1928 Bruce Foods starts making Original Louisiana Hot Sauce. David Pace begins to sell picante sauce in Texas. La Preferida begins manufacting a line of salsas. Austin beats San Antonio in the first Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Contest. Several contest winners go on to bottle their winning sauces, setting off a hot sauce explosion in Austin.
Salsa replaces ketchup as America's number one condiment in dollar sales.
1993 Kitty Crider of the Austin American-Statesman counts 48 commercial salsas being made in Austin. With over 350 hot sauces entered, The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Contest claims the title of the largest hot sauce contest in the world. Austin Chronicle Corp. All rights reserved.