The Heat Index
Stories, recipes, road notes, and salsa lore from the team behind Jose Madrid Salsa. New posts from the kettle, the kitchen, and wherever the salsa is travelling this week.
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What we're putting out this week.
Fresh dispatches from the kettle, the kitchen, the road, and the office.
Kent Heritage Festival 2026 – Beating the Heat One Step at a Time
With temperatures climbing throughout the afternoon, the heat became simply too much for Michael to safely continue working.
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Meet Jordan Lang, The Website Man
Most people who meet me at a Jose Madrid Salsa event assume I'm "the website guy"—and they're right. But that's only part of the story.
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A Fantastic Weekend at the Lakeshore Art Festival in Muskegon!
We spent two amazing days meeting new friends, catching up with longtime Jose Madrid Salsa supporters, and sharing what we love most—award-winning salsa made to bring people together.
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Michigan International Speedway Photos
Please forgive us for the delay in the postings. While I'm fully aware that nobody even reads these blog posts yet, especially because nobody even visits this website since Jose Madrid Salsa still insists on using their old website rather than the brand new custom website designed especially for them for over 10 months time now! But, we will get there and this will be an important piece of precedent in the content flow that we adopt and enact on a regular basis. Stay tuned.
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Where Is Jose? – Yellow Springs Street Fair
The Jose Madrid Salsa team is spending the day at the Yellow Springs Street Fair and would love to see you! Stop by the Ye Olde Tavern parking lot before 5:00 PM for free samples, friendly conversation, and the bold flavors that have made Jose Madrid Salsa a fan favorite for generations.
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1 postMeet the Makers
The people, personalities, and passion behind Jose Madrid Salsa.
Every great product has a story, and every story begins with people. Meet the Makers takes you behind the scenes at Jose Madrid Salsa to introduce the individuals whose passion, creativity, and hard work help bring our family tradition to life. From the kitchen and the festival booth to marketing, design, and everything in between, discover the unique journeys, talents, and personalities that make Jose Madrid Salsa more than just award-winning salsa—it's a family, a community, and a shared passion for bringing people together, one jar at a time.
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7 postsWhere is Jose?
Following the salsa across America, one festival at a time.
A running travelogue of every event, festival, farmers market, and roadside tasting where Jose Madrid Salsa shows up. Real places, real people, real heat.
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Road NotesAnother Incredible Weekend at Michigan International Speedway!
What an unforgettable weekend it was at Michigan International Speedway!
Although we hail from Ohio, there is one thing that holds true with each member of the Jose Madrid Family... We all love Michigan and Michiganders alike, we enjoy visiting every chance we can, and we couldn't be happier to have you all as our neighbors!
Road NotesThe Michigander Melt - May 2026
Spartan Pride showed up this past weekend in East Lansing!
The weather was beautiful as the crowds descended on Michigan State University for the Spring Art Show! We were (nearly) front row and center to share our Award Winning Salsa with the fine people of Michigan, sharing sights, sun, and some very great interactions with the fine people of Michigan! It was a blast and we always enjoy visiting the fine people of Michigan!
Road NotesThe Y-Bridge Tasting
Three flavors, two hours, one very confused tourist
We set up a tasting table at the foot of Zanesville's famous Y-Bridge. Here's what 184 strangers taught us about heat tolerance, regional palates, and the strange social ritual of trying a stranger's salsa.
Salsa LoreHow Clovis, New Mexico Made Our Cilantro Green Olive
A grandmother's pantry, a bowl on the porch, and the flavor that travelled 1,400 miles east
Cilantro Green Olive isn't a marketing flavor. It's a recipe my grandmother kept in her head, made in a green ceramic bowl on a porch in Clovis, New Mexico. This is how it got into a jar.
From the KitchenSheet-Pan Chicken With Raspberry Chipotle, in 35 Minutes
A weeknight dinner that earns the jar in the fridge
The Raspberry BBQ Chipotle is not a chip-and-dip salsa. It is a glaze. Here is the one weeknight recipe that turned a flavor experiment into our most-asked-for jar.
Behind the JarMeet Mike, the Salsa Guy
The man behind the jars, in his own words
If you've called the office, you've talked to Mike. If you've been to a tasting, you've met Mike. Here is the long version of who he is, why he kept the company small on purpose, and what he means when he says "we don't ship sadness."
Salsa LoreWhy Our Heat Scale Only Goes to Five
On the lie of the 1-to-10 chili and the tyranny of "extra hot"
Most salsa lines run a 1-to-10 heat scale. Ours stops at 5. Not because we can't make hotter — we make plenty hot. Because the upper half of those scales is dishonest, and an honest 5 is more useful than a marketing 9.
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