On the Border Medium Salsa

I'm still a little bit losing it, but here I am to tell you that this salsa is OK. It was certainly a change of pace from Tosititos (or even Pace) which are all I usually get. This actually smells like Mexicorn. Something about it brings to mind refried beans, even though there aren't beans in it (thank god). It has a very thick texture, like a salsa smoothie with a few chunks of tomato. A little bit weirdly sweet, but with a good spicyness. I don't know what I think -- it's different! Edible, but I don't know if I prefer it. A fun change of pace though.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Tostitos Salsa Verde

They didn't have restaurant style at the store, so I thought I'd try this one. It's very runny, which I thought I'd like, but the lack of chunks makes it pretty boring. Basically this tastes like nothing, but a little sweet (which is a negative). Oh well. Not actively bad, just not good either.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Sam's Fresh Medium Salsa

Hrmm. Long ago, when I actually ate this, I sent a message asking about allergens, but I don't think they ever answered. me. Well, let me confirm that. Nope! They left me on 'read'! Forget you, Sam's salsa. This was fine though. I don't super-remember it, but I think I didn't finish off the whole thing, so I guess the mild one was slightly better. Still very watery/vinegary, but I suppose that's the nature of the preserved beast.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10

Sam's fresh salsa - Mild

I was in the market for a pico I didn't have to make myself, and this served the purpose fairly well. Surprisingly long expiry date, I guess because of all the vinegar in here. It looks the part perfectly, but the taste is a little bit off from what I'd want -- too sweet, too wet, too vinegary (like cole slaw!) obviously for perishability reasons. Still pretty solid, especially in small doses, and a nice way to add that pico-vibe to your guac/taco/etc. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [5$]
Taste: 6/10

Tostitos Chunky Habanero Salsa

Why did I order this HABANERO salsa? I suppose I was just looking for a safe way to feel something. But this was not safe! it was hot! and made my mouth feel spicy >:[ so I don't think I'll get it again. I will endorse that it is hotter than any other tostito's salsa I've tried, although not insanely so (I did still finish the jar). There isn't too much flavor beyond that, it's similar to the other salsas they make, just more burnier (and slightly sweeter/roasted tomato flavor). If only the rest of my life evoked as much feeling as this salsa (I guess).

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Tostitos Restaurant Style Salsa - Medium

What makes this restaurant style? I guess it's that it's much runnier than the pico-ish chunky salsas you get in jars sometimes. And you know what, I think I like that. It does remind me of Fiesta Mexico and other once-loved restos. It's also fairly spicy, and generally less "jar salsa" tasting even though the taste is pretty similar in actuality. I think I prefer this over the other Tostitos salsas!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Tostitos Chunky Salsa - Mild

Indeed, here is a perfectly adequate food. I don't think this is very different from the "medium" heat version (or probably the hot version if we're being honest), or very different from other brands of jarred salsa like ChiChis or Pace. It's really generic and reminds me of my childhood because my parents did jarred salsa + tortilla chips a lot. To be honest, I don't really like it as a snack -- corn chips were never my favorite. But in the quarantine times, snacks are elevated to better than they used to be! So I was happy to have 2 Tbsp of this salsa to go along with 13 Scoops Tortilla Chips. It was actually a perfect portion and it seemed like a fun allergy-free snack. No complaints, but it's no resto-salsa or jar-queso.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Goya Medium Salsa Verde

"Medium-hot", huh???? If this is medium, then the medium Tostitos salsa from before is like "EXTRA SUPER MILD". What I'm saying is that this is very hot to me. I like it! It's not painful, even to my sensitive midwestern mouth, but it is spicy for sure. Way spicier than Chipotle's `hot' salsa (which I also think has a decent kick, to be honest).

The texture is almost that of applesauce (OK, sounds gross, but....) -- it's smooth, no big chunks of anything. Also tastes less acidic, less oniony, so I like it a lot. I haven't really had many green salsas because I'm scared of mole which has peanuts and is often green. And pesto! That famous Mexican pesto. Anyway I don't have a lot of salsa verdes to compare this to, but among the jarred salsas (and salsas in general) that I've had, this is one my favorites. It's really nice.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 (about 3.30$)
Taste: 7/10

Tostito's Chunky Salsa - Medium

I've been dealing with some tooth pain, so now is the perfect time to embrace mushy foods like salsa. I was lucky that someone left this (blissfully unopened) jar of salsa behind at a party, and now that I have 0200420 tortillas to go through, this salsa has been a real blessing. I'm sure it'd be good with tortilla chips as well, but I've been using it for tacos and breakfast quesadillas, and it really helps to cool down the hot food, which is great. The taste is good, just like you'd expect, and the "medium" is hardly spicy at all, which is good I think. It's like restaurant salsa but a little chunkier, brighter red, and less cilantro/garlic. Just tomato, pepper and onion in a tomato sauce. On its own it's unremarkable, but it's a nice moist addition to many Mex-adjacent foods.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Mrs. Renfro's Craft Beer Salsa

This salsa is one of those things where I'm not sure if I like or hate it immediately. I need to sit with the flavor for a while and think. It's pretty unique salsa, though I can't pin down why -- it doesn't really taste like beer to me, but it is a little too sweet and/or smoky for my liking. It kind of tastes like spicy tomato soup (which I don't like). The spice amount is good, it's accurately labelled as "medium spicy" (for me, that's just 'spicy'!). Yeah, I'm getting those tomato soup notes and I'm not about it. If you like new things or tomato soup, you'll like this! For me, I just want some regular salsa, please.

I did only try this with chips so far though; next I'm going to try cooking some chicken in it over rice (your poor girl's chipotle) and I wonder if that might be better. We'll see!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 4/10

Goya Mild Salsa - Pico De Gallo

I don't usually love jarred salsas, but this one is fairly unique as jarred salsas go. It's quite watery and also pretty spicy for something with the 'mild' moniker. Otherwise, this is a standard tomato/pepper/onion mix. It's more salsa than pico, in that there's plenty of salty dark tomato paste, but I think that's probably what most people are looking for. Plus the jar looks pretty stylish! It also stays good for weeks in the fridge, so this is a very convenient snack to have around for chips/tacos/etc.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 (about 2.30)
Taste: 5/10

El Pinto Medium Salsa

This is a supposed "medium", but to me it was fairly spicy. Not bad, just a little too spicy for me! The taste was pretty average, maybe more watery than I would like. Pretty much a standard prepacked salsa. I'd rather make my own! :9

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 5/10

Trading Company Sunburst Salsa - Habenero Lime

This salsa is very spicy, despite the label prose promising it not to be. It has an OK flavor, or at least it is more interesting than another boring jarred salsa, but it's almost painful to eat. I didn't enjoy it (maybe that's why this flavor was on clearance!).

Overall
Cost: 7/10 [1.39]
Taste: 3/10

Laura says: This is too spicy for my taste. But it's still not BAD and I would finish the jar. Also it's super cheap for salsa. Maybe I would like a different flavor of the same brand that isn't so spicy. 6/10