Salsa Name Generator

A salsa name has to answer three questions before anyone dips a chip: what is in it, how hot is it, and whose recipe is it. Mexican salsa vocabulary already does most of that work. Roja means a cooked or charred tomato base, verde means tomatillo, cruda or fresca means raw and chopped, pico de gallo means diced tomato, onion and cilantro with no liquid, taquera is the thin, very hot red on a taco stand counter, molcajete or tatemada means stone-ground and fire-blistered, and macha is the Oaxacan chile-oil-and-nut style. Naming the chile (árbol, guajillo, morita, chipotle, habanero, manzano) tells an informed buyer the heat and smoke level in one word.

The second layer is the hook. Fruit salsas sell on the pairing (Mango Habanero, Peach Chipotle, Pineapple Jalapeño). Family salsas sell on the person (Abuela Rosa's Roja, Tío Beto's Fire). Brand and restaurant salsas usually borrow a place or image in Spanish (Cantina Brava, Río Bravo, Sol de Sonora) or go for a pun in English (Dip Happens, Chip Magnet).

The names that work best are two to four words, say the style or chile plainly, and are easy to read on a jar across a market table. Pick a style, add one hook, and stop there.