Salsa is a variety of sauces used at table as condiments for tacos and other Mexican and Mexican-American foods, and as dips for tortilla chips. They may be raw or cooked, and are generally served at room temperature. Though the wordsalsa is Spanish for any kind of sauce, in English, it refers specifically to these Mexican table sauces, especially to the chunky tomato-and-chili-based pico de gallo, as well as to salsa verde. Tortilla chips with salsa are a ubiquitous appetizer in Mexican-American restaurants, but not in Mexico itself. Salsa has found its way into some regional Jewish cuisines, for example Syrian Jews have combined the traditional dishkipe with salsa verde.
Types
Mexican salsas were traditionally produced using the mortar and pestle-like molcajete, although blenders are now used. Mexican salsas include:
Salsa roja, one of the two most common and well known types of salsa, "red sauce", is used as a condiment in Mexican and Southwestern cuisines; usually includes cooked tomatoes, chili peppers, onion, garlic, and fresh cilantro.
Salsa cruda, "raw sauce", is an uncooked mixture of chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeño chilies, and cilantro.
Prepared salsa
While some salsa fans do not consider jarred products to be real salsa cruda, their widespread availability and long shelf life have been credited with much of salsa's enormous popularity in states outside the southwest, especially in areas where salsa is not a traditional part of the cuisine. In 1992, the dollar value of salsa sales in the United States exceeded those of tomato ketchup.
The World Health Organization says care should be taken in the preparation and storage of salsas and any other types of sauces, since many raw-served varieties can act as growth media for potentially dangerous bacteria, especially when unrefrigerated. In 2002 a study by the University of Texas–Houston, found sauces contaminated with E. coli in:
In 2010 the CDC reported that 1 in 25 foodborne illnesses between 1998 and 2008 was traced back to restaurant sauces. A 2010 paper on salsa food hygiene described refrigeration as "the key" to safe sauces. This study also found that fresh lime juice and fresh garlic would prevent the growth of Salmonella.
