Cottage Food Q& A

  A:  No. In addition, to using ingredients in the right amounts, the jar size is important. Your recipe will tell you what size of canning jar to use. Credible and standardized salsa recipes will instruct you to use pint jars and give processing times for only pint jars. There are no currently research tested guidelines for processing salsa in quart jars. If the recipe calls for pint jars and does not give directions for quarts jars don’t use them as they will be under processed and result in unsafe product. There are no formulas for extending the processing time for a larger jar. 

A:  No, home processed, corn and bean salsa is not an allowed cottage food. Currently, there are no researched tested recipes to add beans or corn to home-canned salsa. Adding beans and/or corn will raise the pH well above 4.6 making it a potentially hazardous food. To safely can products above 4.6, you must use a pressure canner, using the time and pressure tested for that product to destroy the Clostridium Botulinum spores and prevent its growth. The final product will still be above 4.6 and therefore not an allowable cottage food. Commercially produced low-acid foods follow strict processing and federal guidelines.