[ContainerTed]

I truly think that a pressure canner is overkill for tomatoes. In the past, I have made salsa and canned it, but not in the pressure canner. The high acidity of the heavy tomato base does not really require pressure canning. After bringing everything up to a boil in the big 12 quart pot I use, I fill the quart jars. Then I bring in the "boiling water bath" setup and make sure everything comes up to temperature (about 20 minutes). I get good seals on the can lids and have stored my salsa for at least 18 months with no problems.

I have modified my storage methods over the last two years. Now, I make only very thick tomato juice with only canning salt and possibly a small quantity of sugar. Very thick means about a 45% reduction prior to canning. When I need salsa, I break out frozen or fresh ingredients and add my "juice". Works and tastes great.

Anyhow, so far, this works very well for us.