# Is there a nationally distributed salsa that ISN'T "thick and chunky"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787 "2014-08-17T22:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/41 "2014-08-19T16:57:33Z")
Picked up some **Mrs. Renfro’s** and **Frontera** yesterday and had them on tacos last night. Both salsas were decidedly non-chunky, yet both still maintained some texture. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/42 "2014-08-19T16:59:17Z")
You’re welcome. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/43 "2014-08-19T17:03:15Z")
Salpica Salsa and Mrs. Renfro’s would both fit your criteria. You can buy Salpica at [www.fronterafiesta.com](http://www.fronterafiesta.com) I have their Urban Cowgirl Mango Peach topping my lunch today. Their products don’t have any preservatives so you have to consume it in the same time frame you would consume fresh salsa after you open the jar. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/44 "2014-12-31T01:14:22Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Try me Yucatan Sunshine Habanero Sauce. We discovered a ‘hole in the wall’ Mexican restaurant today. (Note: This does not mean it’s anywhere near the HITW restaurants in L.A.) They had different salsas on different tables, and ours had Yucatan Sunshine. I doused the chips with it, and it’s good. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/45 "2014-12-31T16:45:48Z")
Answer to the question you didn’t ask: homemade salsa is insanely easy. There isn’t one storebought product that this Texas woman can tolerate. There’s a goopy, slimy quality to most commercial salsas that I don’t like. (But, as commercial brands go, Herdez is a good product IMHO.) Get two or three tennis ball-size tomatoes and one or two fresh, raw [serrano](http://theothersideofthetortilla.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/chile-serrano-web1.jpg)chiles (they’re the slender ones that are about the size and shape of a baby’s finger. Do NOT substitute a baby’s finger in this recipe). Put all items in a pan with a rim (some juices may escape from the tomatoes), set in 400-ish degree oven until skins of tomatoes and peppers are charred. As very charred or slightly charred as appeals to you. You can also do this on a charcoal/gas grill. Put everything in a blender with some salt. Keeps in the fridge or else (my preference) eat it all immediately with a ginormous bag of tortilla chips. Variations abound… add lime, the dreaded and awful cilantro, onion, use jalapenos instead of serranos, and anything else that sounds good. Happily eat the experiments-- I mean, how bad can they be? Also, you don’t have to put anything in the oven-- just blend it all raw. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/46 "2014-12-31T16:56:02Z")
I get my (non-chunky) salsa in the produce section at whatever grocery store I’m shopping at. Usually Walmart–their in-house (Market Fresh? Marketside? Market something…) salsa is really good; fresher than the bottled stuff, and just the right consistency. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/47 "2014-12-31T18:50:51Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Answer to the question you didn’t ask: homemade salsa is insanely easy. There isn’t one storebought product that this Texas woman can tolerate. There’s a goopy, slimy quality to most commercial salsas that I don’t like. (But, as commercial brands go, Herdez is a good product IMHO.) > > Get two or three tennis ball-size tomatoes and one or two fresh, raw [serrano](http://theothersideofthetortilla.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/chile-serrano-web1.jpg)chiles (they’re the slender ones that are about the size and shape of a baby’s finger. Do NOT substitute a baby’s finger in this recipe). > > Put all items in a pan with a rim (some juices may escape from the tomatoes), set in 400-ish degree oven until skins of tomatoes and peppers are charred. As very charred or slightly charred as appeals to you. You can also do this on a charcoal/gas grill. > > Put everything in a blender with some salt. Keeps in the fridge or else (my preference) eat it all immediately with a ginormous bag of tortilla chips. > > Variations abound… add lime, the dreaded and awful cilantro, onion, use jalapenos instead of serranos, and anything else that sounds good. Happily eat the experiments-- I mean, how bad can they be? > > Also, you don’t have to put anything in the oven-- just blend it all raw. It all seems so easy when you read it on a screen, but you clearly have never known what it’s like for me to be in a kitchen 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/48 "2014-12-31T18:56:48Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > It all seems so easy when you read it on a screen, but you clearly have never known what it’s like for me to be in a kitchen 🙂 She left out the part about growing all the ingredients. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/49 "2014-12-31T19:19:49Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > It all seems so easy when you read it on a screen, but you clearly have never known what it’s like for me to be in a kitchen 🙂 She left out the onions. My late-father gave me a Smart Chopper (As seen on TV!™) a couple of decades ago. I used to make salsa by throwing in a couple of tomatoes, a couple Serrano chiles, some onion, some cilantro, and a little salt and just chopping it all up. Of course it’s the opposite of not-chunky, but I like it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/50 "2014-12-31T20:44:48Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > She left out the onions. > > … Ahem. I wrote: > [@](#): > > Variations abound… add lime, the dreaded and awful cilantro, onion, use jalapenos instead of serranos, and anything else that sounds good. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/51 "2014-12-31T21:00:09Z")
I read: > [@](#): > > Get two or three tennis ball-size tomatoes and one or two fresh, raw serrano chiles (they’re the slender ones that are about the size and shape of a baby’s finger. Do NOT substitute a baby’s finger in this recipe). > > Put all items in a pan with a rim (some juices may escape from the tomatoes), set in 400-ish degree oven until skins of tomatoes and peppers are charred. As very charred or slightly charred as appeals to you. You can also do this on a charcoal/gas grill. > > Put everything in a blender with some salt. Keeps in the fridge or else (my preference) eat it all immediately with a ginormous bag of tortilla chips. Onions were mentioned in _variations!_. Onions are not optional. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/52 "2014-12-31T21:13:00Z")
Neither are cilantro and garlic! it also needs some salt and a squeeze of lime juice. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/53 "2014-12-31T22:28:13Z")
Just a tip. You don’t have to make it yourself or get it in a grocery store. If you find a salsa you like in a restaurant, you can usually buy it in a tub from them. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/54 "2014-12-31T23:16:55Z")
For whatever reason standard grocery salsa is that chunky dogshit. Go to any Mexican restaurant and you will NEVER see a chunk. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/55 "2014-12-31T23:18:33Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I read: > > Onions were mentioned in _variations!_. Onions are not optional. 😉 > [@silenus](#): > > Neither are cilantro and garlic! > > it also needs some salt and a squeeze of lime juice. Opinions, opinions. The basic salsa is tomatoes and peppers. The essential ingredients are tomatoes and peppers in order to call it _salsa_. Tomatoes and onions alone are not salsa. Onions and peppers alone are not salsa. You have to have tomatoes and peppers to start with. And yeah, add other stuff if you want to. I suggest you try it this way sometime just to see what it’s like without any other strong flavors coming into play. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/56 "2014-12-31T23:19:35Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Just a tip. You don’t have to make it yourself or get it in a grocery store. If you find a salsa you like in a restaurant, you can usually buy it in a tub from them. Yes yes yes. Do this by all means. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787/57 "2015-01-01T00:34:58Z")
Every time we plan a taco night, I stop by Cuca’s (a local taco joint) for 8 oz. of their house salsa. Great stuff, but it doesn’t store well. You have to get it the day you want to use it, or _maybe_ the day before. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-nationally-distributed-salsa-that-isnt-thick-and-chunky/695787.md?page=2)