CANNING: Fiery Habanero Peach Salsa
- Habanero Peach Salsa Pairing Ideas
- Fiery Habanero Peach Salsa Ingredients
- Kitchen Equipment Needed
- How to Can Habanero Peach Salsa
- Pantry Storage Tips
- Fiery Habanero Peach Salsa
This habanero peach salsa is an easy water-bath canning recipe, melding the fruity flavor of the fiery hot habanero pepper with fresh yellow peaches, sweet red peppers, and tangy lime.
Juicy, sun-ripened peaches may be the best for fresh eating, but sometimes you just can’t get them. No worries… this peach salsa recipe is actually better when you make it with firm, not-fully-ripe peaches. They keep their shape through simmering and then canning, and have a nice texture that can stand up to your crunchiest chips!
Habanero Peach Salsa Pairing Ideas
This fresh and fruity hot salsa is fantastic with crunchy tortilla chips, especially with a side of guacamole.
It’s also fantastic spooned onto a grilled or fried fish taco, with chicken or pork chops, roasted pork loin, or on a smoked pulled pork sandwich. It’s also delicious paired with steaming hot tamales, especially queso y rajas (cheese and roasted peppers) or chicken with green salsa.
Try it on a sharp cheddar quesadilla or grilled cheese sandwich, either in the filling or as a dip. The tangy cheese is so good with the sweet and fruity flavors of the salsa, and the fat and richness of the cheese tames the heat a bit.
Add it to a collection of other salsas for a nacho bar, with an assortment of home-canned goodies like roasted tomatillo salsa verde, chunky red salsa ranchera, or smoky roasted tomato and ancho or guajillo salsa.
Fiery Habanero Peach Salsa Ingredients
Peaches:
You can use clingstone or freestone yellow peaches for this salsa recipe. Freestone types are easier to process, but either will work! They do need to be standard yellow peaches, not white peaches, if you are canning your salsa.
White peaches are not acidic enough to safely can. If you must use white peaches, refrigerate or freeze any salsa that you won’t be using right away.
To peel the peaches, blanch them briefly (30-60 seconds) in a pot of boiling water, then dunk them into an ice bath or bowl of cold water to stop the cooking and cool them enough to handle. The skins should slip right off with very little help from your paring knife. If not, return them to the hot water briefly again.
If your peaches are very firm and under-ripe, the hot water trick may not work as well. You can also use a sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler. You could also leave the skins on, but the skins get tough and the fuzzy texture can be off-putting in the salsa. If you don’t peel them, make sure you wash the peaches well and try to scrub off as much fuzz as you can.
Sugar:
White granulated sugar preserves and flavors this salsa, balancing the tart lime and vinegar and the fiery hot peppers. Don’t reduce the amount- it’s necessary for safe canning and to keep the firm texture of the ingredients.
Peppers:
This salsa has sweet bright red bell pepper, spicy jalapeno peppers, and fiery hot habanero.
Wash the peppers, then de-stem and remove the seeds, stems, and white ribs from them before dicing or mincing. Cut the red peppers into medium-small dice, the jalapenos into small dice, and mince the habanero very finely. You may want to wear nitrile gloves when cutting the hot peppers. If not, wash your hands very thoroughly with dish soap and water to remove the capsaicin oil from your hands.
If you want a hotter salsa, you can leave in the jalapeno and/or the habanero pepper seeds. Remove the bell pepper seeds either way, as those are large and bitter.
Onion:
The recipe calls for red onion, which is what I recommend, but you can safely substitute yellow, white, or even sweet onions.
Acid:
Apple cider vinegar & lime juice add flavor, tartness, and makes the salsa safe to can. Make sure the vinegar is 5% acidity. You can substitute other vinegar to change the flavor profile, as long as it also has a standardized 5% acidity (no homemade vinegar for your canning recipes!).
Water:
This dilutes the sweet salsa so that it isn’t as overpoweringly tart. Make sure you measure accurately and don’t dilute the salsa too much before canning, which will throw off the safe pH balance needed to can this recipe safely!
Seasonings:
This recipe uses fresh cilantro leaves. If you’re one of the “super-tasters” who hates cilantro, you can safely leave this out, but otherwise, I recommend it. There are also a couple chopped garlic cloves, and salt.
I like to add a pinch of ground coriander seed, but this isn’t in the original Ball recipe, so you can leave this out if you like. It’s a safe modification that I think adds a nice floral and fruity spice note to the salsa.
Kitchen Equipment Needed
one gallon saucepan:
You’ll need a large, heavy bottomed stockpot large enough to hold all of the recipe ingredients. The peaches, sugar, peppers, brine and seasoning are all simmered together before adding the cilantro. Ideally, you want a pot with a thick bottom so that the sugar and fruit doesn’t scorch on the bottom of the pot, but you can get away with a thin one if you watch the heat and stir frequently.
