Do You Eat The Salsa?

[CALI68]

It's all to taste...no measurements. I just dive it all up, mix it all up, and put it in the fridge to chill it and lett the flavors mingle. I like cilantro, so I put alot of cilantro in mine. My batches are never exactly the same, but a typical batch for me would be something like:

4 to 5 roma tomatoes
1 white onion (1 small or 1/2 large)
1 -2 bushels of cilantro
1 large lime (juice from)
1 fresh jalapeno (de-seeded)
2 fresh serrano peppers (de-seeded)
1 clove fresh garlic

Enjoy

If you like guacamole...Javier's guacamole is the BEST I've ever had. Compliments to Eileen (eab) for taking the time to type it up on another board. I cut and pasted it here...because it's REALLY delicious! Again, compliments of Javier and eab:

Javier’s Guacamole -- so authentic, you can almost hear the Mariachis singing!

6 serrano chiles
6 tomatillos
8 cloves of garlic
1 cup cilantro, chopped and loosely packed
4 avocados -- they should be dark green, and just slightly mushy
1/4 cup hard cheese (parmesan) or lime juice
2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/2 cup diced onion


Grill serranos, tomatillos and garlic until charred and soft.

Remove stems from serranos.

In a stone bowl, smash together the garlic and serranos.

Add the cilantro and again smash all together.

Add tomatillos and smash, smash, smash.

Add avocados and smash some more.

Mix in the cheese/lime, salt, and onion.

Add the avocado pits to the mix to keep it from turning brownish in color.

You're supposed to let this chill in the fridge for an hour or so to let the flavors mingle, but you won't be able to. Additionally, this will keep in the fridge for several days, but from our experience there just wasn't enough for the first serving of it.

Enjoy!

OK, that post made me crazy hungry!

 

[peebee]

FWIW - I ate every last thing that was served to me in every restaurant, including not only salsa, but also the small salads (lettuce, tomato, onions). No problem. Any other thoughts on eating salads there? I figured that was maybe a bit risky, but I wasn't too worried about it.

On the other hand, I'd never touch any of the fruits from the street vendors, that would just seem to be asking for trouble!

Re the water -- It's hard to avoid tasting some for the first day or two until you remember to keep your mouth SEALED in the shower (PTOO, BLUGH, PBPBFHHBT, YECH, PTOOO! EEK, I'm gonna get SICK now!!!). That water is SALTY. Who the heck would drink it anyway?

 

[peebee]

PS, also ate all served oranges & limes, no problem there either. And good luck keeping the outside skin from contaminating your fruit when eating that stuff.

 

[NorthEastPHL]

Whenever I go to a foreign country, I take a hefty supply of Pepto(pill version).
Two days before departure, I start taking them.
So far, never had an incident.

FYI, stay well hydrated if you dive.

 

[Rick Inman]

Well, since I started this thread by asking about eating the salsa, now that I'm back, I should report on my personal results.

When I first got there, I didn't want to take a chance of getting sick and ruining my vacation, so I avoided the salsa, lettuce and other fruits and veggies.

But I am evidently a man of too little will power, because by day three I was eating anything and everything put in front of me, including all the salsa and guacamole I could get my chips on.

I never got sick. My wife Priscilla never got sick. Our friends Tony and Lia (who joined us on the second week) never got sick. In fact, we never met another tourist who got sick.

But CHRISTI did!! (tee-hee-hee...)

All the salsa was good, but my favorite was the yellow at La Choza.

 

[geraldp]

While searching on how to avoid the tourist trots, I read that one of the most common causes of getting sick in MX is eatting the salsa.

I got pretty ill the last trip (October), but I suspect it was due to the salad I ate in a Mayan village out near Chichen Itza (it was an included lunch on a "City Bus" tour to the ruins). 3 out of the 4 of us got pretty sick, and I missed a day of diving :-( Otherwise I felt pretty comfortable using the water in the resorts and restaurants near PDC and Cozumel. My previous trip was symptom free.

I used to travel to Singapore a couple of times a year... Every time I went I got the trots within the first week. As OEX2 said I believe it was "Gringo Stomach" (or whatever the chinese equivelent of Gringo is). A complete change of diet to firy hot chinese food 3 meals a day was the culprit. (I couldn't help myself Last October was different, however, as this time it included some nasty flu like symptoms, so I'm pretty sure it was something besides a diet change.

Glad you didn't get sick this time Rick.

Jerry

 

[Christi]

Well, since I started this thread by asking about eating the salsa, now that I'm back, I should report on my personal results.

When I first got there, I didn't want to take a chance of getting sick and ruining my vacation, so I avoided the salsa, lettuce and other fruits and veggies.

But I am evidently a man of too little will power, because by day three I was eating anything and everything put in front of me, including all the salsa and guacamole I could get my chips on.

I never got sick. My wife Priscilla never got sick. Our friends Tony and Lia (who joined us on the second week) never got sick. In fact, we never met another tourist who got sick.

But CHRISTI did!! (tee-hee-hee...)

All the salsa was good, but my favorite was the yellow at La Choza.

HAHA...THANKS Rick You jinxed me

That was the joke though...here I was going on and on about how not to be afraid of the food here...blah, blah, blah. Then I ended up with a severe case of salmonella, to the point where Mago had to take me to the hospital with 103 fever and major dehydration. We really can't trace it back either. The Dr. here actually told me that salmonella can be dormant for several days before it attacks.

However, I STILL maintain that it was just a stroke of bad luck and literally could have happened anywhere. In fact, I had salmonella in the states about 5 years ago from Chick-Filet.

So come enjoy and take reasonable precautions

 

[divematt]

HAHA...THANKS Rick You jinxed me

That was the joke though...here I was going on and on about how not to be afraid of the food here...blah, blah, blah. Then I ended up with a severe case of salmonella, to the point where Mago had to take me to the hospital with 103 fever and major dehydration. We really can't trace it back either. The Dr. here actually told me that salmonella can be dormant for several days before it attacks.

However, I STILL maintain that it was just a stroke of bad luck and literally could have happened anywhere. In fact, I had salmonella in the states about 5 years ago from Chick-Filet.

So come enjoy and take reasonable precautions

I'll be in Cozumel in 4 days and I'm eating the salsa. Last August I ate tons of it and got sick, hospital sick, fever sick, just like Christy did and I just don't care. It's just that good. I'll take Immodium, Pepto, and antibiotics with me just in case I do get sick, but I can't skip the Guac and Salsa. It just sits there on the table looking at you with those crunchy chips next to them. I try to fight it but it just keeps taunting me, eat me, eat me, eat me. And so I do! I can taste it now!

 

[transman]

I eat everything. My favorite is going to the other side and eating at Punta Morena aka the Naked Iguana. Great food, cerveza and wonderful service. Been going there for 5 years. Sandra the owner is great.. The salsa is to die for. Grilled lobster in garlic sauce, YUMMY. Cant wait to be at my home away from home.

 

[diveborg]

Do you ever eat the salsa?

The answer that immediately popped into my head was: "How could I not eat it? Doesn't everyone?"