What is the difference between pico de gallo, salsa fresca, and regular salsa?

J

JustStarting

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I've done some research, but I'm still a little bit confused.

The definition of pico de gallo appears to be a very specific combination of ingredients, but at my local store, "pico de gallo" is those ingredients WITHOUT any liquid, in other words no lime juice.

Pico de gallo is also called salsa fresca, but there are countless recipes for salsa fresca with totally different ingredients. Most, but not all of these, are uncooked… and some use a food processor, and claim that that is a requirement. At the same store as mentioned above, it seems to just be regular salsa, but made fresh.

I've read in some places that salsa is supposed to be cooked, but there are plenty of salsa recipes where it's NOT cooked, but NOT called salsa fresca.

Any clarification would help greatly!
 
There isn't a definitive answer. There are many Latino cultures that have many variations on salsas and sauces. Salsa Fresco is referring to a salsa made with fresh ingredients, Pico being one, Mango salsa can be made with many different ingredients beside the mangoes. the variations can be from family to family, region to region. In Mexican and Tex-Mex, dried chilis are often used to make sauces, some can be extremely spicy. Cubans make variations on a sauce called mojo (mo ho). They cook with it and use it for marinading. Mexico has it's mole, from simple guacamole to 27 ingredient (or more) Qaxacan black mole. I don't question the definitions, I just go with it!:okay:
 
Hi Craig! Let's stick specifically with Mexican cuisine, since these are being marketed as Mexican items. Is pico de gallo still pico de gallo with no lime juice or other liquid? Is the difference between salsa fresca and regular salsa that regular salsa has cooked ingredients, or is the difference between made in the store and pre-packaged… Or both?
 
A lot of it, frankly, is just marketing/labeling, especially with in-store products.

I generally just divide it into two groups: fresh and cooked and I don't worry about the names, as there's not much consistency.
 
JustStarting said:
Hi Craig! Let's stick specifically with Mexican cuisine, since these are being marketed as Mexican items. Is pico de gallo still pico de gallo with no lime juice or other liquid? Is the difference between salsa fresca and regular salsa that regular salsa has cooked ingredients, or is the difference between made in the store and pre-packaged… Or both?
Click to expand...

As I said in my previous post, variations on salsa can be from family to family, region to region. If someone makes Pico with red wine vinegar or sour orange juice or a different chili, Who am I to say it isn't Pico? I hate the words "traditional" and "authentic". Again those terms belong to what a family rendition of a recipe is. Salsa to me means fresh ingredient, not cooked. Red sauce uses dryed chilis, green sauce uses fresh chilis, both get cooked in hot Spanish olive oil, sometimes adding masa as a thickener. There are chilis that are specific to a region, like the Yucatan that are found no where else in Mexico. Here is a salsa from the Aztec culture: BTW, I don't buy canned or jarred salsa anymore.

https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/xni-pec-salsa.11895/
 
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