Best Reviewed
Salsa
- Best gourmet salsa Desert Pepper Trading Co. Salsa *Est. $5
- Best all-natural salsa Green Mountain Gringo Salsa *Est. $4
- Best supermarket salsa Pace Salsa *Est. $3
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Best supermarket salsa
- The heat didn't overwhelm vegetable flavors even in a hot-salsa competition
- Inexpensive, easy to find
- Not as thick as others
- Some tasters noted an aftertaste
Because Pace is such a popular brand, reviews abound. We found the best and most credible ratings at Cook's Illustrated and Consumer Reports. There are also good reviews available free online from Every Day With Rachael Ray, EatingWell and Slate magazines, as well as from a blog owned by experienced food writer Ed Levine. Not all reviews rate the same variety of Pace salsa, however. That's par for the course in salsa reviews.
The Pace brand of salsa and thinner picante sauces is owned by Campbell and produced in Paris, Texas. Among mass-market salsa brands, Pace generally finishes a bit in front of other brands, Salsa snobs usually snub the jarred varieties, but Pace fares well in blind taste tests. It won two such tests by Cook's Illustrated, the hot version in 2008 and an unspecified heat level in 2007. Reviewers note that the heat does not obscure the taste of the other contents. Some reviews were less complimentary about the thinner texture. Some tasters note that there's an aftertaste. In general, we found better reviews for smaller salsa brands, including Desert Pepper (*est. $5 for a 16-ounce jar) and Green Mountain Gringo (*est. $3 for a 16-ounce jar), but these cost more.
Our Sources
1. Cook's Illustrated MagazineDetails/Subscribe
Cook's Illustrated reviewers sample nine salsas, focusing on hot varieties in this brief write-up.
Review: Jarred Hot Salsas, Editors of Cooks Illustrated, April 2008
2. Cook's Illustrated MagazineDetails/Subscribe
In this review, Cook's Illustrated takes on supermarket salsa, taste-testing four mainstream salsas, including Pace Chunky Salsa.
Review: Bottled Supermarket Salsas, Editors of Cooks Illustrated, April 2007
Every Day With Rachael Ray doesn't really give an indication of its testing methods, and although it says it tested 71 salsas, we don't get to see the also-rans. Pace Picante Mild Sauce, which is more of a "table sauce" than a chunky salsa, is the "Best of the Big Guns," although oddly that's a finalist designation rather than a winner.
Review: Just Add Chips, Dorothy Krasowska, Sept. 2007
EatingWell uses a six-person panel to try "more than 40" salsas to arrive at a top six, but it would have been helpful to know who the losers were. Pace's Chunky Salsa Mild places second to Desert Trading Co.'s Salsa Divino, though not all the tasters were complimentary about the flavor or aftertaste of Pace.
Review: EatingWell taste teste: Salsas Worth Scooping, Carolyn Malcoun, Not Dated
5. ConsumerReports.org
Consumer Reports generally sets the standard for product testing, but this is a relatively narrow sampling and you need to subscribe to see it. Pace's Chunky Mild is one of eleven salsas rated, and it appears that fresh taste is a major criterion.
Review: Salsas and tortilla chips, Editors of Consumer Reports, Sept. 2005
Ed Levine is a veteran writer and TV commentator about food, and this was written by Adam Kuban, who is managing editor of Levine's Serious Eats website. Neither reviewer liked Pace Chunky Salsa; they preferred Mexico's Herdez Salsa Casera and All-Natural Tostitos Chunky Salsa.
Review: Jarred Salsa Taste Test, Adam Kuban, April 27, 2007
Slate is honest about its rather informal methodology -- a blind taste test of friends done in NCAA basketball tournament bracket style. Pace's Chunky Salsa Medium eventually loses in the championship matchup with Desert Pepper Trading Co.'s Corn, Black Bean, Roasted Red Pepper Salsa Medium.
Review: The Tangy 12/The salsa national championships, Dan Kois, Mar. 15, 2005
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