Salsa Tips

Talk about it

SALSA TIPS

• Roma tomatoes make the thickest salsa. Slicing tomatoes produce a thin, watery salsa.

Do not use overripe tomatoes because their acidity may be affected.

• Dried and canned tomatoes can be used in most recipes. Roasted tomatoes add smoky flavor.

• Chile peppers dramatically change the heat of salsa. Larger peppers, such as Anaheim, ancho and Hungarian yellow wax, produce milder flavors. Small peppers, such as jalapeno, serrano, habanero and cayenne, are the hottest.

• Wear rubber gloves when cutting hot peppers. Do not touch your face or eyes when working with chiles.

• Fresh-fruit salsas perish more quickly than vegetable salsas.

• Avoid metal bowls since the metal will interact with the acids in the tomatoes.

n Always use fresh vegetables. Use local produce whenever you can. Vegetables grown in your garden will always taste better.

nIf you must buy from your local grocery store, experiment with organic produce if available.

• Chop your salsa ingredients finely. Every scoop of salsa should have a little bit of each salsa ingredient in it. Finely chopped produce will ensure this. A food processor can help with this but be careful that you don’t overdo it.

• The flavor and strength of spices deteriorate over time, so always use fresh spices.

• Don’t serve fresh salsa it immediately. Store it in a sealed container in your refrigerator for two or more hours. This allows the different flavors in the salsa to “marry” creating a much better flavor.

Tags: accent, updates, salsa, food