An Athens health-foods store has begun to spice up its shelves by selling locally made salsa.
Tim Wilson has been producing and selling his salsa for about eight years in his hometown of Parkersburg, W. Va., using a recipe he developed through trial and error.
Wilson’s Flavorgasmic Salsa has been available at the Farmacy, 28 W. Stimson Ave., for about a month. The salsa is local from its inception to its sale and corroborates the Farmacy’s philosophy: Your food is your medicine.
The decision to sell in Athens too was a “no-brainer,” Wilson said.
“You’ve got a school that’s known for partying,” he said. “What goes better with partying than salsa?”
When Kevin Tidd bought Farmacy from its previous owners in 2011, he wanted to make the business more vivacious, alive and breathe some energy into it, Tidd said.
The energy he works to channel is the local and the healthful — two elements that Tidd’s friend Wilson infuses into his salsa.
In Athens, he made the switch from making the salsa, which he does by himself, in a personal kitchen to an industrial one. The Appalachian Center for Economic Networks’ facility at 94 Columbus Rd. allows him access to industrial-level production facilities.
The industrial kitchen allows him to make a batch of salsa in about two hours, down from the six hours it used to take him.
Most of that time is attributed to chopping vegetables. He buys the produce from a variety of local vendors and regularly shops at the Athens Farmers Market.
Wilson said he started making his own salsa because he was tired of eating “paste picante,” as he has dubbed other salsas he thinks taste like tomato paste with vegetables stirred in.
“My salsa is basically chopped, fresh vegetables. That’s what sets it apart from everyone else’s,” Wilson said. Additional ingredients include balsamic vinaigrette, coarse sea salt and fresh limes.
The key ingredient may be the balsamic, Wilson said, “But I personally think it’s the energy that I put into it,” he added.
Wilson invests five or six hours a week in shopping for, producing and distributing a batch of salsa. He started making five gallons per week, and now makes between 10 and 15 gallons. Each 16 oz. container is sold for $3.99.
A champion for healthy eating, Wilson sees his salsa as a “universal product” he can use to entice others to adopt better eating habits.
“Salsa is one of those things that transcends the carnivores and the vegetarians and the vegans,” he said. “They all like salsa.”
af116210@ohiou.edu
