Posted September 25, 2006 by Anthony in Reviews

Marco’s Not Yet Famous Corn and Black Bean Salsa (Medium) Review

It’s a good thing Nick sent me this Salsa. You see, in Canada (well at least Toronto) our selection of salsas are mostly limited to grocery chainconvenience store salsas ““ namely Tostito’s. I will have to say though that just like everything else President’s Choice touches they do have a decent Salsa as well. We do have the occasional gourmet store variety but selection and price is somewhat of a deterrent. So if I am able to direct a few people to what I at least think is a quality salsa then I think I have done a good deed.

Ingredients: Diced Tomatoes, Sweet Yellow Corn, Black Beans, Cider Vinegar, Roasted Onion, Roasted Red Bell Peppers, Roasted Garlic, Salt, Canola Oil, Orange Juice, Lime Juice, Roasted Jalapenos, Habanero Chilies, Sugar, A Special blend of Herbs

We do have a few “Authentic” Mexican type restaurants here in the city. And the ones that do it tend to do it very well. Salsa’s are made in house and I am sure they would be happy to ship you home with some if you ask politely (or at least for an added charge). Either way you are getting quality.

So as I had mentioned in a previous article, this batch of sauces I received was Nick’s atonement for the last batch (Red Rectum, Eat Shit & Die etc”¦.). This new batch were all high quality sauces, and now I can say Salsa as well. When I eat that generic brand stuff it is usually duty performance and going through the motions, simply because I had a craving for nachos. That is about the extent of what I would use it for. But with this, I wanted to grab a sombrero, some tequila and get cooking. Note that I don’t have the first clue on how to make anything remotely Mexican. Just the taste of this salsa alone resurrected my taste buds to reexamine what I have been missing before. For you seasoned Salsa fans out there you are probably thinking, what’s the big deal about it, and I acknowledge that, but from my perspective this is unlike anything I have had.

The colour of this [tag]Salsa[/tag] isn’t a dyed red and made for shelf life to out last the apocalypse. The ingredients are whole. Whole kernels of corn, whole black beans, chunks onion, peppers, garlic etc”¦.I didn’t have to worry about the nacho dribble on my lap cause this stuff scooped up and stuck. The nacho was just the vessel to bring the salsa to your mouth. You care about the nacho. The ingredients were fresh, and each one was bold in its own right. You can really pick out the fruit juice in there which acts like an intermediary before you get to the habs and jalapenos. It says “ok, you enjoyed the corn, beans, and tomatoes, now here is a quick refresher now so hold on cause we are bringing in the heat”.

The salsa lists says it is a medium. By Canadian standards I would say it is a Hot. Most people would agree thought that it is medium. Anyone with an extreme low tolerance for heat will find this to be too much. Good, cause it leaves more for the rest of us. The burn is more of zingy, zesty blast, rather than that the sun just fell on my tongue heat. Perfect for any occasion!

One bottle of this is probably good for about 4 people in appetizer mode. It will go fast. Marco needs to come out with a bigger version of this for people who are throwing a bash for more than 3-4 people. The presentation of this is nice. What can I say. Simple, understated and too the point. The caricature of Marco is great.

I don’t have anything to compare this too but I know good when I try it. For those of you looking to get passed your convenience storegrocery chain mass produced salsa you can’t go wrong with this.

Packaging 9.5/10 ““ too the point – charming
Aroma 8.5/10 ““ fresh and deep – refreshing
Appearance 9/10 ““ it just looks delecious
Taste 9.7/10 ““ Unlike any salsa I have tried ““ and that is a good thing
Heat 5/10 ““ smack dab in the middle ““ not too hot ““ not too mild ““ medium as it stated

Overall 9.6/10 ““ Give this a try at your next BBQ