Chuck Evans gifted us with this jar of salsa goodness back at the 2008 North Market Fiery Foods Festival, so we decided to crack this jar of Raspberry Lime Salsa open right ahead of this coming weekend’s Cinco D’Ohio festival just to get a taste (no pun intended) of some of the stuff which will be available there at the show. Now I will admit to not being the biggest fan of fruit salsas in general or even to chipotle, so I hoped to give this a more fair & balanced take on it. For one thing, it’s hard to go wrong with this list of ingredients:

Ingredients: tomatoes, tomato puree, onions, red raspberries in syrup, chile peppers, Smokey Chipotle (R) pepper sauce, lime juice, lemon juice, vinegar, herbs and spices

Now this is the kind of list we like to see in the products we try…nothing but real ingredients without any chemical-sounding names of ingredients. Here’s the description of the salsa from Chuck’s website:

Chuck’s very original mild red raspberry salsa is spiked with fresh lime juice along with a hint of smokey chipotle providing layers of flavor. Serve over a block of cream cheese; top off a char-grilled pork chop; or drizzle over vanilla ice cream. Provecho!

Taste: We didn’t do anything fancy-shmancy with this salsa, but rather just ate it straight out of the jar with some tortilla chips. Given the recipe suggestions above, we wanted to try it au natural to see how it would do unadulterated by other stuff. The result? This was a surprisingly good salsa that Joe had to be restrained from finishing all in one sitting! The salsa base is a little on the thin side, but has big chunks of tomatoes and raspberries to whet your appetite. The heat is indeed on the mild side as the label suggests, perhaps 3/10 for heat, but the incredible taste will make you forget that it’s not all that hot & spicy. Great combination of chipotle flavor as well, which isn’t too smoky or sweet with the fruit in the salsa. It has a smooth flavor that really balances the peppery flavor with the combination of raspberry and lime.

Although we didn’t try it ourselves, take Chuck’s hints about the cream cheese and pork chops. This salsa would be amazing with those. You could certainly do this with ice cream or just about any dessert, and we think this would be great drizzled over cheesecake. Yum!

Overall recommendation: For those of you who think that fruit salsas are too sweet or may not truly be in to the flavor of chipotle…then this is the salsa for you. It’s definitely on the milder side of the chilehead spectrum, but it has enough heat to keep you interested at least. While you can find lots of uses in cooking for this salsa, it really is good straight out of the jar. We’d love to see a spicier version of this someday, but for now we’ll be licking the insides of the jar until we need to get some more. Try some for yourself and see what you think. Enjoy!

It’s been a little while since we had some good homemade salsa, so we dove back into the fray with this new arrival from Ed & Patti Wajer called Ed & Patti’s Hot 4 Pepper Gourmet Salsa. This salsa fits into both categories with us…that of a homemade product as well as a commercially distributed one. Ed & Patti hail from the great state of Michigan, where their salsa is available at select vendors at various times throughout the year.

There’s nothing that will warm the heart of someone in central Ohio than thinking about Key West Florida. This is especially true if you like Key West and even more especially if you love Key Limes. I am one of those people. Combine Key Lime into a salsa, though, and you have something really special.

Ingredients: tomatoes, onions, turbinado sugar, jalapenos, key lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, spices
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It’s tough for us to believe that this humble jar of salsa has lasted on our “to do” list for this long, but this jar of Habanero FlatLime salsa given to us by Darrell and Candy Fitch finally made it to our kitchen for use over this past weekend. The regular FlatLime salsa has been one of our fave salsas for quite some time, so we imagined that the addition of a pile of habaneros would only make the recipe better. In fact, the description from the BigDawg website says just that:

We have listened to you, our customer, and have added a heaping of habanero to one of our most popular flavors. This one will definitely bring your chip back to life!

Habanero’s, fresh squeezed lime, and hand picked cilantro make this a must for fajita’s, nachos, cream cheese, or just dipped right out of the jar!

Ingredients: tomatoes (tomato juice, salt, citric acid, calcium chloride), onions, fresh lime, jalapeno peppers, habanero peppers, cilantro, garlic, sea salt, apple cider vinegar, red pepper, and other spices
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Our friends over at Heather’s Heat and Flavor have come out with their own salsa. I must say, this is quite the tasty treat!

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Well, about two weeks ago I got this at the Fiery Foods show in Columbus. It’s Chuck Evan’s Montezuma Smokey Chipotle Squash, Black Bean and Corn Salsa and I received it from a very eager Chuck Evans. This is his brand new salsa and according to him, “It’s probably the most nutritious salsa you’ll ever eat!”

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I always enjoy a good salsa, don’t you? The chunky bits of ingredients, the textures, and the bombardment of flavors, all packed on a small tortia chip. Yep, salsa sure was a good invention. The one salsa I’m going to be review today is brought to us by the letter “7″ and by Tahiti Joe!

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For me, reviewing salsas are a lot of fun. Being an avid salsa aficionado (they are the most popular condiment in America now, y’know), I know what I like…and it’s a pretty simple formula.

