Our final batch of salsa that we canned for the year, Chunky Peach Salsa, was definitely our best.  And maybe that is because after canning 3 other batches we learned a couple things.

One thing we learned was not to cook the peaches very long or they got lost amongst the tomatoes.  Basically we now just add the peaches to the salsa right before we’re ready to start canning.

Second was that if you don’t want to add tomato paste to thicken the salsa then you’ll have to cook it for a long time.  This could mean simmering the salsa for 1-2 hours….

So our final canning session for salsa leaves us with a total of 56 pints of 4 different kinds of salsa (including the homegrown salsa I wrote about earlier this week).  And while 56 pints may seem like a lot it’s essentially 1 pint a week for the next year with 4 extra for sharing or larger eating events.  Yes, we eat a lot of salsa.  Well, my family eats a good amount of it, but without me around they’d likely only need about 20 pints for the year.

Here is the recipe and it is loosely based on our friend’s (non-peach) salsa which we refer to around here as “Mr. Dan’s.”  When we made this the other day we did a double batch which produced 18 pints.  A single batch will likely produce 9-11 pints, but results will vary based on the variety of tomatoes used and how long they are cooked down.

After returning to town we didn’t have time to hit up all of our favorite sources for fresh local foods, but we did find Ontario peaches and plums at the grocery store (they seemed to be from the Niagara region) and they were delicious! 

As it were, I was craving salsa (this is pretty much a daily craving) but we were out and the garden has been quite slow to provide any ripe tomatoes.  Undeterred, I set about chopping up plums and peaches and then saw some of the apples our friend had shared with us after a local picking trip.  I figured the more fruit the better so chopped them up and tossed them in as well.  With cilantro, jalapeños, and cubanelle peppers from our garden and garlic and onions from the market garden where I volunteer the salsa came together quite nicely as a pico de gallo of sorts and it was sooooo good.  I’m going to have to make more as soon as I have sufficient peaches.

Here are some good names for this salsa:

• Pleaple de Gallo
• Plumappeach Salsa
• Peacho de Plappo
• Peach-n-Plum-n-Apple Salsa (hmm, too obvious)

I think that the pleaple have spoken, so Pleaple de Gallo it is.  And keep in mind that a fruit salsa really just needs a good sweet fruit and the peppers to become a salsa, so feel free to substitute any fruits you have or leave out any you lack.

“Mise en place”

Pleaple de Gallo (Plum, Peach, and Apple Salsa)

Ingredients:

• 4-6 ripe (but not overripe) peaches, diced
• 3-4 plums (it’s okay if they are less ripe, as they will be less messy), diced
• 3-4 small apples, diced
• 2-5 jalapeños (start with less, reserving the seeds to lower the heat, and add more as you sample the salsa), finely minced
• 1-2 sweet peppers, diced
• 1 small onion, finely minced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• Cilantro, chopped (if yours is going to seed include the seeds, aka, coriander)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash of lime or cider vinegar

Combine the ingredients, sample and adjust the levels of spicy, sweet, and salty until you achieve something that you want to gobble down immediately!  Serve with chips or over rice and beans or inside a taco or burrito or on top of an omelet or in a sandwich or on top of cheesy grits, I could go on….

* This post is linked to Party Wave Wednesday at HolisticSquid.com.