The pot needs to be non-reactive, either stainless steel or enameled. An aluminum pot will discolor and react with the acidic fruit salsa.
half-pint or smaller canning jars and new lids:
Can this recipe only in half-pint jelly jars or smaller 4 oz jars with new canning lids. Do not can pints or quarts of this salsa recipe. Processing time is the same for half-pint or smaller jars.
You can also portion and freeze this recipe if you prefer, in any freezer safe airtight container, though the salsa will be soft after thawing. You can also refrigerate it and use it within a week or two. Discard the refrigerated salsa if it begins to ferment, mold, or has an off-smell or flavor.
large canning pot:
You need a large canning pot with a lid that will hold all of your canning jars with room for at least an inch of rapidly boiling water to cover the lids. You can use any pot with a lid that will hold all of your jars, plus enough boiling water to cover by an inch or two and room at the top for a vigorous boil.
It’s ok to stack the jars if your pot is tall enough, but it’s best to use a jar rack or a perforated steamer insert separating between the layers so that the jars don’t jostle and break.
Canning funnel, ladle, jar tongs, and rack:
These tools are optional but make the job of filling your jars with hot salsa, and getting them into and out of the hot water bath a lot easier and safer!
It’s best to use a canning pot with a false bottom or fitted with a jar rack to keep your jam jars from scorching or breaking on the bottom. You can use a silicone trivet if you don’t have a jar rack.
You can read more about these and our recommendations in our guide to canning equipment if you don’t already have these or are new to canning.
How to Can Habanero Peach Salsa
prep jars and canner:
- If you are canning your salsa, fill your water bath canner with water to a height that will cover your jars by several inches with room to boil vigorously.
- Wash your jars and lids with hot soapy water, rinse, and place the empty jars (but not the lids) in the canner as you bring the water up to a low simmer or at least 180℉ to pre-heat the jars and the boiling water-bath.
- Use a jar rack, false bottom, heat-resistant trivet or wire rack on the bottom of the pot under the jars to protect them from breakage or scorching.
prep ingredients:
- Peel and finely chop the red onion and garlic. Add to the large non-reactive pot, along with the vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, and coriander.
- Wash the peppers, remove the stems and seeds, and dice. Cut the sweet red pepper into a medium dice, the jalapeno into a fine small dice, and finely mince the habanero pepper. Add some or all of the hot pepper seeds for a hotter salsa. You may want to wear gloves to handle the hot peppers.
- Peel the peaches (see ingredient notes above). Remove the pits and cut the peaches into small dice.
- Add the diced peaches and peppers to the pot and stir.
- Wash, pat dry, and chop the cilantro. Set this aside (do not add to the salsa yet).
simmer peach salsa:
- Heat the pot over high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.
- Reduce the heat to medium, continuing to stir regularly until the peach salsa comes to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer the salsa for five minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro.
fill jars:
- Remove your preheated canning jars from the canner (carefully, with tongs or jar lifters, tilting them out of the hot water) just before filling and place them on a towel or rack.
- Using a jar funnel if you have one, ladle the hot peach salsa into the hot jars.
- Leave ½” of headspace at the top of the jars.
- De-bubble the jars with a thin spatula, spoon, or de-bubbling tool. Top up if needed.
- Wipe the tops of the jars with a clean paper towel or lint-free cloth that has been dipped in hot water or vinegar.
- Place the canning lids on the clean jar tops and screw down the rings- don’t over-tighten, just snug.
water-bath process salsa:
- Using your jar lifter, tongs, or the canning jar rack, carefully place the hot filled jars of salsa in the pre-heated canner. Turn up the heat if needed to bring the pot up to a full boil.
- Make sure you have adequate water covering the jars (at least 2″ over the tops of the jars). Top up with water from a hot kettle if needed.
- Start the timer for your water bath only after the water is at a rolling boil and all jars are in the canner. Process pint and smaller jars 10 minutes (adjust for altitude if applicable) and then turn off the heat.
- Leave the jars in the canner, and set another timer for 5 minutes.
- Remove jars from the canner after 5 minutes (15 minutes total time), and place them back on the towel-covered sheet pan or wire-rack. Do not put hot jars directly on a cold surface.
- Leave processed salsa jars to cool slowly in a draft-free place. Do not touch rings until the jars are completely cool and sealed and do not stack jars.
Pantry Storage Tips
- After your jars have cooled completely (8-24 hours) remove the bands and check for seals. Make sure that the button on the lid is depressed and the jars have a good strong vacuum seal.
- Refrigerate any jars of habanero peach salsa that did not seal and use them first. Or, you can reheat and reprocess them in a boiling water bath with new lids within 24 hours.
