Manufacturer: Panchita’s, Inc.
Website: www.killersalsa.com
Ingredients: Tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, cilantro, carrots, celery, garlic, bell peppers, salt, sugar, calcium chloride, ascorbic acid and citric acid
Killer Salsa, both Original and Hot, has a nice consistency for salsa – not chunky at all, which I’m thankful for. As much as I try to tolerate tomato, I just don’t like it in chunks. I appreciate when salsa is puréed. It’s also not too thin, though it could be a tad less runny. It’s just fine when mixed, but it settles and some liquid rises to the top. It could be that if there were any less liquid, it would be too thick. Anyway, just swirling the salsa in the jar or mixing it a tad with a utensil returns it to a very nice consistency.
Killer Salsa has a strange initial sweetness that is unsettling – for about 5 seconds. It’s a very sugary taste, something I’m just not used to. We make salsa at home on occasion, and we don’t add any sugar at all, so that could have something to do with it. After you get used to the sweet flavor, and it really doesn’t take more than a couple seconds, the flavor of the salsa seems to mellow. Upon subsequent bites, the initial sweetness doesn’t seem as sharp, and it’s rather enjoyable.
They both taste pretty fresh, the cilantro isn’t strong, but it’s there. I find cilantro can overpower some of the more delicate flavors of salsa – namely EVERYTHING. But here, it’s just right. All the spices are proportioned well (besides, perhaps, the sugar); and they’re really some of the better salsas I’ve had. I found the Hot salsa to be superior, as the moderate heat provided a nice counterpoint to the relatively sweet base flavor of the salsa, but I think it is more of a “medium,” salsa than hot. My wife thought it was quite hot enough, but also noted that if it wasn’t as hot as it was, it may be too sweet. The Original doesn’t have any heat at all, so the flavor doesn’t seem as well balanced to me, though they’re both very good. The Original, lacking heat, has other flavors that are a bit more pronounced. The garlic, onion and carrot are stronger, which is nice. They don’t provide the counterpoint that the heat does with the Hot, but it’s still enough to reasonably balance the sweetness.
All in all, Killer is a fine salsa, and I’ve already finished the Hot jar. The Original will last a bit longer, but not much. It’s already halfway gone. Killer Salsa also comes in “Garlic,” “Fire Roasted Tomato,” and “Nacho Cheese Sauce,” all of which sound pretty tasty to me. Also, I received a wonderful brochure with the salsa that included some recipes (which I didn’t try – the salsa didn’t last long enough!!). It looks like they are available on the web site. Perhaps next time I try Killer I’ll also try one or two recipes, some of them look excellent!
Overall, I’ll give the Hot an 8/10. It’s better than the average salsa, but the initial sweetness takes a bite or two to get used to. The Original, I’d give a 7/10. It’s simple, yet still quite good.
Website: www.killersalsa.com
Ingredients: Tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, cilantro, carrots, celery, garlic, bell peppers, salt, sugar, calcium chloride, ascorbic acid and citric acid
Killer Salsa, both Original and Hot, has a nice consistency for salsa – not chunky at all, which I’m thankful for. As much as I try to tolerate tomato, I just don’t like it in chunks. I appreciate when salsa is puréed. It’s also not too thin, though it could be a tad less runny. It’s just fine when mixed, but it settles and some liquid rises to the top. It could be that if there were any less liquid, it would be too thick. Anyway, just swirling the salsa in the jar or mixing it a tad with a utensil returns it to a very nice consistency.
Killer Salsa has a strange initial sweetness that is unsettling – for about 5 seconds. It’s a very sugary taste, something I’m just not used to. We make salsa at home on occasion, and we don’t add any sugar at all, so that could have something to do with it. After you get used to the sweet flavor, and it really doesn’t take more than a couple seconds, the flavor of the salsa seems to mellow. Upon subsequent bites, the initial sweetness doesn’t seem as sharp, and it’s rather enjoyable.
They both taste pretty fresh, the cilantro isn’t strong, but it’s there. I find cilantro can overpower some of the more delicate flavors of salsa – namely EVERYTHING. But here, it’s just right. All the spices are proportioned well (besides, perhaps, the sugar); and they’re really some of the better salsas I’ve had. I found the Hot salsa to be superior, as the moderate heat provided a nice counterpoint to the relatively sweet base flavor of the salsa, but I think it is more of a “medium,” salsa than hot. My wife thought it was quite hot enough, but also noted that if it wasn’t as hot as it was, it may be too sweet. The Original doesn’t have any heat at all, so the flavor doesn’t seem as well balanced to me, though they’re both very good. The Original, lacking heat, has other flavors that are a bit more pronounced. The garlic, onion and carrot are stronger, which is nice. They don’t provide the counterpoint that the heat does with the Hot, but it’s still enough to reasonably balance the sweetness.
All in all, Killer is a fine salsa, and I’ve already finished the Hot jar. The Original will last a bit longer, but not much. It’s already halfway gone. Killer Salsa also comes in “Garlic,” “Fire Roasted Tomato,” and “Nacho Cheese Sauce,” all of which sound pretty tasty to me. Also, I received a wonderful brochure with the salsa that included some recipes (which I didn’t try – the salsa didn’t last long enough!!). It looks like they are available on the web site. Perhaps next time I try Killer I’ll also try one or two recipes, some of them look excellent!
Overall, I’ll give the Hot an 8/10. It’s better than the average salsa, but the initial sweetness takes a bite or two to get used to. The Original, I’d give a 7/10. It’s simple, yet still quite good.
