Mexico Gourmet – Salsa Macha Gourmet

Bitter: ⭐⭐✰✰✰

Salty: ⭐✰✰✰✰

Sour/Tangy: ⭐✰✰✰✰

Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰

Umami: ⭐✰✰✰✰

Heat: ⭐⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰

Quick Flavor Notes: Bright, nutty, tiny bursts of tangy sweetness

Texture: Oil heavy chili crunch

Recommended: Yes

Ingredients: Chiles de Arbol, Cranberries, Walnuts, Peanuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Oil, Sea Salt, and Spices

Salsa Macha is the Mexican equivalent of a Chinese chili oil or chili crisp, but with a different flavor profile. I believe I picked this up on a trip to Puerto Vallarta but I’m not completely sure of that anymore. I can’t actually find any information about this brand online. I’d ordered some take-out dim sum and frustratingly discovered I was out of Lao Gan Ma as well as any other Asian chili oil, so I decided to break this open to see how it would fare.

Mexican salsa machas tend to incorporate nuts and seeds as well as the dried chiles, and that’s the case for the Mexico Gourmet product as well. This salsa macha uses walnuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds in addition to chiles de arbol for the heat. An interesting addition I haven’t seen in a chili oil before that this has are cranberries. I had never considered the possibility of cranberries in Mexican cuisine but after looking it up apparently they’ve been in use in Mexico for quite a while (and also interestingly I found out that Chile is a major producer of cranberries, and that they’re also grown in Wisconsin in the United States and not just in New England as I’d assumed).

Mexican Gourmet Salsa Macha Gourmet has a typical chili crisp consistency however the ratio of oil to solids is greater than that of Lao Gan Ma and most other Asian varieties I’ve tried. It has a spicy and nutty aroma. In terms of taste the first thing I noticed was that this does pack more of a heat punch that Lao Gan Ma. The characteristic sharp and quick heat of the chiles de arbol is at the forefront, and there is a bit of the flavor you get from the dark chile de arbol hot sauces from taco trucks. The nuts and seeds are prominent in the flavor profile as well, adding nuttiness and a nice textural crunch. The cranberries were an interesting addition – little pops of sweetness that I wouldn’t expect from a product like this but that did make it more interesting. The one thing that this lacks as compared to similar Asian products is much of any umami flavor. I’ve always thought that Lao Gan Ma reminded me of Thanksgiving stuffing with its deep umami richness, this salsa macha instead opts for brighter flavors.

My first use of this was with the dim sum I mentioned above, and while it performed well in a pinch, I still prefer Asian style chili crunches for pairing with Asian food, the lack of umami and the brighter flavor profile weren’t positives in that regard. Since this is a Mexican chili oil however I decided to give it a go with Mexican food and I feel that the flavor profiles do match better there. Since Mexican cuisine often has richer flavors from chorizo, meats, and charred vegetables the lack of umami in the salsa macha wasn’t a hindrance, and the bright heat from the chiles de arbol worked great against darker flavors like those in tamales and beef tacos as well as working with lighter dishes like shrimp and fish tacos.

If you ever happen to stumble across a bottle of this I’ll happily recommend you pick it up. I don’t believe this is sold outside of Mexico, and I can’t even recall if I bought it at a local shop or in a supermarket there, but it’s a unique take on a chili crunch that’s quite tasty. Salsa Macha Gourmet is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.