What can I do if I didn't process my salsa long enough?
I made salsa last week, and processed the jars (quarts) for 20 minutes (may have been 25, I forgot to note exactly when the water started to boil). I got my times mixed up for the salsa and some applesauce that I was preparing to can also, so I didn't process the salsa long enough.
Can I reprocess the salsa? Do I need to open the jars, reheat salsa and re-can it all, or can I just reprocess without redoing anything? Or is it too late because it's been 5-6 days until I realized what I did?
Best Answer
In general, if jars are improperly processed or don't seal, you reprocess them exactly the same way you did the first time. This doesn't depend on the original recipe; you just have to do the exact same thing over again. In your case, since it sounds like your original process was hot pack, you would have to open the jars, dump out the salsa and reheat it, resterilize the jars, and reprocess.
But in your case, unfortunately, it's too late. If you didn't process it long enough the first time, you have to assume that it wasn't sterile, and treat it as equivalent to not canning it at all. Yes, probability-wise, your situation is safer than that, but you have to plan for the worst case, because you have no way to tell. Something may have grown in there. Canning just isn't a good place to mess around with safety.
And before someone chimes in and says it, yes, if you're the kind of person who eats things that have been left out way longer than is reliably safe, you could save it. It'll work out some fraction of the time, so there are plenty of people out there who can truthfully say "I've done this and never had a problem." But it could also get you sick, so I can't recommend it.
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Can you reprocess salsa?
In the event that some of your jars do not seal properly, you can reprocess them. To do so, remove the band and lid and empty your salsa into a saucepot. Reheat them by bringing them up to a boil, then ladle them into a clean, hot jar as before.Can you can salsa without processing?
Yes, otherwise, if you can raw or fresh salsa, you will have to process it for a longer time than cooked salsa. This will take much longer, so it is better to cook the salsa before canning.How do you reprocess an unsealed jar?
How to Reprocess Unsealed Canning JarsWHAT WOULD YOU DO IF A CUSTOMER DIDN'T PAY YOU FOR YOUR WORK?
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Answer 2
If you hotpacked, then "long enough" means long enough for the lids to stay down. If your lids are staying down, you're good. If they're not, and you didn't check as you were putting the jars away, throw them out.
Answer 3
Sealing and sterilizing are two different things. The long processing times are to kill all the microorganisms that could spoil the food. The seal keeps new baddies from getting in.
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