As you’re planning your 2013 Super Bowl snacking this year, I’d like to suggest a company that did some really extraordinary things in 2012.
Last year, Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods, based in Fredericksburg, Texas, partnered with LIFE Community Classroom, a privately funded non-profit organization that serves students with intellectual disabilities and/or special needs.
Cooking is one of many skills that the school teaches to its students, helping them to become self-sufficient members of society. Some students of LIFE Community Classroom with a passion for cooking ended up creating a delicious salsa which they called “Life Community Classroom Traditional Salsa”. With teachers’ support, these students with culinary skills also became entrepreneurs. They sold their salsa to raise funds and awareness for the school. Their salsa was a huge success: each batch they created sold out quickly.
Founder and executive director of LIFE Community Classroom, Angel Wiggins, contacted COO Jenny Wieser and President and CEO Case Fischer to see if they would be willing to collaborate on a product. Fischer and Wieser came through in a big way: they worked with the students to help develop their product into an actual product for sale throughout Texas Hill Country.
You can purchase LIFE Community Classroom Traditional Salsa at the following brick-and-mortar locations:
. Fischer & Wieser on Main
. Fischer & Wieser Das Peach Haus
. The Shops on Llano
. Woerner Feed Store
. Smitten
. Sugar and Smoke
I had a chance to taste some of the salsa, and it is really amazing. It’s incredibly fresh, with chunky bits of tomatoes and a deep, rich flavor. It’s thicker than the mass-produced goo you find in most supermarket aisles. It also has an impressive kick that you’ll be hard pressed to find in conventional salsas that includes three kinds of peppers. The list of ingredients is simple: vine-ripened fresh tomatoes, extra heavy tomato puree, cilantro, onion, japaleno peppers, salt, garlic, serrano peppers, black pepper.
Even the jar itself was designed with input from the students. The Fischer & Wieser design team created several options for the students to vote on; they selected the ultimate logo above- an image of a cactus heart with a Texas flower adorning the top right corner.
If you’re not lucky enough to be in Texas Hill Country, you can still get a taste of Fischer and Wieser salsa at your local specialty grocery store. Check out the store locator on their site to find where you can find out where to buy one of nine other salsa flavors they sell nationwide.
I had the pleasure of tasting their Hatch Chile and Pineapple Salsa.
Check out how fresh and delicious it looks right out of the jar.
Yes, it tastes as good as it looks. It had a very fresh scent of sweet, fresh tomatoes. You can taste the sweetness of the pineapple when you first bite it, followed up by the bite of the chili. The sweetness of this flavor makes it a great choice for kids, and it was excellent with tortilla chips; I ended up eating a lot more than I probably should have!
The jar is helpful as well, giving tops on how to rescue stale chips, as well as giving tips on other uses for the salsa, such as using it for grilling chicken, pork, or fish, or as a topping for burgers and hot dogs.
Overall, I was very impressed with the freshness of both salsas. To get yours, visit Fischer and Wieser’s Web site at the very easy-to-remember URL www.jelly.com.
