I did not grow up in or near a large city, nor did I do much traveling as a child. The cuisine at home was primarily meat and potatoes in all their variations, and seasonings were simple and grouped: Italian seasoning; pumpkin pie spice; salt and pepper. It was all really good food, but not too global. To be honest, it seemed pretty exotic to have chili at a friend’s house.

My first encounter with salsa was not until I was a teenager. My sister started work at a Mexican restaurant in the next town over, and brought home a container of a chip dip quite unlike the sour cream and onion dip that generally shouted “Party!” at our house. This dip — and the triangular corn chips that accompanied it — woke up my taste buds like a torch in a dungeon.

Even so, for a long time, I thought of salsa solely as a combination based on tomatoes, spiced up with peppers, onion, and garlic. Then one day, with no tomatoes on hand, I decided to go with another fruit: mango. After all, tomatoes are actually a fruit. My instincts were correct, and the fun of playing with other salsa combinations began.

Many stone fruits — like plums, peaches, and mangoes — lend themselves well to making salsa, as do many beans. Then start thinking about the kind of spice to add.

Milder fruits will want a milder pepper, like the jalapeño. More flavorful fruits can stand up to a cayenne pepper or a habenero pepper. Vinegar adds the acid component to salsa, with cider vinegar often marrying well to the other flavors. Lemon or lime juice can be added instead, or in conjunction to vinegar, particularly if your salsa is using a melon or berry as its main ingredient. How much vinegar to add is always a personal decision. Salt balances the acidity. A small amount of olive oil mellows the salsa. It is all about balance, when stirring up salsa.

Consider, as well, the chip that will lift the salsa from bowl to lips. Is it salty or plain? Robust or simple? Is it a blue corn chip, a white corn chip, a yellow corn chip — or not a corn chip at all? Vegetable sticks can also work with salsa. How will the salsa complement that chip, in color and in flavor?

Peppers, onions, chopped fresh cilantro, and garlic are a must, in my opinion, to make a salsa. But why stick with the ordinary?

Using red bell peppers in combination with black beans gives a burst of color to an otherwise dark salsa, or to complement the bright yellow of pineapple. Likewise, red onion provides not only a milder onion flavor, but also a dash of color.

Cutting all of the ingredients to the same size creates a finished product that is easy to scoop up onto that crisp chip, and pleasing to the eye.

Ground cumin, coriander, or cayenne can up the flavor quotient of a salsa, but make sure that they do not overpower the main ingredient. Start with a little, then increase. It is so much easier to add a spice than try to compensate for too much.

Feeling a little saucy? Maybe it is time to stir things up — and salsa is the perfect starting point.