Renaldo's Gourmet Salsa
Manufacturer: Renaldo’s, LLC
Website: http://www.renaldosalsa.com
Ingredients: Whole Peeled Tomatoes (Tomatoes, Tomato Juice, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Citric Acid), Onions, Bell Peppers, Vinegar, Minced Garlic (Garlic, Water, Phosphoric Acid), Jalapeno and Habanero Peppers.
Update: Please see the new review of Renaldo's here:
http://www.thehotpepper.com/index.php?/topic/8282-review-salsa-renaldos-gourmet-salsa-redux/
In the months I've been neglecting reviews for THP (which I apologize for - I've been wrapped up in some things that have either sucked my energy or time or both), I've been looking forward to doing this review for Renaldo’s Gourmet Salsa. I LOVE salsa - it's one of the main reasons I started growing my own peppers. We do a nice big batch of homemade salsa every summer.
Now, to get right down to it, Renaldo's looks good; it has a moderate thickness – it’s not exceptionally chunky or watery. It could be a tad thicker, but it’s certainly in the “ideal salsa” range. The color is nice, and you can see small bits of garlic in it (which I like, so I’m hopeful it tastes as it looks).
There are three different salsas in this mix pack: Wimpy, Mildly Perspirin', and Severly Sweatin'.
Wimpy smells kind of acidic and salty (and obviously tomatoey), not really the best smelling salsa I’ve had.
Mildly Perspiring smells sweeter than Wimpy (which did have me a tad worried, as Wimpy was so sweet to begin with - but I'll get to that). The other flavors come out a bit, the tomatoes and garlic are definitely there.
Severly Sweatin’ Salsa smells similar to the other two, but peppers are definitely noticeable in the aroma, which again is sweet and acidic.
As I settled down to try it with a full bag of Scoops, the first thing I noticed was how sweet these salsas are. Wimpy is very sweet. I’m not sure what the cause of it is, looking at the ingredient list it’s a bit of a mystery. The tomato taste is moderate, but the vinegar is quite strong. Garlic and onion are detectable and help balance the sweetness, but not quite enough for my taste. Then again, I wouldn’t have reached for the Wimpy salsa – I prefer salsa to bite back. There was no heat evident in Wimpy at all.
Mildly Perspiring is also sweet, but not as sweet as Wimpy, which is nice. The vinegar is still strong, but the other flavors balance a little better. The burn is extremely mild – after a dozen or so scoops of Tostitos I get a very light warmth on my tongue. Comparatively, I think most mass-market salsas are about the save level of heat for their respective “medium” heat level.
I just noticed I ate half the jar while writing the last paragraph. The heat comes on more and more as you eat it, but never goes beyond a warm tongue burn.
Severly Sweatin’ Salsa is sweet (noticing a theme here?), but I can definitely taste that habanero fruitiness. The burn starts to reach the back of the throat – definitely hotter. It still never progresses much past a comfortable warmth, but it’s spread out a bit more.
All of these salsas were good – it seems Renaldo is a big fan of sweet salsa. While it’s not anything like what I make at home, all three were good. My favorite of the above was the Severly Sweatin’, and I’d like to see another hotter one!
Wimpy: 6/10. It’s a little too sweet and vinegary for my taste, but still quite good.
Mildly Perspiring: 7/10. Still quite sweet and vinegary, but a little better balanced, and the warmth from the peppers is slight, but there.
Severly Sweatin’: 7.5/10. Again, sweet. Not quite as vinegary, and the heat helps to counterpoint the vinegar better than the others. My favorite of the bunch.
Overall: I’ll give this mixed pack a 7/10. Definitely good, and you can easily polish off a jar in a sitting. I'd go for the Severly Sweatin' if you're gonna try some! The other two need a bit more balance for my palate.
Manufacturer: Renaldo’s, LLC
Website: http://www.renaldosalsa.com
Ingredients: Whole Peeled Tomatoes (Tomatoes, Tomato Juice, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Citric Acid), Onions, Bell Peppers, Vinegar, Minced Garlic (Garlic, Water, Phosphoric Acid), Jalapeno and Habanero Peppers.
Update: Please see the new review of Renaldo's here:
http://www.thehotpepper.com/index.php?/topic/8282-review-salsa-renaldos-gourmet-salsa-redux/
In the months I've been neglecting reviews for THP (which I apologize for - I've been wrapped up in some things that have either sucked my energy or time or both), I've been looking forward to doing this review for Renaldo’s Gourmet Salsa. I LOVE salsa - it's one of the main reasons I started growing my own peppers. We do a nice big batch of homemade salsa every summer.
Now, to get right down to it, Renaldo's looks good; it has a moderate thickness – it’s not exceptionally chunky or watery. It could be a tad thicker, but it’s certainly in the “ideal salsa” range. The color is nice, and you can see small bits of garlic in it (which I like, so I’m hopeful it tastes as it looks).
There are three different salsas in this mix pack: Wimpy, Mildly Perspirin', and Severly Sweatin'.
Wimpy smells kind of acidic and salty (and obviously tomatoey), not really the best smelling salsa I’ve had.
Mildly Perspiring smells sweeter than Wimpy (which did have me a tad worried, as Wimpy was so sweet to begin with - but I'll get to that). The other flavors come out a bit, the tomatoes and garlic are definitely there.
Severly Sweatin’ Salsa smells similar to the other two, but peppers are definitely noticeable in the aroma, which again is sweet and acidic.
As I settled down to try it with a full bag of Scoops, the first thing I noticed was how sweet these salsas are. Wimpy is very sweet. I’m not sure what the cause of it is, looking at the ingredient list it’s a bit of a mystery. The tomato taste is moderate, but the vinegar is quite strong. Garlic and onion are detectable and help balance the sweetness, but not quite enough for my taste. Then again, I wouldn’t have reached for the Wimpy salsa – I prefer salsa to bite back. There was no heat evident in Wimpy at all.
Mildly Perspiring is also sweet, but not as sweet as Wimpy, which is nice. The vinegar is still strong, but the other flavors balance a little better. The burn is extremely mild – after a dozen or so scoops of Tostitos I get a very light warmth on my tongue. Comparatively, I think most mass-market salsas are about the save level of heat for their respective “medium” heat level.
I just noticed I ate half the jar while writing the last paragraph. The heat comes on more and more as you eat it, but never goes beyond a warm tongue burn.
Severly Sweatin’ Salsa is sweet (noticing a theme here?), but I can definitely taste that habanero fruitiness. The burn starts to reach the back of the throat – definitely hotter. It still never progresses much past a comfortable warmth, but it’s spread out a bit more.
All of these salsas were good – it seems Renaldo is a big fan of sweet salsa. While it’s not anything like what I make at home, all three were good. My favorite of the above was the Severly Sweatin’, and I’d like to see another hotter one!
Wimpy: 6/10. It’s a little too sweet and vinegary for my taste, but still quite good.
Mildly Perspiring: 7/10. Still quite sweet and vinegary, but a little better balanced, and the warmth from the peppers is slight, but there.
Severly Sweatin’: 7.5/10. Again, sweet. Not quite as vinegary, and the heat helps to counterpoint the vinegar better than the others. My favorite of the bunch.
Overall: I’ll give this mixed pack a 7/10. Definitely good, and you can easily polish off a jar in a sitting. I'd go for the Severly Sweatin' if you're gonna try some! The other two need a bit more balance for my palate.
