Someone in my family calls me a salsa snob, because I turn up my nose at any salsa that\u2019s not fresh. Hey, if it\u2019s cooked (in New York City !?!) and then sits in a bottle on a shelf for six months, it has a taste and consistency more like baby food than salsa, but that\u2019s just my opinion. When I told a close friend, someone who knows salsa better than anyone in my family, that I was referred to as a snob, she said that I\u2019m not a snob, but instead a salsa \u201cconnoisseur.\u201d I prefer aficionado, but connoisseur is pretty cool, too. =)<\/p>\n
To digress, and to give perspective, I was born and raised (till I was 14) in the Northeast corner of the U.S. This section was, and still is, more in touch with Chinese and Italian food than Mexican food. Good sure, but on the whole, fairly bland compared to Mexican dishes. Just my opinion, take it with a grain of salt.<\/p>\n
To give you an idea of the state of things in this area, Taco Bell is the main thrust of Mexican food in these parts, and another relative calls salsa (the Spanish word for sauce) \u201csalsa sauce.\u201d Oh, and while we\u2019re on the subject, or more to the point off the subject, they\u2019re called tortillas (phonetically) tor-tee-yahs, not wraps. And it\u2019s pronounced (phonetically) hah-lah-pain-yo not hah-lah-pee-no (jalape\u00f1o).<\/p>\n
When I was a teenager in California, my friends and I would test ourselves (yes, we were macho) with burritos from a local shop that were so hot we would have to prepare ourselves before eating by applying chapstick to our lips. Not only that but we would sweat while eating them, while seated outside in the dead of winter without wearing jackets. Granted in the area of California where this occurred winters were especially mild compared to the Northeast, still, no jacket \u2013 sweating. That wasn\u2019t the worst of it, though. Later, when it came time to use the facilities is when we really paid.<\/p>\n
Okay, I won\u2019t dwell on how tough or cool I think I am\/was, but to the point of this rant. I\u2019ve returned to the Northeast and am now forced to shop in stores where their version of fresh salsa has cucumbers in it. What?!!!? Cucumbers? Yup. I\u2019m not trying to be a snob, here, but that\u2019s just plain gross. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I love cucumbers (and pickles for that matter), but not in salsa. I\u2019m sure someone somewhere thought that it was a good filler. Probably a way to save money; read that as \u2018cheap.\u2019 Usually is the case, right? Newsflash, money grubbing wh@r3s, real Mexican salsa doesn\u2019t have cucumbers in it!<\/p>\n
A general list of ingredients in salsa (please feel free to comment):<\/p>\n
That\u2019s it. No cucumbers. Got it?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t mind that what you consider hot (with flames on the side to emphasize the heat) is barely warmer than ketchup, but please don\u2019t label it authentic or Mexican. Maybe my relative is right and you should call it salsa sauce. That would be warning enough for me not to eat it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Someone in my family calls me a salsa snob, because I turn up my nose at any salsa that\u2019s not fresh. Hey, if it\u2019s cooked (in New York City !?!) and then sits in a bottle on a shelf for … Continue reading