Taquerías and restaurants today still make most of their delicious salsas from scratch, but the majority of us still find ourselves wandering the condiment aisle at the grocery store for our favorite jar. The complimentary bowls of chips and salsa that we’ve come to love at our local Mexican restaurant were introduced here in the States, which then helped catapult these sauces to staple food status. It wasn’t until the 16th century that the Spaniards gave it the name “salsa”, which stuck throughout the centuries until it had its big break stateside just a few decades ago. In fact, this spicy condiment has ancient roots dating back to Aztec, Mayan and Incan civilizations, where variations were made from ground tomatoes, chiles, beans and seeds. Salsa has come a long way since its rapid popularization in the 1980s.
