Sauce/Salsa Tomatoes

[AlittleSalt]

One of the things I wanted most when I started gardening was to be able to make fresh tomato salsas from tomatoes we grew ourselves. In the past few years, we made salsa from tomatoes we grew and every time, the salsa got tossed into the compost pile because it was sweet.

This question is about, "Taste" more than anything, and I know that everyone's tastes vary, so I'll try to narrow down this otherwise general question. The people I will be growing these tomatoes for are used to eating Tex-Mex, Cajun, Authentic Mexican, and Southwestern Cuisine. They don't want a sweet tomato salsa.

There are three tomatoes that keep showing up in my online searches about which kind of tomato I am looking for.

Roma
San Marzano
Rio Grande

My personal experience is that Store-Bought Roma tomatoes have less seeds and juice, but they have very little or no flavor. I've read that a lot of people think that San Marzano tomatoes have no taste as well. The Rio Grande tomato is new to me and as far as I know - I've never eaten one, but they sound like they would be fun to grow. (Heh, besides I live here in Texas and I have walked in the Rio Grande beside my wife, sons, daughter-inlaw, and our oldest grandchild was in my wife's arms.) Hmm, sounds like a good reason to grow Rio Grande tomatoes.

(Edited Part) I just reread this and realized what I wrote could possibly be taken out of context. We were on a holiday.

Anyway, you guys are here visiting this site for the same reason I am. You really like tomatoes, and I trust your opinions and facts.

So what kind of sauce/salsa tomatoes am I needing to grow?

[Father'sDaughter]

Many pastes have little to no flavor until they are cooked, which I believe salsa typically is. If you're making pico de gallo (aka fresh salsa), you'll need to start with something that has good fresh eating flavor, not a paste.

I did grow Rio Grande this year and they are just about the densest little plums I've ever encountered. But again, they are a paste and really don't have much in the way of flavor when eaten fresh.

[AlittleSalt]

Father'sDaughter, I was thinking about that. Maybe in Salsa, Pico, Picante, and Cajun cooking - the tomato doesn't need to be the star. The flavor could be more about the peppers, onions, cilantro, etc? The tomato part might be more of a filler or base? Maybe the tomatoes used in the foods I love to eat are really secondary even though the main color of those foods are red? For me, red meant tomatoes.

I've always thought of tomatoes being the star of the show.

[FarmerShawn]

Try getting some costoluto genevese and Russo Sicilian togetta.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/R...cilian_Togetta

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Costoluto_Genovese

[macbettz]

maybe they like the taste of heavily processed, loaded with salt and presevatives, cooked in a vat the size of my swimming pool salsa better?

nothing beats vine ripened tomatoes, some jalepeno and cilantro or basil in a fresh mix. never thought it was "sweet"

[beeman]

Originally Posted by FarmerShawn

Try getting some costoluto genevese and Russo Sicilian togetta.
http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/R...cilian_Togetta
http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Costoluto_Genovese

I grew Costoluto Genevese for the first time in grow bags this year, waste of time. They are really too big to be grown that way, plus they were the worst I've ever grown for BER. Won't grow them again.

[Tracydr]

Make sure you're using plenty of lime juice. I sometimes add apple cider vinegar if I run out of limes. Acidity will balance the sweet flavor.
Are you using home grown peppers?
Are you making pico or cooked salsa? We make a delicious pico/salsa type of sauce using fermented red jalapeños. I can give you the recipe if you like.

[Salsacharley]

I hate to deflate the romance of the Rio Grande tomato and its association with the Rio Grande River (it happened to me, too, but it originated from Italy.

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Rio_Grande

[enchant]

These sound like good suggestions, and I'll add them to my 2015 order. I need a good salsa tomato.

I spent several years doing field service in the southwest and developed a fondness for salsa. Once I moved back to Boston, I couldn't find anything decent. Even Mexican restaurants that weren't bad (by New England standards) had pretty uninspiring salsa.

Then I discovered a recipe posted by Pioneer Woman:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2...nt-style-salsa

Best I've had since I moved back to the northeast. No vinegar and no cooking. This means that it's not going to last forever, but it's very fresh tasting.

[AlittleSalt]

I saw that Salsacharley. oh well

Yes, I guess the people I'm growing the tomatoes for all grew up eating Pace Picante / mass produced salsas from the jar. Here in Texas, Mexican food places are everywhere. I counted 19 different Mexican food places in the local town of 30,000 populace. Each place makes or buys different salsas. I asked the owner of our favorite place how they make their salsa? They grind up a gallon of canned tomatoes and add pico de gallo veges.

