Friday, July 12, 2013

Fresh Corn Salsa

I really love summertime when fresh produce from a local farm or farmer's market is readily available.  We grow some veggies in our small Kitchen Garden, but we don't grow corn.  I usually always buy corn at the Kershaw County Farmer's Market, but this year I was searching for non-GMO corn, organically grown ... and, oh my goodness, do you know how hard it is to find?  Nearly impossible, except for a very few small, local farms.  Luckily some of them do exist, so I was able to take a dozen ears and make this great Corn Salsa.






















Ingredients
4-5 cups corn (about 12 ears, shucked)*
3 cups distilled white vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cumin, ground
1 tablespoon salt
5 pounds tomatoes, diced
2 jalapeño peppers, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped*

Method
Bring a large nonreactive stockpot of water to a boil. Add corn and boil for 5 minutes. Drain.
When corn is cool enough to handle, stand cobs on end and slice to cut off kernels, being careful not to cut into cobs. Empty and wipe out stockpot. Combine vinegar, sugar, cumin and salt in the stockpot, and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes, jalapeños, bell pepper, onion, garlic and corn kernels, and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Stir in cilantro (or 2 Tbls. oregano) and return to a boil. Remove from heat.

Preserve
Use the boiling-water method. Ladle into clean, hot half-pint or pint canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Release trapped air by stirring contents with a plastic knife. Wipe rims clean; center lids on jars and screw on jar bands. Process in canner for 15 minutes. Turn off heat, remove canner lid and let jars rest in water for 5 minutes. Remove jars and set aside for 24 hours. Check seals, then store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.

*Note - Fresh corn is best, but you could use canned or frozen corn if desired. I used 2 Tbls. oregano instead of the cilantro because I have some family members and friends who don't like cilantro.

Yield: 8 pints

For more canning recipes, read the original article, "Put 'Em Up! Easy Home Canning Recipes."

Enjoy,
Mary