Salsa golf is an Argentine condiment created by Nobel laureate Luis F. Leloir in the 1920s. It is made by blending equal parts mayonnaise and ketchup, adding lemon or lime juice, salt, pepper, mustard, and Tabasco. It is commonly used as a dipping sauce for shellfish, sandwiches, salads, seafood pizza, and burgers and fries. Chefs often tweak ingredients to suit their dishes, and in Chile, red wine replaces ketchup. Salsa golf is easily found on grocery store shelves in South America.
Salsa golf, or salsa golf, is an Argentine variant of Thousand Island or Russian condiment created by one of the country’s most famous chemical tinkerers in the 1920s. Nobel laureate and biochemist Luis F. Leloir was reportedly eating shrimp at the country’s famous “Golf Club” in Mar de Plata when he complained about the sweetness of the simple mayonnaise that was routinely used as the standard sauce for shellfish. Asking the kitchen for a range of simple ingredients, Leloir whipped up various concoctions and decided that a pink concoction of mayonnaise and ketchup, along with some distinctly Argentinian spices, had just the right complementary blend of creamy and tart.
Some chefs use store-bought mayonnaise as the base of salsa golf. Others make it by whipping egg yolks and slowly adding oil as an emulsifier. Using vegetable oil makes mayonnaise, while using olive oil makes an aioli. A little vinegar or citrus juice is also commonly added along the way, beating and dropping oil until the yolk turns into mayonnaise.
Equal parts mayonnaise and ketchup form the basis of salsa golf. After blending them thoroughly into a pink sauce, some lemon or lime juice is added to increase the acidity of the sauce. A dash of salt and pepper, some mustard and a few drops of Tabasco would not be uncommon. Once whipped to a thick consistency, the sauce is ready for dipping.
Shellfish aren’t the only dish golf sauce will complement. It is often used on sandwiches, salads, seafood pizza, and burgers and fries. Many also use salsa golf as a dipping sauce for other types of meats besides shellfish, such as steak and chicken, as well as vegetable dishes such as heart of palm, con palmitos, and salsa golf.
Chefs often tweak ingredients in subtle ways to suit the dishes they’re preparing, adding diced onions, hard-boiled egg, paprika, and even relish — as in Thousand Island seasoning, or horseradish and chives, to create Russian dressings. In Chile, red wine replaces ketchup for a decidedly acidic twist. North American commercial condiment manufacturers, such as Hellmann’s and Kraft, do not market salsa golf to English-speaking markets, opting instead for Thousand Island or Russian blends. In South America, however, salsa golf is easily found on grocery store shelves, right next to mayonnaise and ketchup.
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