Tomatillos add tartness to cooking sauces and salsas.
Tomatillos are widely used in Mexican cuisine, especially in making cooking sauces and salsa. They resemble a small green tomato in appearance and texture, and are easily identified by the dry husk that surrounds the fruit. If you grow your own, you may find yourself with a surplus each summer because they are easy to grow. You can preserve tomatillos by using a pressure cooker to can them. The process is similar to canning tomatoes.
Instructions
1. Remove the husks and thoroughly wash the tomatillos. Make sure they are all firm and ripe, with no blemishes.
2. Dip the tomatillos in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, until the skin splits. Then dip them in cold water. If you want the tomatillos to be more tender, you can boil them for five to 10 minutes and skip the cold water.
3. Place the tomatillos into canning jars, leaving about a half-inch of space at the top. Press the tomatillos into the jar so that the juice from inside the tomatillos fills in the space between the fruit. If there is not enough juice, you can add some of the hot water you used in step two.
4. Put the canning seals on top of the jars and secure them with screw bands. Make the bands snug, but not overly tight.
5. Pour about 3 inches of water into the pressure cooker.
6. Place the jars on the rack inside the pressure cooker and lock the cover.
7. Set the pressure gauge to 10 lbs. per square inch, or psi, if you are using a "weighted-gauge" pressure cooker and live at an altitude of 1,000 feet or less. If you live above 1,000 feet, set the pressure gauge to 15 psi. Steam the tomatillos for 25 minutes.
8. Set the pressure gauge to 11 psi if you are using a "dial-gauge" pressure cooker and you live at an altitude of 2,000 feet or less. If you live above 2,000 feet, set the gauge at 12 psi. For every additional 2,000 feet of altitude, increase the pressure by 1 psi. Steam the tomatillos for 25 minutes.
9. Turn off the pressure cooker after the 25 minutes have elapsed and allow it to cool completely. Open the lid and let the jars sit for another 10 minutes before removing them.
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