I need help! Our garden has been abundant this year. I currently have 50 tomatoes on my counter waiting to be used, and dozens more almost ready. I want to make salsa, since we go through so much. The problem, is the tomatoes are SO juicy. The salsa ends up being watery, which we hate. I don't really know what to do to avoid this problem. Any advice, tips, or ideas? I'd really like some non-watery salsa!
Thanks!
ETA: I did let them drain, which is not a dorky suggestion! However, the cooking process is actually what drew all the liquid out. I have tried several recipes, but they all had the same watery result. :( I don't like the taste of the raw salsa, the flavors don't come together like when I've cooked.
Thanks, everyone!! I feel more prepared now!
I make and can a delicious salsa. I found a recipe online a few years ago. It calls for tomato paste to be added and I think that helps a lot. Also cook it for a little longer, on low heat, without a cover and some of the juice will evaporate.
We make salsa but never cook it. You can squeeze the liqid from the tomatoes and cut them over a collandar inside of a bowl. You can save the juice for other things.
Just chop your tomatoes, onions, and whatever else you like in your salsa. I personally hate cilantro, but many people use it in salsa. Also, you might add some tomatillos. They add some special flavoring, a tang, if you will.
If you do it that way, you can run it through a press and get most of the liquid out. Just experiment.
We make salsa all the time and it's never too watery.
Best wishes.
Super easy fix: You're not letting it reduce long enough.
Cooking salsa you have to cook until the consistency is right. I make pico de gallo (recipe to follow), but homemade pasta sauce all the time (couple times a week in summer).
IGNORE the cook time in a recipe. Because you need to cook out the water. That takes time. Up to several hours to reduce it. For chunky cooked salsa, you don't cook half the veggies and 1/5th of the tomatoes until the last 20 minutes. You cook the tomatoes until they reduce ... With the salt, garlic, etc to flavor and draw the moisture out, then add the chunky parts right at the end. For smooth/melty salsa... Cook it all together.
DO NOT drain the tomatoes... You lose flavor that way. Just. Let. It. Reduce. :D
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For salsa fresca... Simple:
Chopped tomatoes
Diced white onion
Seeded to heat likeness diced jallepenos
Cillantro
Lemon juice
Lime juice
Salt (a lot)
Pepper
Combine and let sit for sn hour. Keeps for about a week on the fridge.
Over here where I live, well... salsa is not necessarily cooked. Never heard of that to be quite honest or ignorant. I never knew salsa had to be cooked! LOL
It is a nice good salsa, that is not cooked. All ingredients are raw. And here we even add chopped up Mango. It is super good in Salsa.
And the tomatoes, after slicing, you simply de-seed it. Then you get rid of the liquid etc. and you are left with just meaty tomatoes.
Or, a GOOD local traditional Hawaiian dish which uses lots of raw tomatoes, is called "Lomi Lomi Salmon." Super good. And easy.
Here is the recipe:
http://www.hawaiiforvisitors.com/recipes/lomi-lomi-salmon...
Can you add a little tomato paste to thicken it up?
I'm actually processing tomatoes today.... I'm not making salsa, I'm just freezing them.
I blanch them for 30 seconds, peel, and quarter/dice into a 2 C container... I then put them in a pint freezer bag, and squeeze the air out. I don't add any salt or anything.
I use them in casseroles, soups, stews, and chili..... just like canned tomatoes! Last year, I processed 26 pints of tomatoes, but they didn't even last until Christmas!
Make sure to squeeze the tomatoes, after you slice the top off, to remove all the seeds and gelatinous stuff inside. That's what makes tomato recipes watery.
A) my grandfather in law uses the watery part of salsa as his Bloody Mary mix. I think he just pours it off (unscientifically).
B) tangent - you can freeze tomatoes whole, cored or blanched and they will make the same sauce (in case you get overrun, as I have in the past and they start overripening)
I've never tried this myself, but I've seen on cooking channels that if you add salt to the tomatoes, it will draw the water out. Maybe if you salt the diced tomatoes and follow Sue's advice with the colander, it will give you a less watery salsa. Good luck! I'm jealous of your bumper crop!
dorky answer: as you chop them, toss them into a colander & press them. Let them drain before you add the other ingredients.
hope this helps!
My mom cooks hers to get rid of all of the juice, the salsa will also last longer.
What about making more of a tomato sauce? If you cook the tomato pulp long enough, the water will evaporate and it will thicken. We bought a tomato press that filters out most of the seeds and peels, and just leaves the pulp. If I'm not getting enough tomatoes at a time, I can collect them in the freezer until I get enough for a batch.
there's 2 different kinds of salsa, raw, and cooked. the cooked will give you the thick sauce you get from the store. look recipes up online :)
I used to cook my salsa, but don't anymore. This is what I do. Kinda like what Sue says, but i squeeze mine and just let the juice drip into the sink, then cut my tomatoes up. Sometimes I hollow them out kinda like when you cut up strawberries. Then you just have the outer shell and it is not too juicy. That is why I like to use Roma tomatoes when I make my salsa since they aren't too juicy. If your salsa is too watery you could also just add a can of chopped tomatoes after you drain it. Good luck!
ETA - I just made some cucumber salsa tonight, and it is awesome!! Thought I'd pass that along in case you have never made it.
