Thoughts of LoWriter

Salsa Review Numero Two

Well, here we are again. It is time once again to take a trip through the various jarred salsas you can purchase and enjoy my various opinions on them. This is mostly to save you the large sum of money I have shelled out over the years on salsas I do not care to eat ever again.

Parkers Farm Mild. I ate this for the first time tonight, and I dig it. First, let me retract something from a previous entry. The "Red Barn Garlic Salsa" is actually "Parkers Farm Roasted Garlic Salsa," thus my inability to find a website. Apparently I read the picture rather than the label. The mild version is quite delightful. It actually has a fair amount of zing, which you don't often see in a mild salsa. This may be their way of compensating for not creating a medium variety. At any rate, they could stand to go a little easier on the onions, but other than that, this is an exxxcellent salsa. I give it gold stars all around. It has lots of chunks, but the sauce part is a little more liquid-y than some varieties. Unlike most mild salsas, it doesn't taste like a bowl full of raw, chopped vegetables; it zings. The flavors mingle together well, though. It has cilantro, but not enough to overwhelm the other flavors, and it seemed to me that I detected a hint of basil, though the jury is still out on that one. On the whole, I recommend, but prepare to smell of onions.

Herdez Salsa Casera Medium. At the time I purchased it, I had no idea this was made by Hormel. This is a fine salsa. It's very simple, and I would have enjoyed it a lot if it had not had so much cilantro. I felt that flavor overpowered everything else, and I am not the biggest fan of cilantro, so it sort of ruined the salsa for me. It might not be a bad one to try if you like the herb. Otherwise, I would stay away.

Mrs. Renfro's Raspberry Chipotle Salsa. I have always really wanted to like Mrs. Renfro's Salsa, but there is something about it that tastes weird. This salsa is a classic example. Now, it may just be the fact that I have sort of moved on from chipotle flavoring. I don't like the smokey aftertaste it so often leaves (same with fire roasted). But I tried this salsa at a time when a friend worked for a MOA store I can't remember the name of that sold Raspberry Chipotle Salsa for like $20 a jar, and I was craving it. This seemed like a viable alternative. It isn't. This epitomizes what's wrong with this brand: Too many flavors trying too hard to be heard.

Newman's Own Chunky Pinapple. As I mentioned in the comments previously, I enjoy this salsa A LOT. I have not had it in a long time, but it is a delightfully sweet and spicey combination that I used to use for dipping Flaming Hot Cheetos in (yes, I regret my youth). On the whole, it has a lot of great chunks of pineapple, but it's got enough kick to keep it from being classified as a marinade. Though you could perhaps use it as a marinade. I bet it would taste good on chicken.... Hmmm.... Fire up the grill, Honey, and let's give that a try. In all seriousness, I always thought this was a delightful snacking salsa, especially late at night. I don't feel that any of the flavors overwhelms any of the others, and I enjoy it a lot.

Baja Cafe Salsa Original. I am going to be completely honest here. This salsa was so bad that I blocked out exactly what was so bad about it. Suffice it to say that I opened it, I smelled it, I took one bite of it, and then it sat in my fridge until long after it had expired and I finally had to throw it away. I'm going to go ahead and say that their burritos are sub-par as well. This just goes to show that just because it's in the fridge section, doesn't make it good. I'd take a plain-jane jar of Pace Picante any day of the week over this. Yuck. For reals.

Salsa Lisa Mild/Medium. I am throwing in a bonus review because I am not ready to sleep yet, and I like to end on a high note. I put this salsa in my list of top five. I ODed on it a little, so I haven't purchased it in awhile, but I always found it to be a well-balanced salsa, flavor-wise. I could also always tell that fresh ingredients had been used, and it had a lot of big chunks, especially of tomatoes. I think my one complaint was that it was a mild/medium, and I would like it to be just a titch spicier. Born and raised in Minnesota (with its roots in the farmer's markets), this salsa is worth a trip through the refrigerated section to get it.

Well, that's it for the reviews for now. I still have a little Parkers Farm left, and I think I'm going to go hit it up before I head to bed. Enjoy and feel free to share any new (or old) finds in the comments, peeps.

Posted by LoWriter at February 22, 2008 11:22 PM