If you have ever had a chip, then the odds are that you have also had some kind of classic mild salsa dip or even one of the many popular pico de gallo salsa dips to go with it. Southwestern salsa recipes have been popular in the United States for quite awhile, and in many other countries for centuries. Here are a few facts about the different kinds of recipes with salsa dip that you can purchase or make on your own.
Salsa is the Spanish word that is used to describe a sauce, or sometimes a dip. In the vast majority of English speaking countries, the term usually refers to the often tomato based, hot sauces that are typical of Mexican cuisine. It is most often used to refer to those sauces that are used as dips. Though only a few types of salsa are hugely popular in the United States, like the more traditional pico de gallo salsa dips for instance, there are many types of salsa which usually vary throughout Latin America and differ depending on the region in question.
Mexican salsas, which are some of the more popular recipes using salsa in the United States, were traditionally produced using the mortar and pestle like molcajete. These days, blenders are now more commonly used to make a higher quantity faster. The Mayans made salsa also, using a mortar and pestle. Some of the most well known salsas include:
Salsa roja. This is one of the most recognizable salsas in the United States. This is a red sauce which is used as a condiment in Mexican and United States Southwestern cuisines. These salsa recipes usually includes cooked tomatoes, chili peppers, onion, garlic, and fresh cilantro.
Pico de gallo salsa dips, which are also known as salsa fresca, salsa picada, or salsa mexicana, are most often made with raw tomatoes, lime juice, chili peppers, onions, cilantro leaves, and other coarsely chopped raw ingredients. This is generally the second most recognizable type of salsa in the country.
Salsa cruda is an uncooked mixture of chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeño peppers, and cilantro, or coriander leaf that is quite similar to the average pico de gallo.
Salsa verde, or green sauce, is made with tomatillos in most Mexican versions and is usually cooked. The Italian version is made with herb to get a similar green color.
While some salsa fans do not consider jarred products to be real salsa, their widespread availability and long shelf life have been credited with quite a lot of salsa’s enormous popularity in states. This is true even outside of the southwest, especially in areas where salsa is not a traditional part of the cuisine.
No mater which kind of salsa tickles your fancy, try making one for your next big get together as soon as possible.