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Feature Articles: Cooking/Produce
Dietary Guidelines for Americans Salsa – Some Like It HotBy Janet Hackert, Regional Nutrition Specialist, University of Missouri Extension |
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When tomatoes and peppers are ripe and plentiful, folks will
wonder what to do with all that produce. Salsa is one good
option. The University of Missouri Extension guide sheet called
Tantalizing Tomatoes (GH
1456) has a safe procedure for making and preserving salsa.
How hot the salsa is depends on the kind of peppers that are used. Peppers are rated according to their hotness on a scale called the Scoville Organoleptic Test.
The hottest variety is habanero. With a rating of 300,000
Scoville Units, the habanero resembles an orange lantern.
Typically, the hotter peppers are smaller varieties (1-3 inches
at maturity) and are colored ‘green-turning-red.’ Milder peppers
tend to be larger (4-10 inches) and are ‘yellow-turning-red.’
Examples of milder peppers include Bell peppers and Sweet Banana
peppers, which rate at 0 Scoville Units, and so are very mild.
More in the mid-range would be jalapeņo peppers. They are rated
at 5000 Scoville Units and are tapered green or red chilies.
When working with hot peppers, be sure to wear gloves to
prevent burns. Just cutting a habanero open, for example, can
make a person’s eyes water!
Adjust the spiciness of the salsa by selecting the type of
pepper added to the mix. For a very mild salsa, use milder
peppers. For a very hot salsa, use a greater proportion of
hotter peppers to milder ones. Regardless of the product’s
spiciness, don’t just add more peppers to make it hotter. The
total amount of peppers should be the amount recommended in the
procedure. The proportions are calculated out so that the recipe
will be safely preserved.
It is also a good idea to try out the peppers you plan to use
in canning a large amount of salsa in a small batch first or try
it out in a small amount of another dish. See if the temperature
is what you expect and what you prefer. It’s easier to adjust
the mix of peppers in the salsa to make it a little milder than
it is to deal with an excessively hot and spicy salsa after it’s
canned. (The same holds true for making a small batch of chile
or any other food that uses hot peppers.)
If someone finds your salsa a bit too hot for their tastes, you might try serving it with some sour cream or salty chips to help calm that spicy flavor.
Last update: Tuesday, August 08, 2006
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