Chutney vs Salsa

Salsa is a typical Latin American sauce. The word salsa means sauce in Spanish, and while the generic term salsa can often mean a wide range of different sauces, it typically refers to a fresh, zesty sauce made with chopped vegetables like tomatoes and onions, along with chilies, lemon juice, cilantro and other ingredients.

Salsa is traditionally used in Mexico and other Latin American countries, as well as certain parts of Spain.

Different types of salsa

There are a variety of different salsas, depending on the ingredients used. They include red salsa, green salsa, baja salsa and pico de gallo.

Chutney is a spicy, sweet and sour sauce that’s made by slow cooking certain vegetables or fruits in a large pot, along with vinegar, sugar and select spices.

A very typical Indian side dish, chutney is thick, rich and goes incredibly well with a wide variety of dishes. Traditionally, chutney is served as a side to accompany Indian curry dishes and snacks.

Different types of chutney

Traditional Indian chutneys contain less vinegar and sugar than British Indian chutneys. Chutneys can vary quite a lot, depending on the amount of spices used and the chosen fruit or vegetable.

Examples of popular chutneys include mango chutney, tomato chutney and tamarind chutney.

Ingredients

Chutneys are a vinegar based condiment. They contain chopped fruit or vegetables, spices, sugar and sometimes flavor enhancers such as garlic.

Salsa, on the other hand, is a mixture of fresh vegetables including tomatoes, onions, chili peppers, jalapeño peppers, garlic, lime juice, cilantro and other herbs.

Taste

Most chutneys are often quite sweet, with a counter balance of sourness and spiciness. The long slow cooking process makes chutneys very rich and tasty.

The mixture of spices gives each chutney a unique charm, with different fruits and or vegetables needing different spices to complement the flavor.
Like chutney, salsa has a certain amount of heat. It’s normally fresher and zestier than chutney and often has undertones of smokiness.

Texture

Salsa can be smooth or chunky. Cooked versions are often made smooth by blending or crushing the ingredients, while fresh versions are normally left chunky to add some bite to the texture.

Chutneys vary in texture, depending on how finely chopped the fruit or vegetables are. Unlike salsa, they are rarely ever blended, but are thickened by the slow cooking process.

Cooking methods

Chutneys are all about low and slow cooking, to allow all the flavors to mix and mingle. Most chutneys are cooked in a large pot for up to an hour, with regular stirring.

Salsas are often cooked by charring tomatoes, garlic, red onions and jalapeños in a pan. They are then crushed up using a Mexican mortar and pestle, known as a molcajete, although you can also use a food processor.
Once the salsa is mixed, finely chopped raw red onion is added, together with fresh cilantro.