Mexico is home to a vast array of different sauces. Although some may seem similar to the first-time salsa enthusiast, each sauce has its own history and specific way of being prepared or cooked.
Chipotle Salsa:
Usually made from jalapeno chillies, tomatoes, garlic, onions and other spices, this type of Mexican salsa has a smoky taste. This salsa uses chipotle chillies (jalapenos that are smoke-dried), instead of raw chillies typically used in red or green salsa.
Blackened Corn Salsa
This salsa is exactly what it says in the name – though this salsa doesn’t just contain sweet corn. Black beans, a variety of chillies (such as jalapenos and poblano chillies), onion and garlic are some other ingredients you may find in a corn salsa. Corn salsa is normally used as a filling for tacos, burritos and quesadillas.
Traditional Smashed Guacamole
Invented by the Aztecs around the 16th century, guacamole has stood the test of time, and has made it into the standard cuisine of other countries, such as the USA. When we think of guacamole, mashed avocado normally comes to mind. In Mexico however, a guacamole simply refers to any thick dip that uses avocado as a main ingredient. Tomato, onion, garlic, chilli and lime or lemon juice are ingredients commonly used in guacamole.
Pineapple Chili Salsa
Though presumably not an ancient Mayan, Incan or Aztec recipe, pineapple salsa combines the best of sweet, spicy and sour flavours in one sauce. Due to the combination of flavours, it makes a lovely complimentary topping to chicken and fish, though is most commonly served with Tacos al Pastor (vertical spit-roast pork).
Mole
Originating from the Puebla, Oaxaca and Tlaxcala states in Mexico, this typically dark brown sauce is choc-a-block full of ingredients (literally – unsweetened chocolate is sometimes added), with an average of at least 20! But there is a reason for this - legend has it that Pueblan nuns in early colonial times had nothing to prepare for the Archbishop’s visit, so they simply mixed whatever ingredients they had (chilli peppers, spices, nuts, some chocolate and day-old bread) and served it over cooked turkey, which the Archbishop loved. Other similar stories point to the accidental creation of this complex sauce. The mole that is well-known today (mole poblano), is usually served over meat.
Pico de Gallo
Fresh and bursting with flavour, pico de gallo is simply a mixture of raw chopped tomatoes, onions, chillies, cilantro leaves, and other chopped raw vegetables, mixed in lime juice. Pico de gallo literally translates to rooster’s beak, and no one seems to know why – one theory proposes that the mixture used to be eaten with the hands, and pinching the roughly chopped pieces resembled a rooster pecking at their food. Whatever the backstory is, this salad-like salsa is perfect for summer and as fresh topping on any Mexican dish.
Refried Beans
Don’t let the name fool you – the term is actually a combination of the Spanish refritos (meaning well-fried) and the English term fried. In other words, the name refers to the cooking method, which involves frying or baking black beans (not frying beans again, as the name might suggest) after mashing into a paste. Onion, garlic, spices and salt are usually added after being cooked this way.
Salsa Roja
Otherwise known as red salsa or tomato salsa, this sauce is one of the more popular and well-known Mexican condiments; it is typically made with red tomato, onion, garlic and chilli, and used in tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas and huevos rancheros.