Must smell good. Must taste good. The “hot” salsas should actually be hot and spicy.

I’ve been on something of a guilt-trip of late for letting the review on these great salsas go so long without posting. I was suitably impressed enough with the Aji Rocoto hot sauce from Rancho Bravo, so I was fairly sure that their salsas would not disappoint either. So, here it comes to pass that I’ve nearly polished off 4 jars of the Rancho Bravo salsas without so much as writing a word about them. Bad reviewer!

On the surface, these salsas have a lot going for them. First, the ingredients are completely natural and have no additives, preservatives, or any other shelf-stabilizing stuff added to them. I used to think that the additives issue was mostly an American thing since we eat so many shelf-stable products from our grocery stores, but I know that it’s not strictly the case. That said, I’ve seen more International products who make more natural products of late, and I hope that that trend continues. These salsas actually hail from the Rancho Bravo farms in Peru and are distributed through the state of Salsa…I mean, Texas.

Another nice feature is that there’s a range of heat levels to satisfy everyone but the most die-hard chilehead who has to have their salsa burn their tastebuds off. From mild to extra-hot, you can enjoy what you like.

That said, I set about the task of making some tasting notes about these salsas. Scanning the bottle, they feature that same sorta neo-retro label and these ingredients for all 4 salsas:
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Bull Brothers Pepper Sauce, Mild and Medium Salsa Review

Manufacturer: Bull Brothers (www.bullbrothers.com)

Products:
Bull Brothers Pepper Sauce
Bull Brothers Medium Chunky Salsa
Bull Brothers Mild Salsa

Ingredients (Applicable to all three products):
Hungarian Peppers
Ketchup (Bottle also list ingredients for Ketchup)
Distilled Vinegar
Onions
Mushrooms
Canola Oil
Sugar
Garlic
Garlic Pepper
Salt

Packaging :
The labeling on the Bull Brothers is eye catching. I love the bull with the chili peppers for horns. The basic white label with dark text makes it easy to read.

Packaging Score: 19/20

Aroma:
Upon opening the bottle, a very pleasant aroma of garlic, onion, tomato, and peppers is evident. Not overpowering but just right.

Aroma Score: 19/20

Texture:
The texture is smooth and thick when cold and sticks to a tortilla chip easily. I like a sauce of this texture. The medium chunky salsa is “chunky” as advertised, while the mild salsa has a smoother texture.

Texture Score: 20/20

Taste:
The taste is smooth while creating an instant warm feeling more on the top middle of the palate than the tongue. Nothing jumps out at you as far as ingredients go, all is blended and a perfect mix of ingredients. This hot sauce and chunky salsa has a little bite to it, but it is pleasant. The mild salsa has a good taste and will be great for the novice heat lover.

Taste Score: 20/20

Aftertaste:
Five minutes after tasting, there is a little sweat on my forehead, under my eyes and the edges of my receding hairline. Fifteen minutes after tasting a lingering warm sensation on the palate and corners of the mouth remain.

Aftertaste Score: 20/20

Overall Score: 98/100

Summary:
These are three new items I will keep in my refrigerator from now on. Great pepper sauce and salsas. Highly recommended to all who love good tasting pepper sauce and salsa.

Sabrosa Gourmet Fire Roasted Salas Review

Manufacturer: Sabrosa (sabrosafoods.com)

Product:
Sabrosa Gourmet Fire Roasted Mild Salsa
Sabrosa Gourmet Fire Roasted Medium Salsa

Ingredients:
Diced Tomatoes
Roasted Bell Peppers
Red Bell Peppers
Roasted Jalapeno Peppers
Balsamic Vinegar
Kosher Salt
Fresh Garlic
Cilantro
Parsley

Packaging:
The 12 ounce mason style jars are pleasantly labeled and boast 100% fire roasted peppers. The colorful labeling makes you want to look and see what it is. The packaging is color-coordinated down to the golden colored lid.

Packaging Score: 17/20

Aroma:
The smell of fresh roasted peppers and garlic is enticing to say the least. A hint of a smoke gains an instant interest.

Aroma Score: 16/20

Texture:
The chunky texture of the salsa reveals pieces of green and red bell pepper in a sauce that is dark red/green in color.

Texture Score: 16/20

Taste:
The first thing that hits your taste buds is the roasted pepper and a hint of garlic. The balsamic vinegar is not overpowering and is supportive of the overall good taste. Tomatoes are readily visible in the salsa and fits well in this mixture although they are not one of the major taste competitors.

Taste Score: 17/20

Aftertaste:
The mild salsa has a slight hint of heat but you have to think about it to understand the top back of the palate has a warm feeling. The medium adds a little more heat but not bad at all.
Aftertaste Score: 16/20

Overall Score: 82/100

Summary:
While I am not a big fan of fire roasted delicacies, this salsa has a very pleasant taste whether eaten alone right out of the jar or with warm tortilla chips. My wife really likes this salsa. One of the better store bought salsas I have tried.

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