How do I make homemade Salsa thicker?

Question

I have been playing with homemade salsa for a few weeks now and I can't seem to figure out how to get that thicker tomato texture that a lot of southern Mexican restaurants have.

Right now I play with these ingredients:

1. Tomatoes
2. Onion
3. Jalapeño
4. Cilantro
5. Lime Juice
6. Garlic Salt/Cumin

This seems pretty basic stuff for salsa, but it has a pretty water'd down feel no matter how I swing it. How do I get the tomato base that some of the classic salsa's have in order for everything to hold on the chip a little better?

Update

I really wanted to accept two answers because I like both depending on what I am doing. For a fresh salsa(pico de gallo) straining the juice from the tomatoes seems to work really well. But for the thickness I was going for the key was experimenting with Tomato Paste/Cooking the salsa. I am able to get a much thicker salsa that I enjoy much more. I did learn how to create killer pico de gallo from this though.

Asked by jsmith

Answer

There's a few types of salsa -- salsa fresca (aka pico de gallo, aka salsa cruda), which is "fresh salsa" and uncooked, and if made fresh, it shouldn't be too watery (unless you add to much liquid, eg, lime juice), but letting the vegetables sit after salting will start to draw out extra liquid and could become watery.

For truly thick salsa, you have to treat it like a jam, and cook it to release the pectin in the tomato. (or I guess you could use some other thickeners ... I've never tried. tomato paste, maybe?) You don't necessarily have to cook the other ingredients, too, but I personally like roasting the peppers and onions to sweeten then up and remove some of the extra liquid. (halve the peppers and seed them, lay them on a tray cut side up with the onion cut into wedges, roast 'til they're softened, then dump into a food processor and either pulse or liquify it, depending on how chunky you like it. And the skin falls off the peppers, so I leave 'em out).

You can do the same roasting with the tomatoes, and it'll be thicker from the food processor, but you won't get the same cling without letting them cook slowly in liquid to develop the pectin. If you roast the tomatoes, I like to use plum tomatoes, as they have more "meat" to the gel around the seeds, and take out the gel and seeds.

Answered by Joe

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What is the "standard" salsa tomato?

Question

I make a lot of fresh salsa (pico de gallo style) in the summer, but I don't usually think much about the type of tomatoes I'm usuing. Usually I just buy whatever looks best (fresh & ripe) at the farmer's market, so I've used everything from beefsteak and heirloom to cherry and grape. I've been quite happy with the results, but I'm still wondering: is there a "standard" tomato variety for salsa?

I've read this question and this question about homemade salsa, but neither of them really mention tomato varieties; the focus seems to be on other ingredients or preparation techniques.

Answer

A standard tomato implies that there is a standard salsa, which there isn't - but let's stick with your specific case of pico de gallo AKA salsa cruda.

The distinguishing characteristic of salsa cruda is that it uses raw tomatoes - the cruda literally means raw. Since you aren't going to be cooking them, and since water is going to be your primary binding agent, you'll want to use plump, juicy tomatoes that have potent flavour when raw, and that just so happens to be those bog-standard globe tomatoes you see in the supermarket aisles. Of course, if you can get garden-fresh tomatoes, so much the better.

Cherry tomatoes are also a great choice - they're very juicy and a little sweeter than globes - the only downside is that for a chopped salsa (as in pico de gallo), they tend to make preparation much more difficult and messy. If you've got the time and patience, give it a try; cherry tomato salsas taste much "fresher" than those made from globes.

The other common types of tomatoes, most notably roma and pear tomatoes, are really meant more for cooking. That's not to say you can't eat them raw, but they don't have a lot of juice or raw flavour, so they don't make a good base for cruda. Roasted roma or heirloom tomatoes (especially fire-roasted) make a great addition to salsa, but of course, it's not really "cruda" anymore if you cook any of the ingredients.

Do yourself a favour and don't use the plum tomatoes in a can; they're plenty juicy but have almost no seeds and no flavour.

So, all in all, for pico de gallo I believe that regular globe tomatoes are the most appropriate, but any tomatoes with strong flavour and plenty of juice will do.

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