Garden Fresh Gourmet Artichoke Garlic Salsa

Texture: Very fine
Flavor: Garlicy
Price: N/A
Where purchased: N/A
Refrigeration: Yes
Website: Garden Fresh Gourmet
Spiciness: 3
Grade: B-

The kind folks at Garden Fresh Gourment sent me a tub of Artichoke Garlic salsa to try, so I'm not sure where it is available for purchase. Being consistent with our recent garlic-themed posts, I think this is a great time to review the Artichoke Garlic Salsa.

I like artichokes and garlic a lot, but I found this salsa a bit overpowering with the garlic and underpowering with the artichokes. Artichokes do not have a strong flavor, so the scant pieces that were mixed in with the salsa served as more of a visual decoration than anything else.

The salsa has a flavorful taste to it. It certainly isn't a boring salsa, though it is mild and acceptable for anyone who has a sensitive stomach. However, I brushed my teeth and gargled with mouthwash three times after eating the salsa in a futile attempt to get the garlic aftertaste out of my mouth. If you're planning on being near people after you eat this salsa, don't eat it.

If you absolutely mad about garlic, I think you will enjoy this salsa. I am going to stick with my personal favorite produced by Garden Fresh, Jack's Special Medium.

Try This At Home

Maria at Garlicster has put up a garlicky green salsa recipe in our honour! It looks really good, I'm gonna try and make some this weekend if I can find some tomatillos. No more complaining about reviews of salsa you can't get...this one's as close as your blender. Speaking of blenders, maybe some lime and tequila would make it even better!

Rojo's Mild: You call this salsa?

Texture: Chopped into small, tasteless chunks
Flavor: Cardboard
Price: Approximately $3.99
Where purchased: Safeway
Refrigeration: Yes
Website: N/A
Spiciness: 1
Grade: D

So I'm looking for salsa and can find nothing that looks familiar or interesting. No Jacks at all. I happen upon this stuff in a container and think, "Hey, Sugarmama reviewed that or, uh, I think she did cause it sounds familiar. Hell, if she reviewed it, then it's gotta be good." So I bought it. And tasted it. And realized why I remembered it. This stuff tastes like ass.

Oh man, it was awful. It's just bland, like they sucked all the life out of the tomatoes and onions and peppers and then packaged it. I think the plastic container would have had more taste. I ended up going outside and burying my tongue in the dirt just to get the taste out of my mouth.

If you're having a salsa craving and your only choice is between this stuff or the Pace/Frito-Lay crap, take a nap instead. It's just not worth spending the money.

Review by Howard

Garlic Goodness

We interrupt the salsa talk to present Garlicster, a great site dedicated to my favorite bulb. Since most salsa fans also love garlic, you should go check out the ton of interesting garlic recipes they've collected (and they're always looking for more). Tell them the salsa people sent you!

Crack In A Box

Garden Fresh Gourmet Cream Cheese & Salsa Dip
Texture: Creamy
Flavor: Medium
Price: N/A
Where purchased: N/A
Refrigeration: Yes
Website: www.gardenfreshsalsa.com
Spiciness: 4
Grade: A+

OK technically, this stuff isn't salsa, but it has salsa in it. Along with a TON of garlic, which I consider a good thing. It's whipped until it's fluffy, so that it's easy to dip or spread, and it's filled with small crunchy bits of garlic, onion, and peppers. The flavor is kind of like that Southern staple, cream cheese with pepper jelly on it, only without the sweetness. There's a little spiciness at first, that quickly fades into the creamy goodness. It's packaged in a nice plastic tub that is dishwasher safe, and they recommend reusing it.

Basically, this stuff is AWESOME! I dipped Wheat Thins in it instead of chips and became addicted right away. The garlic and the spice and the tang of the cream cheese all blend together so that no one flavor takes over, and they just mix wonderfully and dance around on your tongue. It's the perfect thing to have at a party, either as a dip, or spread on rolled-up flour tortillas to make pinwheels.

There was one thing that bothered me. As I was eating some yesterday, I looked down in the tub and saw something really bad. The bottom! I sure hope that the other dips that they sent me are as good, but this stuff will definitely be a hard act to follow.