# Salsa: Dance or Party Food?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salsa-dance-or-party-food/105930
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 27, 2002, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salsa-dance-or-party-food/105930 "2002-04-27T06:46:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@roryaxis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roryaxis)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2002, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salsa-dance-or-party-food/105930/1 "2002-04-27T06:46:39Z")
Anyone out there involved in the salsa mining industry? Or something like that. Anyway, I’m just wondering whether or not salsa and picante sauce are the same thing. Is it a different product or just some regional thing?
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2002, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salsa-dance-or-party-food/105930/2 "2002-04-27T11:40:27Z")
from what I know they can be the same thing but different producers use the terms to have more products and to indicate a different taste.
Once you have mild, med, hot salsa there isn’t much room for a flavor change so then tag there other line picante.
just my humble O
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### Author:  [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2002, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salsa-dance-or-party-food/105930/3 "2002-04-27T15:57:56Z")
Depends on whom you ask.
_Salsa_ is the Spanish word for “sauce.” We Merkins have hijacked the word to mean the tomato-based, chunky embellishment for tortilla chips. But back to Spanish- in Spanish-speaking lands, any sauce is _salsa_. Hollandaise sauce is _salsa hollandaise_ (or a similar spelling). Spicy sauce is _salsa picante_.
Picante sauce is just another term for the stuff Merkins call “salsa.” I suppose it’s technically closer to the original Spanish, seeing as it uses one Spanish word (_picante_; “spicy”) and “sauce.”
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### Author:  [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2002, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salsa-dance-or-party-food/105930/4 "2002-04-27T19:11:50Z")
**rastahomie** is right. I just want to add that many Spanish-speakers call hot sauce (_salsa picante_) simply _picante_.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salsa-dance-or-party-food/105930/5 "2002-04-27T19:46:09Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by rastahomie \*
> \*\* But back to Spanish- in Spanish-speaking lands, any sauce is _salsa_. Hollandaise sauce is _salsa hollandaise_ (or a similar spelling). \*\*
_Salsa holandesa_
Soy sauce is _salsa china_, Russian dressing is _salsa rusa_ and Worcestershire sauce is _salsa inglesa_ (English sauce).