Salsa sampler pack (via Amazon)?

October 10, 2017 8:13 AM

I'd like to get my brother & sister-in-law a host/ess gift for having me to visit. I don't know them well, but it does seem they enjoy spices & seasoning, grilling, and salsa. What's a nice salsa sampler pack you would recommend? (Sticking to mild-moderate heats, to be safe.) Bonus: I have extra gift card money on Amazon I'd love to use to buy and send it, though that's not mandatory.

I just got back from visiting my younger brother, who I haven't seen in years. I finally got to meet his wife, who is great. But I forgot to bring along a host/ess gift for them, and would now like to send something afterward.

When I was visiting, I noticed they like things like:

1) spices & seasonings
2) grilling on their gas grill
3) salsa

I'm not planning to buy them any seasonings, because she has a ton already, including very special gifts from her best friends and bridesmaids, with personal quotes on the bottles and so forth. And I don't know what grilling things they might want--they have some nice grilling tools already that he doesn't seem to use much.

So, I thought maybe a sampler pack of interesting salsas. But I myself am not widely experienced in this area, so, what flavors, brands, etc. do you like and recommend? I know they like Cholula (me too), but didn't get the name or style of the other kind I saw them enjoying at dinner. I'd like to stick with mild-moderate heat choices, to be safe, since I don't know if they care for heat qua heat.

(It would be especially helpful if I could buy and send the sampler through Amazon.)

Thanks, salsatarians of Metafilter!

posted by theatro to Food & Drink (4 answers total)

If you like Cholula, there's a Cholula salsa sampler available.

Another popular sauce is El Yucateco.
posted by blob at 8:58 AM on October 10, 2017

Paul Prudhomme's magic seasoning blends seem like a natural fit, especially if they do a lot of grilling. They're mostly for meat and seafood (he's the guy who popularized the idea of 'blackend' seafood) but really work well on anything...mmm, spicy grilled corn on the cob :9
posted by sexyrobot at 9:11 AM on October 10, 2017

They're not available on Amazon, but Papalote salsas are delicious and very popular with our houseguests (they're our traditional "welcome to San Francisco" gifts). Other than the habanero variety, these are all mild to moderate heat.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:40 AM on October 10, 2017

I really enjoy my quarterly shipments of hot sauces from https://www.fuegobox.com. They emphasize flavor over heat, and for the most part, they've been on Cholula-level spiciness or a little higher. Nothing insane. They've all been very interesting, unique, and delicious. I don't think they sell through Amazon, but they have a store where you can buy individual bottles and sample packs and not jump into the subscription.
posted by tybstar at 10:47 AM on October 10, 2017