- Gently wash jars or wipe with a damp cloth to remove any sugary residue or hard water deposits from the canning bath.
- Clearly label your jars with the name and date of your product, and store them in a cool, dark pantry.
- For best quality, enjoy home-canned goods like your habanero peach salsa within 12-18 months.
- The salsa will still be safe to consume after that as long as it was properly processed and stored, and the jars are still sealed. However, older salsa may discolor and darken, and the flavor and nutritional value will decline over time, so it’s best to can what you will use in a reasonable amount of time.
- Better yet, be generous with your hard work and share it with your friends!
Fiery Habanero Peach Salsa
Equipment
- glass canning jars, rings, and new lids
- canning jar funnel
- jar lifters or tongs or jar rack with handles
Ingredients
- 6 cups yellow peaches peeled, diced, hard underripe peaches
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup red bell pepper deseeded & diced
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup red onion
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup lime juice fresh or bottled
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 medium jalapenos seeded & finely chopped
- 1 large habanero pepper seeded & minced
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves washed & chopped
Instructions
prep jars and canner:
- If you are canning your salsa, fill your water bath canner with water to a height that will cover your jars by several inches with room to boil vigorously.
- Wash your jars and lids with hot soapy water, rinse, and place the empty jars (but not the lids) in the canner as you bring the water up to a low simmer or at least 180℉ to pre-heat the jars and the boiling water-bath.
- Use a jar rack, false bottom, heat-resistant trivet or wire rack on the bottom of the pot under the jars to protect them from breakage or scorching.
prep ingredients:
- Peel and finely chop the red onion and garlic. Add to the large non-reactive pot, along with the vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, and coriander.
- Wash the peppers, remove the stems and seeds, and dice. Cut the sweet red pepper into a medium dice, the jalapeno into a fine small dice, and finely mince the habanero pepper. Add some or all of the hot pepper seeds for a hotter salsa. You may want to wear gloves to handle the hot peppers.
- Peel the peaches (see ingredient notes above). Remove the pits and cut the peaches into small dice.
- Add the diced peaches and peppers to the pot and stir.
- Wash, pat dry, and chop the cilantro. Set this aside (do not add to the salsa yet).
simmer peach salsa:
- Heat the pot over high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.
- Reduce the heat to medium, continuing to stir regularly until the peach salsa comes to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer the salsa for five minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro.
fill jars:
- Remove your preheated canning jars from the canner (carefully, with tongs or jar lifters, tilting them out of the hot water) just before filling and place them on a towel or rack.
- Using a jar funnel if you have one, ladle the hot peach salsa into the hot jars.
- Leave ½” of headspace at the top of the jars.
- De-bubble the jars with a thin spatula, spoon, or de-bubbling tool. Top up if needed.
- Wipe the tops of the jars with a clean paper towel or lint-free cloth that has been dipped in hot water or vinegar.
- Place the canning lids on the clean jar tops and screw down the rings- don’t over-tighten, just snug.
water-bath process salsa:
- Using your jar lifter, tongs, or the canning jar rack, carefully place the hot filled jars of salsa in the pre-heated canner. Turn up the heat if needed to bring the pot up to a full boil.
- Make sure you have adequate water covering the jars (at least 2″ over the tops of the jars). Top up with water from a hot kettle if needed.
- Start the timer for your water bath only after the water is at a rolling boil and all jars are in the canner. Process pint and smaller jars 10 minutes (adjust for altitude if applicable with a longer processing time) and then turn off the heat.
- Leave the jars in the canner, and set another timer for 5 minutes.
- Remove jars from the canner after 5 minutes (15 minutes total time), and place them back on the towel-covered sheet pan or wire-rack. Do not put hot jars directly on a cold surface.
- Leave processed salsa jars to cool slowly in a draft-free place. Do not touch rings until the jars are completely cool and sealed and do not stack jars.
Notes
- 0-1,000 ft – use recipe time
- 1,001-3,000 ft – increase 5 minutes
- 3,001-6,000 ft – increase 10 minutes
- 6,001-8,000 ft – increase 15 minutes
- 8,001-10,000 ft – increase 20 minutes
- After your jars have cooled completely (8-24 hours) remove the bands and check for seals. Make sure that the button on the lid is depressed and the jars have a good strong vacuum seal.
- Refrigerate any jars of habanero peach salsa that did not seal and use them first. Or, you can reheat and reprocess them in a boiling water bath with new lids within 24 hours.
- Discard any salsa that unseals in storage or shows signs of spoilage or fermentation (do not taste questionable jars).
- Store in a cool dark pantry. For best quality, use home canned foods within 12-18 months.
Nutrition
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