I’m making some salsa this weekend and I would love to send some to my friends in Wisconsin (I’m in Portland, OR). I plan on sending it FedEx ground due to my discount through work. Is this safe? How should I package it? I don’t have any means of canning/jarring. Any Ideas?
I would probably pack it into a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, wrap that in bubble plastic (the large bubble kind), then pack it in a box tightly surrounded by packing chips. If really rough handling is expected, I’d wrap the box in more bubble plastic and put it inside a second box.
Put the jar in the fridge for a few hours, then take it out and pack it right before despatch, the bubble/chip packaging should insulate it really well against warming up and spoiling in transit.
Are you cooking the salsa (implicit in its name)?
If the salsa is brought to near boiling temperature, you should have no problems. Merely rinse out the jars with scalding hot water, promptly fill them with freshly cooked off salsa and seal immediately. You should actually see a good pull-down of the jar’s lid. Tap on the lid’s surface after they have cooled to room temperature. You should be able to detect a nice "drum head’ effect from the vacuum created during ‘canning.’
Chill the successfully sealed jars before packing them for shipment. Use second day delivery and you should have zero problems with freshness upon receipt.
My sister mailed me a cheese steak sandwich once from Jersey overnight refridgerated. Maybe this is an option.
What Zenster said.
Canning is really easy. The instructions come with the canning jars/lids. Also most cookbooks have the procedure. The cans and lids (which is all you really need if you boil the salsa - recommended) may cost you around $12 bucks. Then you can ship/freeze/store anywhere, anytime.
Take a look at the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s website. The FAQs gives some great tips on preserving foods safely.
COOKING SALSA!!!:mad:
You people should be flogged for such an idea. What’s next boiling a salad.
Anyhow. I think I’ll take Mangetout’s advice and send it overnight with plenty of insulation (for both temp and shock)
Thanks folks!
Another option is dry ice. I received four chicken pot pies and after three days in transit, they were still frozen.
As for why I got pot pies…it was my birthday.
Call me anal, but I don’t know about freezing the salsa either. I’m somewhat renowned among my friends for making killer salsa.
That would be the cause for concern here. :dubious:
Fast and cool will usually be sufficient.
Cooking blends the seasonings together better than the cold method. I like to add basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, etc… It also helps release the capsaicin in the seeds of the hot peppers. If you like a seasoned, blended, and uniformly hot (spicy) salsa then the cooking method will do. It also makes canning easier. The freezing may occur during shipping, depending on where/how its being shipped and what time of year. If the package gets hung up somewhere in the shipping process you wont get spoilage. Also, during the cooking process, you can thicken the salsa and make it a spaghetti sauce for noodles. I usually take about half of the batch and can it for salsa and then the rest Ill thicken and make into spaghetti sauce.
I AM THE SALSA MASTER. - according to the universal me.
Adding a little bit of vinegar helps do the job as well. What I do to “release the heat” is I dice the tomatoes, onion, and milder peppers (bells, jalapeno, serano). Then put the hot peppers (habeneros, cheyennes, thai chili) in a blender with a half can of beer (the alcohol helps release capsaicin as well), and a few other secret ingredients. This way you don’t accidently get big chunks of the habe’s, which are potent as sin.