Mojo (, from Portuguese ''molho'' , meaning "sauce") is the name, or abbreviated name, of several types of

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi- solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavour, texture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

s, varying in spiciness, consisting primarily of

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

, local pepper varieties (called ''pimienta'' in Spain),

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

(called ''pimentón'' in Spain), cumin or

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

, and other spices. Mojo originated in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, where the main varieties are green mojo (''mojo verde''), red mojo (''mojo rojo''), and spicy red mojo (''mojo picón''). Other countries have recipes similar to mojo, where acidic ingredients such as

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

, orange, or lime juice may be used.

Canarian mojo

Green mojo, or mojo containing green spices, is commonly used for fish, especially the proper ''green mojo'' (made with green pepper) but also coriander mojo (''mojo de cilantro'') and parsley mojo (''mojo de perejil''). As coriander mojo and parsley mojo contain some water, they need to be kept in the refrigerator and have to be consumed within two days after preparation. Red mojo, made of small red peppers from

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and historically San Miguel de La Palma, is the most northwesterly island of the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. La Pa ...

(called ''pimienta picona'' or ''pimienta palmera'') and

, is usually eaten with meat. Red and green mojo can be used interchangeably to season some dishes, prominently '' papas arrugadas con salsa mojo'', or potatoes with ''mojo''. Mojo is also commonly served with fresh bread rolls at the beginning of a meal.

International variations

Similar sauces, also known as ''mojo'', are also popular in Cuba and throughout the islands of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, Hispanic or non-Hispanic, due to heavy Canarian emigration to the Caribbean, as well as

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and have even influenced some barbecue sauces in the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...

region of the United States, particularly the states of Florida, Texas, and Louisiana. The flavor can be made of almost everything, from tomato or pepper to avocado. In Cuban cooking, ''mojo'' applies to any sauce made with garlic, olive oil, or pork lard, and a citrus juice, traditionally

bitter orange The bitter orange, sour orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the hybrid citrus tree species ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'', and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of th ...

juice. It is commonly used to marinate roast pork or as a dip for plantain chips and fried cassava (yuca frita). The sauce is occasionally called by its diminutive, 'mojito,' but should not be confused with the cocktail of the same name. To create the marinade for pork, the ingredients are bitter orange juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, and salt. In

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, ''mojo'' is a herb sauce of finely chopped cilantro or

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum''), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. It has been introduced and naturalisation (biology), naturalized in Eur ...

with salt, plenty of crushed garlic, and olive oil.

Black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

, butter, grated

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

, vinegar, and any citrus fruit can also be added. It is commonly used on the island as a marinade for chicken roast and a dip for '' tostones'', fried cassava, and sometimes mashed with '' mofongo''. Puerto Rican Chef Jose Enrique (chef) mojo mixed with papaya and avocado topped on fish has become a part of Puerto Rican gastronomy. There is also a version popular in the town of Salinas, called '' mojito isleño'', which is served with

seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

, particularly fish. In the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, it is called wasakaka and is used as a sauce for roasted chicken and boiled cassava. Wasakaka is made of boiling plenty of water with parsley, garlic, olive oil, and sour orange or lime juice.

References

Recipes for mojo sauce
{{Culture of Canary Islands Canary Islands cuisine Caribbean cuisine Chili sauce and paste Cuban cuisine Puerto Rican cuisine Sauces

Canarian mojo

International variations

See also

References