Powdered pico de gallo

[Laurie Woolever]

Have been challenged to find pico de gallo in powdered form, if it indeed exists. All searches thus far have turned up recipes for the salsa cruda with which i am more familiar. Any leads? Am I crazy?

[_john]

are you talking about this ?

[fifi]

Wowser. I was about to tell Laurie that indeed she is crazy but thought that that was no way to welcome a new member to the Texas forum. Then _john comes up with that link. eGullet never ceases to amaze me.

And a hearty Texas welcome to you Laurie.

I am really curious as to why you are on the hunt for an item like powdered pico de gallo, which seems to be an oxymoron in and of itself. BTW . . . I read somewhere here that the name refers to a rooster (gallo) pecking away at the fresh morsels of tomato and onion.

[Laurie Woolever]

My parents in upstate New York had something they swear is pico de gallo over the weekend - a friend had brought it back from Southern California. It was powdered and had the color of cayenne pepper. It piqued my curiosity...and thanks for the link, John, and the welcome, Linda.

[shelora]

My question too, is why? Unless you were planning a trip to the moon, why a powdered form of something so crunchy, juicy and delicious in its fresh state?

I'm curious.

S

[andiesenji]

My parents in upstate New York had something they swear is pico de gallo over the weekend - a friend had brought it back from Southern California.  It was powdered and had the color of cayenne pepper.  It piqued my curiosity...and thanks for the link, John, and the welcome, Linda.

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You can find this item in just about any market in So.Calif. I have purchased it at Ralph's, Albertson's, Vons and Stater Brothers.

(We use it a lot in dry rubs.)

[Laurie Woolever]

Why powdered pico de gallo as opposed to the fresh salsa? I guess my parents wanted to exactly recreate the dish their friend served them - cucumbers bathed in lime juice and dusted with pico de gallo powder...and as the only person they know working in 'the food business', i felt compelled to help them re-create the experience. of course, when i showed them the online link, they said 'thanks, but we don't shop online' (...) so if anyone knows of a place in manhattan that stocks it (i imagine there must be several), let me know.

and as a relative newcomer to egullet forums, let me just say how happy i am to be here, and happy to have found like-minded, curious folks to whom no food topic is too esoteric!

[lovebenton0]

Why powdered pico de gallo as opposed to the fresh salsa?  I guess my parents wanted to exactly recreate the dish their friend served them - cucumbers bathed in lime juice and dusted with pico de gallo powder...and as the only person they know working in 'the food business', i felt compelled to help them re-create the experience.  of course, when i showed them the online link, they said 'thanks, but we don't shop online' (...) so if anyone knows of a place in manhattan that stocks it (i imagine there must be several), let me know.

and as a relative newcomer to egullet forums, let me just say how happy i am to be here, and happy to have found like-minded, curious folks to whom no food topic is too esoteric!

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apparently this is for seasoning, not to duplicate the fresh salsa...

interesting site with several varieties of spice blends.

Laurie, you can click on the store list tab to see where it is distributed locally. lots of stores in AZ and CA, a few in TX and elsewhere. looks like the closest to NYC is Warsaw, NJ...

welcome to the TX forum! hope we have helped.

[_john]

The main way that I use it is on fruit. Thats right fruit. Cut open an orange and shake some on; amazing. All of the flea market produce stands I visit have cucumbers, mangos, and oranges cut open and sprinkled with the magical "pico limon". Try it, you'll like it.

[lovebenton0]

The main way that I use it is on fruit. Thats right fruit. Cut open an orange and shake some on; amazing. All of the flea market produce stands I visit have cucumbers, mangos, and oranges cut open and sprinkled with the magical "pico limon". Try it, you'll like it.

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thanks, _john. i really may have to order some of this... their variety-pick-your-own-flavor combos look very tempting.

also, Laurie, there may be some shops that carry it in NYC not on their list??? you may want to ask about this seasoning in the NY forum... not everyone gets to us in TX.

[LonghornGal]

It's yummy on mangos...

FABULOUS on Gold Pineapple. Trust me, I've just undergone an intensive 4 week stint in produce, and have tried the pico limon on everything.

[lovebenton0]

It's yummy on mangos...

FABULOUS on Gold Pineapple.  Trust me, I've just undergone an intensive 4 week stint in produce, and have tried the pico limon on everything.

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do you carry this in your store? if so, i'd rather buy it from there than have to order it online.

[LonghornGal]

It's yummy on mangos...

FABULOUS on Gold Pineapple.  Trust me, I've just undergone an intensive 4 week stint in produce, and have tried the pico limon on everything.

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do you carry this in your store? if so, i'd rather buy it from there than have to order it online.

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Yep, it's in the produce section right next to the floral department - the rack with the chopped garlic and such on it next to the pinto bean bin. But remember that I am at the Brodie/Wm Cannon store now. If you HEB doesn't carry it, they can probably order a box to bring in.

There are two things - the liquid and the powder. I have mainly tried the liquid, as the supplier was having to get permits for importing some of the powdered stuff across the border from Mexico and that caused a shortage... But the word on the street is that the permits are in and the powdered stuff should be back in stock soon.

I am told by "experts" that the powdered is better. I haven't yet formed an opinion.

[mizducky]

Heh. Trust eGullet--I go searching for a food topic, and someone's been there already.

Reading this thread, I think I've got some answers to some questions raised earlier. And then, I have a question of my own.

It turns out that what folks north of the US/Mexico border usually call pico de gallo (and what I had been calling pico de gallo)--namely, the mixture of finely chopped tomatoes, onions, etc. seasoned with fresh minced chiles, etc., is apparently not what most Mexicans mean by pico de gallo. South of the border, that name often refers to a chopped salad of mostly fruit, with some vegetables mixed in--for example, cantelope, papaya, cucumber, jicama, etc.--all spiked with lime juice plus a chile-laced seasoning powder usually labeled "pico de gallo seasoning" or similar. So--all three of these entities-the all-veggie salsa cruda, the fruit-and-veg salad, and the powdered seasoning, are all tagged with that "pico de gallo" name--it just depends on context and geography as to which one is meant.

I had seen the fruit salad, liberally sprinkled with the bright-red powder, sold at booths at various farmer's markets around here, and wanted to duplicate it at home. Googled on "mexican fruit salad" and voila--found it was called pico de gallo. And from there I pieced together the rest.

Now, my question: if I wanted to make that pico de gallo powder seasoning myself, what would go in it? Googling, alas, hasn't turned up a recipe (so far) for the powder itself--merely recipes like this one for the salad, which just specifies the bottled seasoning powder. Yeah, I could certainly just buy a bottle of the powder itself--it seems like even many mainstream supermarkets here in San Diego carry it. But I have a feeling the powder is actually pretty simple to make. I think it's mostly powdered dried chiles of various sorts plus salt, but I don't know which ones. Certainly I could just pick and choose and experiment, but now I'm all curious what if any chiles are traditionally in the mix, and if there's anything else in there.

So--any suggestions, folks?