Is it just me or is good salsa hard to find?

[Exterous]

For a long time we've made our own salsa but have been doing it a bit less. We've tried quite a few brands but find most lacking in quality. Might have to go back to making our own (No mexican grocery stores in the area)

 

[lxskllr]

I can't think of any I especially like, but I haven't bought any in awhile(see beginning). I guess I should check some out to see if anything's changed. It makes a good snack.

 

[olds]

There is no good, mass produced salsa.

 

[Brainonska511]

For mass market salsas, I like Desert Pepper

 

[Jon-T]

The only decent mass produced one I have found is Goya.

Every other brand fits into one class, Goya is in another class. Neither can match a decent home made one, even my attempts far surpass the jarred ones.

One class I have no experience with are the smaller fresh made brands you see in little plastic containers in the refrigerated section of the supermarket.

 

[Iron Woode]

it's best to make your own.

I make something related to salsa called chili sauce. The only difference is chili sauce is cooked.

 

[ponyo]

We buy Jack's Cantina Style Salsa at Costco. It's cheap at around $6 or so for 48 oz. The ingredients are reasonable. Tomato, Onion, Cilantro, Vinegar, Green Bell Pepper, Jalapeno Pepper, Salt, Spices, Garlic, Lime Juice, Sugar, Celery, Citric Acid.

 

[DigDog]

Make your own. You might fail .. you will certainly fail the first 2/3 times but once you figure out you'll be able to crank out buckets of the stuff.

 

[Paratus]

For store bought this is pretty good.

 

[Exterous]

One class I have no experience with are the smaller fresh made brands you see in little plastic containers in the refrigerated section of the supermarket.

Meh. Doesn't appear to be any better than the stuff in jars

For a long time we've made our own salsa but have been doing it a bit less.

Make your own. You might fail .. you will certainly fail the first 2/3 times but once you figure out you'll be able to crank out buckets of the stuff.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

For mass market salsas, I like Desert Pepper

Ditto. Their habanero salsa is great.

 

[shortylickens]

Find a nice Mexican restaurant that sells quarts of their salsa.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I find store bought is fine but I don't really have anything to compare to. I usually get the "hot".. if they even have it. I find grocery stores tend to shy away from hot stuff. Some kind of liability thing?

 

[mindless1]

I make my own, everything home-grown except the garlic and onions. Anything in a jar on a grocery store shelf has to either be loaded with preservatives, vinegar, or pasteurized (or whatever they call it in this case, just canning?) to keep it from spoiling on the shelf and any of that spoils it for me. Even in a refrigerated food isle I imagine the shelf life of fresh ingredients without the above would be too short for most grocery stores to want it.

Off-season, using frozen and dehydrated ingredients it's not as good but still better than any store salsa I've found. Restaurant salsa, it depends, I like variety and wouldn't want the same salsa every single time (I eat a lot of it).

There are a couple of restaurants that make it fresh that aren't bad but off-season, shipped in tomatoes aren't as good as my home-grown. Guess it depends on where you live, in some regions it's practical to grow tomatoes year-round.

 

[ElFenix]

it's best to make your own.

I make something related to salsa called chili sauce. The only difference is chili sauce is cooked.

salsa is often cooked. down here it's served hot at some places.

 

[UglyCasanova]

I find store bought is fine but I don't really have anything to compare to. I usually get the "hot".. if they even have it. I find grocery stores tend to shy away from hot stuff. Some kind of liability thing?

Lol no liability involved, just marketability. They’ve got to sell it.

 

[mindless1]

You can always make any salsa hot with a little of your favorite super-hot sauce. This works well, when not everyone wants their salsa the same heat level so you dose your own bowl to suit the heat level you want.

 

[DigDog]

Ok ok ok geez ill read the frikking thing next time ok?!

It's .. i thought ..

WHY would anyone care about bottled salsa if they can make their own. JUST BOTTLE YOUR OWN SALSA.

Look .. you cant industrially make "fresh" salsa. But you can, you can make batches that will last for a while, and you can freeze it too.


At this point im worried that you might be one of those "stick X items in blender" guys. Or who makes a teally sloppy salad.

If you can make good salsa at home, you should know it to be foolish to look in the supermarket for anything similar.

 

[gorcorps]

We buy Jack's Cantina Style Salsa at Costco. It's cheap at around $6 or so for 48 oz. The ingredients are reasonable. Tomato, Onion, Cilantro, Vinegar, Green Bell Pepper, Jalapeno Pepper, Salt, Spices, Garlic, Lime Juice, Sugar, Celery, Citric Acid.

We buy a different type of Jack's, but they all seem to be good. I think it's the Jack's special medium: https://www.gardenfreshgourmet.com/products/10/jack's-special-medium-salsa

 

[gorcorps]

One class I have no experience with are the smaller fresh made brands you see in little plastic containers in the refrigerated section of the supermarket.

Those are the best ones

 

[dud]

My wife surprised me yesterday with a 6-pack of my favorite salsa ... Mrs. Renfro's Peach Habanero:

https://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Renfros-Mango-Habanero-Salsa/dp/B00RH2M3NQ


Sweet with a little heat. Good ...

 

[vi edit]

I used to make a ton of my own salsa when I had space for a nice garden. I never cooked it. That seemed to be the secret to making it taste fresher. Just make it up and eat it in a few days time.

In absence of that, I've grown fond of the Kroger Private Select highly descriptive "Restaurant Salsa". It's got one of the better textures, flavors and heat of most pre-canned stuff.

 

[bigi]

It is simple with salsas, once you go "your own" you'll never go back.

Nothing beats made own even basic salsa. Nothing.

 

[clamum]

I've had some decent stuff from Meijer/Walmart, actually. Nothing in jars, that stuff is shit, it's in the refrigerated section. Don't know the names though.

But my favorite is the salsa cruda I make... aw sheit, talk about delicious. Roma tomatoes, peppers (jalapeno, serrano), onion, cilanto, lime juice, dash of red wine vinegar, salt/pepper.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Depends where you live. Most of you, I'd guess, are up north, based on the abominations that you're trying to pass as salsa.