Peach salsa

Peach salsa

Makes 10 pints; recipe can be doubled or halved.

• Ingredients:

5 pounds very ripe tomatoes, squeezed and then chopped

5 pounds peaches, peeled and chopped

3 pounds onions, diced

2 green bell peppers, diced

2 ounces jalapeño peppers, diced; do not seed or devein

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon powdered ginger

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons salt

½ cup chopped cilantro, with stems

½ cup chopped mint

½ cup lime juice

½ cup peach cider or peach nectar

• Instructions:

Prepare and place all ingredients in a pot except cilantro, mint, lime juice and peach cider in a pot. Bring ingredients just below boiling; add reserved ingredients.

Conduct initial pH test. If pH is below 4.3, it is fine. To reduce, add lime juice, 1 tablespoon at a time. Hot pack at 190 degrees. Perform another pH test after 24 hours. If pH is below 4.5, safe canning was accomplished.

This recipe is from "Putting Up: A Year-round Guide to Canning in the Southern Tradition," by Stephen Palmer Dowdney (Gibbs Smith, $19.99). Dowdney's safe canning practices mean:

• Jars and lids have been sterilized.

• Jars have been filled to the canning line.

• Initial pH has been taken and the product is safe.

• The temperature has been taken and is at or above recommendation. Or, for water

bathing, the stated temperature has been obtained and a 2-minute hold period has been

timed.

• The finished jars are inverted for a minimum of 2 minutes.

• After 24 hours, a test jar will be pH tested again.

Note: pH strips are available at Nasco in Modesto.