I always add a bit too much juices to my salsa. Then after letting it sit for a few hours I drain it. I use the drained juice as a great sangrita to serve with a nice mezcal/tequila. (Or just sip it as a spicy juice.) I actually won a major sangrita competition this way, using excess juice from my recipe for mango salsa.
Using gums like xanthan, guar, etc. in a salsa, even in tiny amounts, can give a weird texture that doesnât work well with salsa. I tried doing this in my food/bev lab several times. Gums are best used in sauces like hot sauces, etc. that are run through a blender until finely processed. The shearing action of the blender both activates the gum best, and incorporates it better than stirring.
That said, I use zanthan gum in all my uncooked, fermented hot sauces as I finish and final adjust them in a blender after adjusting the pH with vinegar and water. It keeps the sauce from separating, slows down the pour, and improves the mouthfeel. I add 1/4 tsp at a time to a liter of sauce as I blend for a few minutes, until the thickness/texture is just right.
I wouldnât put it in a traditional salsa either but the one the OP discusses in this thread isnât a traditional salsa. It sounds more akin to a hot sauce to me.
I hadnât focused on the fact this was a blender âsalsaâ, but you are right, gum would work with this, but with a major texture change.
Personally I like a traditional, chunky, salsa, with some thin liquid in it. Not a homogeneous, blender salsa.
For me, it is the opposite. I will avoid gums in hot sauces (and pretty much everything else) because I find the texture odd. For example, Crystal-brand hot sauce in the large container is mixed with xanthan gum, but the original small glass container is thus far gum-free. I purchased the large container once and couldnât figure out what was going on until I read the ingredients.
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Me too. I was so dismayed by the added thickeners the last time I bought cholula. I could have sworn it didnât use to be that thick!
The thing with using gums yourself is you can use just enough to thicken, and improve the texture, without going over the line and making it get that âgloopyâ texture (yes, that is a real word. Also Russian for stupid.) when too much is used. Commercial processes with their extremely large batches have much less control over this, than making small production batches, or in home use.
