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Old 12-08-2006, 09:34 PM   #1
Dakaty
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Default Pico de gallo preservative

I'm going to make a big batch of mango pico de gallo this weekend.

Is there a way to extend the "shelf life" of this stuff? After about 10 days in the fridge, it gets "questionable" and we throw it out.

I know I could make smaller batches, but... I would like to figure out how to make it last longer.

We are thinking about giving some for CHRISTmas presents and want to make sure it doesn't go bad quickly.

I've read many ingredients that include "citric acid" as a preservative. Is this a healthy additive and readily available?

Thanks
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Old 12-08-2006, 09:44 PM   #2
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Citric acid is in lemons and limes, plus a lot of other fruit. The more lime juice you put in your salsa, the more preserved it will be. You may have to add sugar to balance the acidity to keep it from tasting too sour.
To keep it long periods, you can "can" it, but cooking of course will destroy the freshness.
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Old 12-08-2006, 10:32 PM   #3
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Can you use a food saver on that?
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Old 12-09-2006, 07:21 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpw23
Can you use a food saver on that?
I was thinking about that this morning. No reason not to put salsa in a foodsaver container and vacu-suck it. That should help lengthen storage life a lot.
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Old 12-09-2006, 09:35 AM   #5
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The foodsaver is a great idea. Do add the lime juice too and keep it in the coldest part of the fridge.
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Old 12-09-2006, 11:16 AM   #6
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Im not sure, becase I never did it, but isnt that what that mason jar thing is for? Seal them, boil them and done? or will it ruin the salsa?

and also, foodsver has vacusuck jars that can be used, im not sure if that would be cost prohibitive.

I think if you use the foodsaver bag approach, u will be sucking out alot of liquid that could damage the device. The trick is to feeze it a little first, but that may damage the salsa.

Also, i am thinking that the acid of lemons and limes, over time break down the salsa and make it mush. Maybe the jarred citric acid additive works differently? Dunno.


jsut some thoughts.
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Old 12-10-2006, 07:27 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BBQchef33
Im not sure, becase I never did it, but isnt that what that mason jar thing is for? Seal them, boil them and done? or will it ruin the salsa?

and also, foodsver has vacusuck jars that can be used, im not sure if that would be cost prohibitive.

I think if you use the foodsaver bag approach, u will be sucking out alot of liquid that could damage the device. The trick is to feeze it a little first, but that may damage the salsa.

Also, i am thinking that the acid of lemons and limes, over time break down the salsa and make it mush. Maybe the jarred citric acid additive works differently? Dunno.


jsut some thoughts.


Mr. Poo;

Pico de Gallo is supposed to be a Fresh salsa-cooking it changes it.

In case I did not speak clearly in my post, I was talking about the foodsaver jars, or containers, not the bags.

Freezing also would change the texture of the fresh veggies, creating water loss and mushiness.

The citric acid in the additive is the same as the citric acid in lemon and lime juice. Fortunately the acid does not break down cellulose in veggies the way it breaks down protein in meat. So you can use quite a bit of lime juice without a problem.

The challenge here is to hold the salsa as long as possible without damaging is freshness.

Just my thoughts. YMMV
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Old 12-10-2006, 10:08 AM   #8
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The acid from lemon or limes will help. It's also important to use the absolute freshest ingredients you can find. I've made the mistake of settling for ONE indgredient that wasn't quite as fresh as I would have liked for my pico. It ruined the whole batch less than a week later.
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Old 12-10-2006, 10:19 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by qman
Mr. Poo;

Pico de Gallo is supposed to be a Fresh salsa-cooking it changes it.

In case I did not speak clearly in my post, I was talking about the foodsaver jars, or containers, not the bags.

Freezing also would change the texture of the fresh veggies, creating water loss and mushiness.

The citric acid in the additive is the same as the citric acid in lemon and lime juice. Fortunately the acid does not break down cellulose in veggies the way it breaks down protein in meat. So you can use quite a bit of lime juice without a problem.

The challenge here is to hold the salsa as long as possible without damaging is freshness.

Just my thoughts. YMMV
see that.. learn something every day..

i never did the mason jar thing, so didnt realize it was actually cooking the stuff. Had no clue how long ya have to leave it in there.

I thin my problem here is pico da gallo dont go much longer than i day or 2 around here... damn, i eat that stuff in anything.
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Old 12-10-2006, 03:42 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jorge
It's also important to use the absolute freshest ingredients you can find. I've made the mistake of settling for ONE indgredient that wasn't quite as fresh as I would have liked for my pico. It ruined the whole batch less than a week later.
I have also done that trying to "use up" some vegetables we had on hand... Never again, always totally fresh veggies.

Yesterday I made some beautiful mango salsa using 3 colors of bell peppers, purple & white onions, orange mangos, vine ripe tomatoes, dark red roma tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, celery, white sesame seeds, black poppy seeds, japalenos, dark green pablanos, 3 different grind black peppers, paprika, ground cayenne, corriander, cumin, salt, lime juice and probably some more stuff I can't remember right now. This stuff is as fun to look at as it is to eat.

This time I only made a little more than a 1/2 gallon so we should be able to eat it while its still fresh. I hate dumping that stuff out!!

I love using my 10" Wusthof chef knife. It makes jobs like this FUN!
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