Serrano Salsa Fresca

It was close to 90 degrees on one of my recent Trader Joe's visits, and all I could think about was refreshing salsa. That's probably why I ended up with both pico de gallo and this serrano salsa in the cart. I couldn't remember ever seeing this one before, but I don't think it was new. I think I just never spent as much time in the refrigerated salsa section as I did that day.

Product: Serrano Salsa Fresca

Price: $2.99 for 12 oz

Quick review: Looking at this salsa, for some reason I expected it to taste like that smoky salsa from Chevy's. Probably the dark color of the salsa. Not surprisingly, it didn't, since I don't think their salsa is serrano-based. Instead, this salsa is filled with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, serrano peppers, garlic, and a bunch of spices and seasonings (including paprika, celery, chili pepper, ginger, basil, cumin, cinnamon, thyme, and turmeric). The flavor is a bit unique and something I don't think I've had in salsa before. It was very fresh, a little bit floral, but also a little bit bitter. I've never tried a serrano pepper plain like I have a jalapeño (at least I don't think I have), so I'm not sure if that was the taste of the serrano or the combination of all the spices. The one thing I noticed was that the salsa had barely any spice at all to it, which was surprising since serranos are supposed to be hotter on the scale than jalapeños.

I also feel kind of bad that at least a third of the salsa went to waste since the package was pretty blown up on day 6 and we threw it out to be safe. The container says that it is perishable and it should be consumed within 5 to 7 days, so we did know that, but I thought it would at least make it to day 6 (and bought more chips specifically for it!).

Buy Again? Maybe. Not my favorite salsa, and probably prefer that smoky Chevy's salsa to this one, but I did like it enough that I'd consider getting it again if I were in the right mood for it. Right now, it's the only salsa I've tried from the refrigerated section so far (other than pico de gallo which we used to top tacos instead of as salsa), so I can't compare to the rest of the selection. Yet.