Should I simmer my homemade salsa?

"Fresh" salsa is not cooked. Usually salsa is only cooked when it is being canned.

Also, if you are using canned tomatoes, it's not fresh salsa. Fresh salsa uses fresh, raw ingredients.

EDIT:

If you are not going to can the salsa, cooking it will not help to preserve it. Both the cooked and the uncooked salsa will spoil in the same amount of time.

I never cooked my salsas either. One day my landlord took me out to eat. He owns like 50 or so properties with a couple other Realtors. I worked for him for quite some time doing everything from maintenance, make-readies to evictions. Their salsa was warm when itcame to the table. The flavors EXPLODED in my mouth. We of course talked about our meal and how he does the same. Now I simmer my salsas too. You hit the nail on the head with SIMMER. We don't want to boil them to mush but as you sugegst just release the flavors and allow them to mingle and get all happy. I still keep things like pico de gallo fresh. cold and unfettered but salsa's like the Jalapeno-Mango salsa I do simmer. The sweet mango helps to cut the heat but also plays against the tang of the tomatoes and bite of the jalapeno apart from the heat. BE VERY CAREFUL. Using other peppers like the Habanero or Ghost chili or extract can create a painful gas. That steam is as effective a a policemen's can of mace. Of course you know this because it sounds like you are an advanced cook. I just don't want to be the cause of any possible issue.

Preservation? No. I do not see how that would be affected by cooking. Blanching would help the veggies if they were to be frozen. The veggies don't have all the nasties like a raw chicken leg might have. THEY CAN HAVE PESTICIDES, food-grade WAX and other stuff so a good washing is a very good idea. I can eat a jalapeno raw or fresh so preservation isn't really a result that I would expect. You are breaking down some of the fibers within the veggies so if anything you would be accelerating the process of decay. When canning there are temperature points you need to reach to effectively allow the mason jars to seal themselves and to avoid them exploding an hour later. THAT is the preservation tactic I see which your procedure doesn't entail. You however are only screwing on the top. There is not a vacuum seal present which would up the preservation level.

I make almost that same recipe, and I don't cook it. I freeze it, in containers of a size that I will use before it spoils after thawing. Cooking can release some flavours but destroy others or change them. I happen to like the taste of the fresh version. Simmer it, and what you'll get is closer to tomato sauce.

I think it depends on how much Salsa and what type of salsa you are making. For your recipe, cooking or not cooking it would work, but cooking will make it last longer.

For fruit salsa, like mango or anything with avocado, cooking would probably ruin the salsa.

The word salsa simply means sauce and their are cooked and raw sauces.

Yes simmer it.Cool it in the fridge,it will taste better .Goodluck (: