Ken, I don't know whether honey contains botulism spores or botulinum toxin. Produce can harbor botulism spores too, that's why low-acid canning in a BWB can lead to botulism. Botulinum toxin is degraded by heat according to a time/temperature curve. So either way, I don't think the honey is a problem. Unlike oil which can provide a safe haven for spores, honey dissolves into the mixture, so botulism there has the same chance at survival as botulism that was hanging out on the peppers. Also, pears, like apples, contain enough acid to be canned alone, so while they may not be enough to acidify the peppers, they don't add to the amount of additional acid required. For a given volume of salsa, they would reduce the amount of additional acid because you have less low-acid produce. I wanted to clarify that above when I said "as long as the acid level is adjusted," what I meant was "as long as the recipe contains a safe amount of acid (whether from the produce or from added acid like lemon juice or vinegar)". It's not safe to adjust the acid level to suit your taste, unless you're replacing water with vinegar or something. Here is a quote on botulism from wikipedia (and the reference): ------------------ It is possibly the most acutely toxic substance known, with a median lethal dose of about 1 ng/kg[3], meaning that a few hundred grams could theoretically kill every human on earth (for perspective, the rat poison strychnine, often described as highly toxic, has an LD50 of 1,000,000 ng/kg, and it would take four hundred tons to kill every human). It is also remarkably easy to come by: Clostridium spores are found in soil practically all over the earth. [3] Ar non, Stephen. "Botulinum Toxin as a Biological Weapon." JAMA. vol 285. pp.1059-1070. 2001. ------------------ Makes the Ball recipe look more delicious than the OG one if you ask me. ;-) Melissa

Charcuterie, I've made this recipe many times and the amount I get varies from about six pints to about eight pints. I think it probably depends mostly on how watery the tomatoes are. Roma tomatoes are usually very meaty, and the fact that you got less than eight cups from 5 1/2 pounds suggests yours were quite meaty (I usually find about four pounds gives about eight cups). So my guess is that the liquid from the canned diced tomatoes is what made it have so much volume. If you had added more fresh tomatoes, they would have cooked down. Since the tomatoes you added were canned they were already cooked down, so they wouldn't have shrunk as much in cooking, if you see what I mean. I do think your salsa should be safe to eat. The added extra peppers is actually the one thing that goes against standard safety recommendations---peppers are a low-acid food, so if you have more peppers total compared to tomatoes than a recipe is tested for, you don't know for sure that it's acidic enough. But those cans of peppers in adobe are small, and you added extra acid, AND I know that Annie's recipe has a generous margin of error of extra acid. So while the standard answer is "you should never change anything in a tested recipe," I know that I, personally, would feel very happy eating your salsa. I'll be right over, in fact. ;-p Good luck, Zabby

How did the texture/consistency end up? Is it runny/soupy or very thick? Canned salsa is supposed to be soupy, not thick for proper heat penetration. My main concern with the recipe is that is a very small amount of liquid brine which compared to all the solid ingredients so the density may be an issue. 2 cups of liquid to approx. 8 cups of solids. It has a safe level of vinegar to water, just not much of it. But the crucial point is the ripeness of the mangoes. The USDA guidelines make a point of saying: If a recipe calls for green or unripe mango, do not use ripe mango. This will result in changing the final acidity of the mixture and potentially unsafe canned salsa. Compare this recipe with the approved Mango Salsa recipe (scroll down to pg. 12-13 in the USDA link below. As with any recipe from an unapproved source, it is your choice. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Sensational Salsas

Regarding this Recipe... What kind of vinegar do I use? is Apple Cider fine? Thanks again! G'doc ANNIEÂS SALSA 8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained 2 1/2 cups chopped onion 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper 3  5 chopped jalapenos 6 cloves minced garlic 2 tsp cumin 2 tsp pepper 1/8 cup canning salt ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro 1/3 cup sugar 1 cup vinegar (for BWB or 1/3 cup vinegar for PC) 16 oz. tomato sauce 16 oz tomato paste Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process at 10 lbs of pressure for 30 minutes for pints. Or BWB 15 minutes. Makes 6 pints Nancy