My wife's boss makes some absolutely great salsa, so we got the recipe from her so that we could try our hand at it with our fresh garden veggies. The recipe is below:

> 
> Salsa
> 
> 
> * 16 cup tomatoes, peeled and quartered
> * 4 cups onions, chopped
> * 2 cup jalapenos, chopped (~~with~~ without seeds) -- adjust this (1 1/4 cup, 1/2 of seeds used)
> * 2 1/2 cup white vinegar
> * 1 cup sugar
> * 1/2 c pickling salt
> * 3 tsp garlic powder
> * 1 1/2 T chili powder
> * 2 tsp black pepper
> * 2 T cumin seed
> * 1 tsp alum
> * 2 (6oz) cans tomato paste
> 
> 
> Blend together and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, uncovered. Put into hot sterilized jars; seal and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. Makes 8 pints
> 
> 
> WARNING: When slicing jalapenos use rubber gloves and don't touch your eyes
> 
> 
> [(original recipe)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/nXduI.jpg)
> 
> 
> 

Last summer I made 16 pints with this recipe, and it was basically inedible due to the overwhelming vinegar bitterness. We ran this back by her boss who gave us the recipe, and she said she really just wings it on the vinegar.

So my question is, for this recipe how much white vinegar should actually be used? We have our garden veggies ready for salsa making this weekend, and I really don't want to waste all of them again this year! Hope I can get some help on the vinegar part!