Rancho Bravo is a leading Peruvian and international producer and distributor of agricultural products. Their focus is on fresh tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables including carrots, corn, eggplant, green beans, zucchini and onions. What does this mean to you and me? I can tell you hands down that these folks make the best Salsa Picante that you will ever taste.

The label is good. Typical colors for a salsa label, but not bold or festive like most U. S. made salsa’s. At first glance, I immediately know this salsa is not a product of the United States. My only complaint is the print is so tiny, the ingredients and description were almost impossible to read.

This review is very basic. Blue corn chips and Rancho Bravo’s Salsa Picante “Extra Hot”. Add this to other snack foods and my family is set for a quiet New Year celebration at home.

Ingredients: Fresh Tomatoes, Fresh Tomato Puree, Red Onions, Peruvian Limo Peppers (Aji Limo), Red and Green Bell Peppers, garlic, Red Wine Vinegar, Cilantro, Selected Spices.

What an all-star lineup. No water, no sugar and fresh everything. I’m not familiar with Peruvian Limo Peppers, but wow, this stuff is hot…….Read on.

Rancho Bravo’s line of products include ready to eat sauces and salsas totally free of preservatives, stabilizers, artificial colors and flavor additives. Their 5 salsas begin with mild and end with extra hot.

Appearance: Awesome! Thick, chunky, colorful. All you see is vegetables. This salsa is not over processed. You can easily pick out every ingredient listed including the cilantro. A perfect 10

Aroma: Awesome! A good whiff and I can literally smell every ingredient in the jar. There is something about fresh sweet bell peppers, fresh onions and fresh garlic that just sets me off. Add fresh cilantro (a taste that I just recently acquired) and you have a mouth watering concoction that begins with your nose. I also get a throaty type aroma from what has to be the Limo Peppers. I must say that these peppers smell just like a habanero. You can’t really smell heat, but I can tell you from this aroma, this salsa will be hot. A perfect 10

Heat: This is the hottest salsa that I have consumed to date. Keep in mind that I can’t handle extracts or munch on fresh habs. I initially got hit with a tongue burn that stayed with me while I consumed the entire 14.1 ounce jar. After about 10 bites my nose started to run and my tongue kept burning. I equate this burn to a cayenne burn that stays on the tongue as opposed to a habanero burn that hits my throat. The heat disappeared about 10 minutes after the jar was gone. I’ll give the heat a 7 out of 10 on the HSB scale. My personal scale would rate this hotter.

Consistency: This goes hand in hand with appearance. The texture is perfect. The thickness and ratio of ingredients is perfect. A perfect 10.

Overall: I have found my perfect salsa. We eat a lot of salsas in my house. Types include the normal Chi Chi’s, Tostito’s, Peppers Blue Crab, Marco’s Salsa’s and even Sam’s Choice Black bean and corn. Rancho Bravo’s Salsa Picante ” Extra Hot” goes to the top of my list. Once I started eating, I could not stop still it was gone. Overall a 9.25 out of 10.

There is one problem with this salsa and that is availability. There is nothing worse than having a great product and not making it available to the masses. It cannot be purchased from their site either. www.ranchobravo.com. It is distributed by:

RB Distributers, 6132 Maxie Street, Houston, TX, 77077. I have emailed them at ccu@ranchobravo.com, but have not heard back. If anyone has information on where to buy their products, please post. I’m gonna buy a case.