Product Review: Santa Barbara mango peach salsa

Despite my love of many types of “junk food,” I tend to prefer sweet treats rather than savory. Although my evening would not be complete without a sweet dessert of ice cream, cake, cookies, or candy, and I am certainly not averse to enjoying the “acceptable for breakfast” desserts of muffins or coffee cake, I rarely eat salty snacks, such as chips. Therefore, for years, even though I love tomatoes (Product review: grape tomatoes), I rarely ate salsa. Occasionally I ate it on a baked potato or, after discovering the delight that is pineapple salsa (quick story: many years ago, my parents, grandmother, and I were at a seafood restaurant on the Cape. I did not care for the fish I ordered because it was swimming in a butter sauce…yes, I am one of those rare people who does not particularly enjoy butter…so I traded with my butter-loving Grandma. Her salmon with pineapple salsa was delicious (and clearly memorable as I am writing about it now!)), I tried to make my own to put on fish.

Several years ago, a local store had a big sale on Santa Barbara’s salsas and my family tried a few varieties, including the peach mango salsa. Despite my ambivalence towards the condiment, when my dad raved about it and I saw how good and fresh it looked and smelled, I tried it. Yum! A change from typical salsa, which is often overly spiced for my taste, it was a combination of sweet and salty, with the mango and peach pieces providing a nice contrast to the spicier peppers and onions. It was one of those condiments (maple syrup and ketchup fit this same category for me) where I seek out things to eat so that I can enjoy the condiment (since I am writing a Costco blog I should mention that several years ago, my dad heard someone order mustard on his Costco pizza slice…dad actually commented to the man that he had never seen anyone eat mustard on pizza. The man replied that, pizza is essentially an excuse to eat mustard…I’m sure there are far healthier ways to get one’s mustard fix, but that is beside the point).

Before they annoyingly discontinued it, as they do with so many products I like (It’s Gone? Discontinued Products), I loved to put the salsa on the cold salmon fillet portions (Product Review: Royal Fjord salmon). The salsa was the perfect complement to the salty and spicy (the blackened pepper piece) fish. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I would love to have this meal for a summer dinner but I guess I will have to stick to the frozen salmon portions (Product Review: Kirkland frozen Atlantic salmon) or the lox (Product Review:Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon) for my salmon fix. Because I have not had the cold fish in a while, I have not had the salsa either. However, I think it would be good on the frozen salmon as well. It might also be time to bake some potatoes and put a nice scoop of salsa on top. I bet it would also make a good dip for vegetables and crackers. In addition, I have read the suggestion of using it as a salad dressing, which sounds great for the summer.

In contrast to some other premade salsas, it is not runny at all. Instead, it contains large chunks of fruits and vegetables, making it more like a side dish than a dressing. It is fresh, and definitely that way. The pieces of fruit are plentiful and sweet, so it is clear that the company did not go the cheap route by using mostly tomato juice and then adding a few token pieces of fruit to satisfy the name. In fact, the first two ingredients are tomatoes and mangos.

This salsa is healthy, containing fresh fruit and vegetables and not too much extra sodium which can be a problem for many canned tomato products. It is also low in calories, no fat, and high in a few vitamins.

At about $6.50 for 48 ounces, it is an excellent deal. And, despite being fresh, once opened, it lasts several weeks in the fridge.

Have you tried this salsa?

What have you put it on?