Summer Salsa

I’ll be making this one this week! I’ll let you know if it is as good as it looks!

4 cups chopped cored peeled tomatoes, drained from excess liquid
2 cups chopped pitted peeled peaches, treated to prevent browning and drained
2 cups chopped cored peeled pears, treated to prevent browning and drained
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup chopped red onion
3 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed finely chopped cilantro
1/2 cup liquid honey
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

In large stainless steel saucepan, combine tomatoes, peaches, pears, red pepper, onion, and jalapeno peppers. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
Add cilantro, honey, lemon zest and juice, vinegar and mint. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace by adding more hot salsa. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process 8 ounce jars for 15 minutes and pint jars for 20 minutes. Remove canner lid.
Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

To prevent fruit from browning, you can use a commercial produce protector containing ascorbic acid (vitamin C) or a mixture of ascorbic and citric acids. Alternatively, submerge cut fruit in a mixture of 1/4 cup lemon juice and 4 cups water.