# two questions about homemade salsa



## fanniefarkle (Oct 20, 2005)

1. Why does my homemade salsa look like pureed water mellon? I used fresh tomatoes, onion and garlic pureed in a blender. It tastes ok, but it's weird-looking.

2. Can I freeze salsa?

thanks, amanda


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## VikingKvinna (Dec 31, 2003)

I don't care for pureed salsa. I like to finely chop the tomatoes and onion by hand. More labor intensive, but worth it. Otherwise the salsa looks like pureed watermelon and tastes too much like -- well, like pureed tomatoes and onion.









My salsa recipe is: tomatoes, onion, jalepeno (or sometimes chipotles for variation), lemon or lime, salt and pepper, and fresh cilantro. That's the key to good salsa.

You can freeze it, it might get mushy, but if it's pureed to begin with that might not be as much of as issue. Still, it's not going to be as good as if it were fresh.

HTH.


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## BetsyS (Nov 8, 2004)

When I make salsa, if we have a little bit leftover, I freeze it in a big ziploc bag. When the bag gets full, I use it to make tortilla soup. It works really well for that. I don't think I'd like to eat it as salsa after it'd been frozen, but for cooking, it works great.


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## nick&jonmom (Jan 15, 2008)

I've never tried using fresh tomatoes, I always use canned diced organic tomatoes and it comes out really good. I've wondered about how to make it with fresh tomatoes so I am definately interested in this thread and hopefully learning some tips myself!


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## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

I always use canned tomatoes and blend them with just chili peppers in my vitamix and then add onions and garlic powder and oregano and cilantro to taste. That way you can really taste different stuff and its not just all blended together.


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## LauraLoo (Oct 9, 2006)

To keep your salsa from looking like soup, add all the other ingredients in your blender first (onions, peppers, cilantro, garlic, salt and the juice from canned while tomatoes only) -- blend until you get the chunkiness that you want. Add the whole tomatoes last and just give it a quick whirl on a burst setting if possible. This way your tomatoes won't get all blended in since they are the softest veggie.

I have no idea how you would do this with fresh tomatoes, except that it seems like you would still want to add them in last.


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## NatureMama3 (Feb 25, 2004)

1. I don't puree my salsa so I don't know? probably, though, because store-bought salsa (fresh/deli aside) is cooked. Just the very act of canning cooks it.

2. yes, but make it very "dry" since it will be much more watery when you thaw it.


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## anvil78 (Jul 2, 2007)

It probably looks like that because the blender incorporates air into it. I would try just finely chopping with a knife being sure to catch all the juice from your board.


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## flyabuv (Jun 23, 2008)

I agree with adding the tomatoes at the very end. It is hard for me to chop the onions, cilantro, garlic and especially jalapeno small enough by hand; so those get blendered. Garlic and jalapeno first (therefore for the longest time); then add roughly chopped cilantro and onion and blend for a few seconds; then I add a can of tomatoes AND one or two chopped fresh tomatoes and blend only for a couple of seconds. That way you have a lot of tomato juice and puree from the can, but bigger, firmer chunks from the fresh.


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## bstandlee (May 14, 2007)

I notice my fresh salsa is always extra "watery" if I don't seed my tomatoes. I usually halve my tomatoes then squeeze out the seeds, then chop and either mix in food processor or chop finely, depending on my mood.

Mine looks like watermelon sometimes too...I think it's the mix of the light red tomatoes and the onion making it look kind of pink maybe!

Mmm...all this talk about fresh salsa is making me hungry!


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## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

Use roma tomatoes, and you can always roast them on a baking sheet to reduce the moisture even more. I'd also use a food processor and pulse to reach desired consistency. Forget the blender.


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