Salsa Lizano, known in English as "Lizano Sauce" (salsa means "sauce" in Spanish), is a Costa Rican

Cuisine of Costa Rica

Costa Rican cuisine is known for being flavorful, yet fairly mild, with high reliance on fresh fruit and vegetables. The main staple, known as gallo pinto, consists of rice and black beans....

 condiment

Condiment

A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...

 developed in 1920 by the Lizano Company. It is now a product of Unilever

Unilever

Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....

. It is a thin, smooth, light brown sauce (akin to such condiments as HP Sauce

HP Sauce

HP Sauce is a popular brown sauce originally produced by HP Foods in the UK, now produced by H.J. Heinz in the Netherlands.It is the best-known brand of brown sauce in the United Kingdom and Canada as well as the best selling, with 71% of the UK market....

).
It is meant to be used while cooking or at tableside to flavour one's food when serving. It is slightly sweet with a hint of spiciness lent by black pepper and cumin

Cumin

Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to India. Its seeds are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form.-Etymology:...

.

The ingredients include water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

, sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

, salt

Salt

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

, vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

s (onions, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers), spices, pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

, mustard

Mustard (condiment)

Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...

, and turmeric

Turmeric

Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...

.

Many Costa Rican dishes are prepared with Salsa Lizano, and it is ubiquitous on restaurant tables in its country of origin. It is commonly used with gallo pinto

Gallo pinto

Gallo pinto is a traditional dish of Costa Rica that was introduced by nicaraguan immigrants. During the 1980's many nicaraguans immigrated to Costa Rica influencing their food and music. Though many variations exist, the dish at its most basic is composed of pre-cooked rice and beans fried together...

 and tamale

Tamale

A tamale — or more correctly tamal — is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa , which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating...

s, and is also considered particularly complementary with eggs, rice, beans, cheese, curries, and as a marinade for meat.

Salsa Lizano is increasingly available commercially throughout North America through online retailers.