I want my sweet sweet salsa!

October 13, 2008 11:57 PM

Is there a copycat recipe in existence for Trader Joes' Corn and Chile Salsa? How about a cheaper alternative?

I have become completely addicted to Trader Joe's Corn and Chile Salsa. The salsa is a tomato-less and appears to mostly consist of corn, a bit of green chile and onion, sugar, and vinegar. I've spent more than a little bit of time trying to find a recipe is even close to it, but haven't had any luck. In particular, it is a very sweet and tangy salsa - it's not spicy at all. Does anyone have any ideas on how to make this? My few attempts have ended up in sugary corn goop.

Failing the recipe, has anyone seen this salsa anywhere else? Trader Joe's rebrands almost all of their goods, so I'd imagine some other company makes the salsa in their own label. Any hints?

posted by saeculorum to food & drink (3 comments total)

What have you tried already? If it's the stuff I'm thinking of, it's probably more properly called corn relish than corn salsa. If I were trying to duplicate it I'd start with this recipe but substitute some jalapeno with the seeds removed (to cut down the heat) for the green peppers, and add a dash of cumin and 1/4 tsp coriander to southwest it up.
posted by TungstenChef at 12:41 AM on October 14, 2008

Man, I just bought some of that. Out of curiosity: Are you simply not close enough to a TJs to just go and buy it there, or is there another reason you want to find an alternative source?
posted by caution live frogs at 6:18 AM on October 14, 2008

I have not tried this salsa yet but it's now on my mental to-buy list the next time I'm at Trader Joe's.

Secondly, I cannot say enough about a fantastic concoction I make from Trader Joe's stuff:

- 1 can of Lentil Soup with Vegetables: $2.99
- 1 bag of brown rice, the frozen kind that comes 3 bags-in-a-box
- half a bag of frozen Turkey Meatballs

Microwave the rice and add it to the soup. Microwave the meatballs, cut them into smaller pieces and add those to the soup and rice. Cook for 5 minutes or so.

Feeds 2-3 hungry adults. Absolutely fantastic.

Note: The meatballs also work very well as added ingredients to all sorts of stuff. Yummy yummy.
posted by camworld at 7:25 AM on October 14, 2008