As far as what I have tried making in the past, I used tomatoes, onions, peppers, tomatillos, and cilantro all grown in our garden. The tomatoes were not sauce types. (Sweet Cherry 100, Porter, Celebrity, Early Girl)

[Tracydr]

There are so many types of salsa. Some sweet and fruity, some raw, some cooked, some with smoked and roasted flavors.
In AZ, we had so many to choose from at local restaurants. Even our favorite fast food Mexican had a salsa bar to serve yourself.

[ChristinaJo]

Most Mexican places in Texas, are Tex-Mex. Most Texans(including myself) , like and are use to Tex Mex. It usually comes with a Little Spice. Authentic Mexican cuisine, for the most part, is not as spicy.
For me, salsa is Pico de Gallo, has all the same ingredients, just one is blended up.
I make fresh salsa. Pioneer woman is close to my recipe(except for the Rotel) , which I adapted from Friends who are Hispanic(and owned a restaurant worked than forty years).
Beware!!!!! Once you make your own, you won't be able to stomach the jar stuff!!!
I use canned tomatoes in the winter, fresh in the summer. I like the summer tomates that already have a little acidly tang.NO vinegar. I don't add sugar, but there are a few people that do.(I don't under stand it). I like mine salty and garlicky with some bearable heat.
FRESH: all chopped
One small onion,16oz of tomatoes, two garlic cloves smashed with 1/2Tbs salt(use a fork),a good palmful of cilantro,lime juice,a nice spicy pepper, and cumin for smokiness and a pinch of oregano. Blend all up (no chunks). Let it sit in the fridge to marry.
As always, experiment and custom to what you like!

[drew51]

Originally Posted by beeman

I grew Costoluto Genevese for the first time in grow bags this year, waste of time. They are really too big to be grown that way, plus they were the worst I've ever grown for BER. Won't grow them again.

I have had some BER, but none on Genevese at all? Great tomato, mentioned by Thomas Jefferson in 1851. They been around that long for a reason, great sauce tomatoes! I grow them every year, fantastic! Russo's for the first time this year. A very impressive producer, also making the every year list.

I heard a good tomato for salsa was the Mexican tomato Zapotec Pleated. A hollow tomato, good for stuffing. It's hard and firm, I never grew it, but have some seed. Maybe next year...

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by enchant

These sound like good suggestions, and I'll add them to my 2015 order. I need a good salsa tomato.

I spent several years doing field service in the southwest and developed a fondness for salsa. Once I moved back to Boston, I couldn't find anything decent. Even Mexican restaurants that weren't bad (by New England standards) had pretty uninspiring salsa.

Then I discovered a recipe posted by Pioneer Woman:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2...nt-style-salsa

Best I've had since I moved back to the northeast. No vinegar and no cooking. This means that it's not going to last forever, but it's very fresh tasting.

We just moved to a small town in NC. Coming from Mesa,AZ where Hispanics are the majority. We tried a Mexican restaurant that just opened up here. It was truly one of the worst restaurant meals ever. Everything had the same sauce, greasy hamburger meat and what looked like processed cheese. The sauce tasted like Cambell's tomato soup. The salsa tasted like a can of Rotel tomatoes.
We asked for a hotter salsa ( something we always do and generally get an excellent salsa in AZ) and we were given a bottle of artificially, neon green colored Habanero sauce in a bottle. That was actually the best thing they served!
For my favorite salsa I prefer rich, Cherokee Purples. I wouldn't use sauce tomatoes. Those are good for Italian sauce and paste. We make a sauce with fermented jalapeños, including some dried jalapeños to the mix. I just bought a smoker and for next year, I'm planning to try a smoked and fully fermented salsa. I love Pico de Gallo. I also make a ceviche similar to Pico de Gallo with either salmon or shrimp.
I prefer uncooked salsas. Cooked salsa, to me, is just not as zippy.
I also love mango salsas and tomatillo salsas. Of course, the tomatillo salsa is cooked. The one on the Ball canning book is okay but the cumin tastes strange so I leave it out. I like cumin in chile and taco meat. Not my salsa.

[Worth1]

A good salsa should be an mixture of flavors all climaxing in your mouth at different intervals.
With the hot arriving last.
All of the ingredients should be co star's of the show.

Nothing should overpower the other.

That is when you know you have a winner.

Worth