use a regular blender or food processor and just pulse.

Fill the jars with salsa. After the salsa simmers for about 30 minutes and everything is fragrant and well incorporated you'll start filling the jars! Carefully remove the empty jars from the pot of water with the jar lifting tongs and set on your counter. Fill each jar with the salsa leaving 1/2 inch of space between the top of the jar and the salsa. In other words, don't fill it all the way to the top. Remove air bubbles by gently tapping the bottom of each jar after it's filled on the flat surface a few times to remove the air bubbles. This helps to remove any trapped air and keep the salsa from spoiling. Wipe any salsa from the rim of the jar, then top with the lid and apply the band until it's tight, but not TOO tight. Fingertip tight is adequate.

Bring the pot of water to a boil. Gently lower the jars in the water with the tongs, being sure to have the water cover the jars by 1-2 inches. If there's too much water, just carefully pour some of it out. I could fit 4 jars in my 8 quart pot at one time. Boil for 20 minutes and then remove it with the tongs and place on a kitchen towel. Repeat this process until all of the jars are complete.

Once you remove the jars from the water and have them sitting on a flat surface, let the jars rest untouched for 12-24 hours. You'll notice the lids making a popping/ping sound, this is good news! One of the signs the jars sealed correctly. Try to take note of which jars pop/ping.

Testing the Jars

After the jars have rested 12-24 hours there are a few ways you can test them to see if they sealed correctly. Aside from noticing if they popped/pinged, there are two methods I use:

The flex test. Remove the band and apply pressure with your finger to the center of the lid with your fingertip. If it bends, it's bad.

Try to lift the lid. If the lid is hard to lift up and the lid stays attached that means it's sealed correctly! But be careful not to open the jar because then you have to eat it right away. Oh darn 😉

The spoon test. Using the back of a spoon, gently tap on the lid. Properly sealed jars will have a high pitched ring. If you hear a dull, low tone when you tap the lid it might not be sealed correctly so use the other steps to verify.

What to Do If You Jars Don't Seal Properly

There are a couple of options here. Don't worry, all your hard work isn't wasted. You can repeat the boiling step, but be sure to do that right after discovering they didn't seal and you have to get new lids. The lids are one-time use and will not seal a second time.

You can eat it right away and keep it in your fridge for a couple of weeks. If you have a ton, you can use the salsa in recipes, like enchiladas, tacos, on a taco salad, in soup, and taco pasta or pizza!

You can gift it to friends and family. I don't know anyone who hates chips and salsa, and I bet they'll be super appreciative for some fresh, homemade salsa that tastes amazing!

How To Store This Canned Salsa

Because we are canning it, if it's sealed correctly it will remain good for 6-8 months. Make sure that you sniff it, observe it, and test it prior to scarfing it down or serving just to be on the safe side. Follow the Testing steps while you're canning to ensure all of the jars do indeed seal correctly. Once opened, store in the fridge and consume within 14 days.