If you look for an Ohio Proud marker in local groceries, you’ll find it’s all over the place in the salsa section. Ohio is home to enough salsa (and salsa makers) to inspire full-on analysis paralysis in the grocery aisles.
But this week’s choice was sort of easy, courtesy a press release that appeared in the email inbox. There’s only one salsa maker who just got back from earning national-level accolades at the Louisianna Hot Sauce Festival: CaJohns Fiery Foods.
Even with over 500 entrants in the game, the local sauce company brought home the gold in both hot sauce and salsa competitions. Two of the celebrated concoctions made grocery shopping simple this week.
The first prizewinner is CaJohns Black Bean & Corn Salsa. Despite its name, it’s distinctly tomato based. The familiar, full-flavored tomatoey foundation is lightly populated with black beans, jalapeños and corn. It has a surprising sweetness that adds to its mild heat.
For the fruit fans, there is another award winner: Rasperry Chipotle Salsa. It’s a dark, purplish color, with distinct raspberry accents. Together, the elements are an almost homogenous, seamless blending of raspberry, tomato and chipotle pulp.
The two dueling salsas partner nicely. Both have the body and kick that adds oomph to tortilla chips, yet: their flavors are distinct enough to ward off palate exhaustion.
Other concoctions from CaJohns that did well in the competitions include: Sling Blade Reaper Hot Sauce, AlBuddah Hot Sweet Chile Sauce, and Mangonero Salsa. The maker’s Cara Cara Hot Sauce now boasts the World Champion Hot Sauce title.
Local gourmet grocers reliably carry a few of these flavors. If you want to try the full plate, you’ll find all its flavors in its online store (out of Westerville). You can also find CaJohn’s represented at local farmers markets throughout the week, and at CaJohns Flavor & Fire at the The North Market.
For more information, visit www.cajohns.com.