Salsa may refer to any type of sauce. In American English, it usually refers to the spicy, often tomato based, hot sauces typical of Mexican and Central American cuisine, particularly those used as dips. In British English, the word typically refers to salsa cruda, which is common in Mexican (pico de gallo), Spanish, Kenyan (Kachumbari), Malawian (sumu) and Italian cuisine. While in the United States salsa has been popularized and commercialized as a Mexican and Central American creation, there are many types of salsa which usually vary throughout Latin America.
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The word salsa entered the English language from the Spanish salsa ("sauce"), which itself derives from the Latin salsa ("salty"), from sal ("salt"). The proper Spanish pronunciation is [ˈsalsa]; however most British English speakers pronounce it /ˈsɑːlsə/. The Spanish meaning of the word salsa makes the common expression "salsa sauce" redundant.
Mexican salsas were traditionally produced using the mortar and pestle-like molcajete, although blenders are now more commonly used. The Mayans made salsa also, using a mortar and pestle. They made what we now call guacamole. Well-known salsas include
There are many other salsas, both traditional and nouveau, some are made with mint, pineapple, or mango.
Outside of Mexico and Central America, the following salsas are common to each of the following regions; in Argentina and the Southern Cone Chimichurri sauce is common. Chimichurri is "a spicy vinegar-parsley sauce that is the salsa (and leading condiment) in Argentina and Uruguay, served with grilled meat. It is made of chopped fresh parsley and onion, seasoned with garlic, oregano, salt, cayenne and black pepper and bound with oil and vinegar."[2] In Costa Rica, dishes are prepared with Salsa Lizano, a thin, smooth, light brown sauce. In Cuba and the Caribbean, a typical salsa is Mojo. Unlike the tomato based salsas, mojo typically consist of olive oil, garlic, and citrus juice, and is used both to marinade meats and as a dipping sauce. In Peru, a traditional salsa is Peri peri or Piri piri sauce, "the national condiment of Peru, peri-peri sauce is made in medium to hot levels of spiciness—the more chile, or the hotter variety of chile used, the hotter the sauce. Original peri-peri uses the African bird’s eye chile (the African word for the chile is peri-peri). Milder sauces may use only cayenne and serrano chiles. To a base of vinegar and oil, garlic and lemon juice are added, plus other seasonings, which often include paprika or tomato paste for flavor and color, onions and herb—each company has its own recipe. It is also used as a cooking sauce."[3]
The World Health Organization says that care should be taken in the preparation and storage of salsa, since many raw-served varieties can act as a growth medium for potentially dangerous bacteria, especially when unrefrigerated.[4]
In 2002, a study appearing in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, conducted by the University of Texas–Houston Medical School, found that 66% of the sauces tested (71 samples tested, sauces being either: salsa, guacamole, or pico de gallo) from restaurants in Guadalajara, Jalisco and 40% of those from Houston, Texas, were contaminated with E. coli bacteria, although only the sauces from Guadalajara contained the types of E. coli that cause diarrhea.[5] The researchers found that the Mexican sauces from Guadalajara contained fecal contaminants and higher levels of the bacteria more frequently than those of the sauces from Houston, possibly as a result of more common improper refrigeration of the Mexican sauces.
In a July 12, 2010 press release, the Center for Disease Control reported that during the 1998 to 2008 period, 1 out of 25 foodborne illnesses with identified food sources was traced back to restaurant salsa or guacamole.[6] According to a July 13, 2010 news item by journalist Elizabeth Weise, a 2008 outbreak of Salmonella was traced back to the peppers used in salsa.[7] Originally reported to the CDC by the New Mexico Department of Health, over the course of several months, the outbreak sickened a total of 1,442 people in 43 states and resulted in 286 hospitalizations.[8] Weise reported:
| “ | Refrigeration is the key to safe salsa, says Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety, who published a paper on the topic earlier this year.[9] "An unusual finding was if you used fresh garlic and fresh lime juice, it prevented the growth," of bacteria. "You couldn't use powdered, it had to be fresh," he says. | ” |
Most jarred, canned, and bottled salsa and picante sauces sold in the United States in grocery stores are forms of salsa cruda / pico de gallo. To increase their shelf life, these salsas have been cooked to a temperature of 175 °F (79 °C). Some of these shelf-stable salsas have added vinegar; some use pickled peppers (in vinegar), instead of fresh peppers. Tomatoes are extremely acidic by nature, which along with the heat processing is enough to stabilize the product for grocery distribution. These commercial jarred, canned, and bottled salsas typically have a semi-liquid texture; so-called "chunky salsa" appears to be the most popular form of jarred salsa currently. More expensive brands tend to have more chunks of vegetables in them.
While some salsa fans decry these products as not real salsa cruda, their widespread availability and long shelf life are credited with much of salsa's enormous popularity in states outside of the Southwest, especially in places where salsa is not a traditional part of the cuisine.
Many grocery stores in the United States and Canada also sell "fresh" refrigerated salsa, usually in plastic containers. Fresh salsa is usually more expensive and has a shorter shelf life than canned or jarred salsa. It may or may not contain vinegar.
In 1992, Packaged Facts, a food marketing research group, found that the dollar amount of salsa sales had overtaken those of ketchup (but not in total volume).[10]
Picante sauce of the American type is often "soupier" in consistency than what is labelled as "salsa" (which is typically "chunkier"). Picante is a Spanish adjective that derives from picar, which means "to sting", referring to the feeling caused by salsas on one's tongue (compare the English word piquant).
Taco Sauce is a condiment sold in American grocery stores and fast food Tex-Mex places. Taco sauce is similar to its Mexican counterpart in that it is smoothly blended, having the consistency of thin ketchup. It is made from tomato paste instead of whole tomatoes and lacks the seeds and chunks of vegetables found in picante sauce.