Taste Test

The other night I received a telephone call from one of my good friends.  She asked one of those questions that you hesitate to answer.  "What are you doing Thursday Night?"  You are not exactly certain what to say, because you never know what you might get roped into doing.  I must have hesitated just long enough because she then said; "let me ask that differently.  'Do you like salsa?'"  Instantly I answered "Well, who doesn't?"  That was when I started back-pedaling.  Wait, let me say that again:  "Salsa the condiment, yes.  Salsa the dance oh heck no!"  She started laughing.  Then said to me that she wanted to know if I would be willing to spend some time Thursday night helping her judge the high school FFA Salsa Contest.  "You bet!  Should I bring my own chips?" 

So, at 5:00 tonight I walked into the county Multi-purpose building.  Where I was handed a clipboard and pen.  I received my instructions and I proceeded to wait for all of the entries to be brought.  Once all 27 entries arrived we were clear to start.  I looked around and found that we had three categories:  Wimpy, PG-13, and Smokin.! 

I thought that I would start at the hot end and let my friends start on the wimpy side.  I took the lid off the first dish and I quickly could smell the aroma of peppers and fresh cut tomatoes.  I grabbed a chip and dug in.  That was not what I was expecting.  I looked at the dish again to see if I could find those jalapeno pepper seeds.  They had done a great job of blending them in, but I did see a couple.  This was a pretty warm salsa but had a very nice flavor. I continued with the smokin' group.  I looked at my co-judge and warned her that a couple of them might be a little too hot for her.  When she got to the hot end, I watched her face as she tried a couple.  Her mouth hung open, she stuck her tongue out and wiped the sweat off her brow.  I silently giggled. 

I made my way through all of them, enjoying a variety of flavors.  Some used roasted tomatoes, some added what I figured to be "Italian Seasoning" and a few added cinnamon and even some mustard seeds.  I was genuinely impressed with the variety and ingenuity.  When it was all said and done, we added the scores and realized we had a tie for first place.  So, we went back and tried those two again, each voicing what we liked about each of them.  Ultimately we narrowed it down to our favorite and then our top five.  Each entry was judged on four categories:  Appearance, aroma, recipe (originality) and of course taste.  I had such a great time.  This was really a fun activity.  A great event for the local FFA.  In addition to the salsa contest, they also had a chili cook-off going at the same time.  As much as I like chili, I am glad I got to try the salsa.  Thanks FFA for allowing me the opportunity to help out.  You were all great and very welcoming!  One thing is for certain, when I got home I was anxious for my Diet Coke, with Lime.