Why Is Pico de Gallo Called That? Translation and Theories

The name puts some people off: a salsa called rooster’s beak sounds like it might contain one. It doesn’t. Pico de gallo is chopped raw tomato, onion, chilli, coriander and lime, and the name is one of those food mysteries nobody has fully solved.

This is one of our Mexican food questions. For the bigger picture, see our guide to the top 10 Mexican foods.

What does pico de gallo mean in English?

Rooster’s beak. Merriam-Webster breaks it down as pico, beak, and gallo, rooster, borrowed into English from Mexican Spanish. It dates the first known English use to 1958.

Spanish	English	Notes
Pico	Beak, bill	Also a peak, or a small amount
De	Of
Gallo	Rooster	From the Latin gallus
Pico de gallo	Rooster’s beak	Also written as cock’s bill in older English

The Diccionario del español de México, the main dictionary of Mexican Spanish, defines it simply as a sauce of chopped raw tomato, onion and green chilli.

Why is it called rooster’s beak?

Nobody knows for sure, and food writers who have looked into it say so. These are the theories you will come across, roughly in order of how often they are repeated:

1. The pinch. Sharon Tyler Herbst’s Food Lover’s Companion says the salsa was originally eaten by picking pieces up between thumb and forefinger. The hand makes the shape of a beak, and the motion looks like a rooster pecking. Tasting Table calls this the most popular explanation.
2. Chicken feed. The small, evenly chopped pieces look like the feed scattered for chickens.
3. The chilli. The serrano chilli used in it is said to look like a rooster’s beak. This one is the most weakly sourced of the three.
4. The bite. The heat of the chilli is like a peck on the tongue. This turns up mostly in blogs.

None of these has documents behind it, so treat them all as stories rather than history.

Is pico de gallo always a tomato salsa?

Not everywhere. In Jalisco, around Guadalajara, the name also covers a snack of fruit and vegetables, such as jícama, cucumber, orange, mango and pineapple, dressed with lime juice, salt and chilli. Larousse’s encyclopaedia of Mexican gastronomy lists both versions, and the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua’s dictionary of Mexican words describes it as both a salad of orange and jícama with chilli and a salsa.

So if you order pico de gallo in Guadalajara, you may get a cup of chilli-dusted fruit rather than a bowl of salsa.

What other names does pico de gallo go by?

Name	Meaning	Why
Salsa fresca	Fresh sauce	It is uncooked
Salsa cruda	Raw sauce	Same reason; Britannica lists it under this name
Salsa bandera	Flag sauce	Red tomato, white onion and green chilli match the Mexican flag
Salsa mexicana	Mexican sauce	Common name in much of Mexico, also after the flag colours

Which one you hear mostly depends on where you are. In the US and Australia, pico de gallo and salsa fresca are the names on menus.

What is the difference between pico de gallo, salsa and chimichurri?

All three are fresh-tasting condiments, which is why they get mixed up. They are quite different on the plate.

	Pico de gallo	Salsa	Chimichurri
From	Mexico	Mexico and Latin America (the word just means sauce)	Argentina and Uruguay
Main ingredients	Tomato, onion, chilli, coriander, lime, salt	Usually tomato or tomatillo with chilli; many styles	Parsley, garlic, oregano, oil and vinegar
Cooked?	Never	Sometimes	No
Texture	Chunky, little liquid	Smooth to chunky, pourable	Loose and oily, finely chopped herbs
Main use	Tacos, nachos, eggs, grilled fish	Dipping, tacos, enchiladas	Grilled steak and other meat

Food Republic puts the pico versus salsa difference simply: pico is always fresh and chunky, while salsas can be cooked, blended and thinner.

What goes into pico de gallo?

Serious Eats’ classic version uses 680 g (1.5 lb) of ripe tomatoes, half a white onion, one or two serrano or jalapeño chillies, half a cup of coriander leaves, lime juice and salt. Everything is diced small and nothing is cooked.

Ingredient	Job in the salsa
Tomato	Body and juice
White onion	Crunch and sharpness
Serrano or jalapeño chilli	Heat
Coriander (cilantro)	Fresh, herby flavour
Lime juice	Acidity
Salt	Draws out the tomato juice and seasons

For the onion, see which onion works best in pico de gallo. If you are swapping between fresh, pickled or chopped jalapeños, our jalapeño conversions show how much chopped chilli equals one pepper.

Did the Aztecs eat pico de gallo?

Not by that name, as far as anyone can show. The Spanish friar Bernardino de Sahagún, who documented Aztec life in the 1500s, recorded market sellers offering sauces made with chilli, tomatoes and squash seeds. That shows chilli and tomato sauces long predate the Spanish, but no source ties the dish we call pico de gallo, or its name, to the Aztecs. The name itself turns up in print centuries later.

How long does pico de gallo keep?

Because it is raw and has no added vinegar, it does not last long. NDSU Extension says a fresh salsa without bottled vinegar or lemon juice should be eaten straight away or kept in the fridge for no more than a week. In practice it goes watery after a day or two, so it is best made close to serving. Our guide to how long pico de gallo lasts covers it in detail.

FAQs

How do you pronounce pico de gallo?

PEE-koh deh GAH-yoh. In Spanish the double L in gallo sounds like a Y, so it is not “gal-oh”.

Is pico de gallo the same as salsa fresca?

Yes. They are two names for the same uncooked salsa, along with salsa cruda, salsa bandera and salsa mexicana.

Is pico de gallo spicy?

It depends on the chilli and how much of it goes in. Most versions are mild to medium. See how hot pico de gallo is for how to judge and adjust it.

Can you cook pico de gallo?

You can, but once it is cooked it is really a cooked salsa rather than pico de gallo. Warming it softens the tomato and dulls the fresh flavour that defines it.

What do you eat pico de gallo with?

Tacos, nachos, quesadillas, eggs, grilled fish and chicken, or just tortilla chips. Its acidity cuts through rich, fatty food.

Next read: what pico de gallo is made of, and the best ways to use it.