Salsa didn’t start as a condiment — it started as a flex. Every region that touched tomatoes and chiles decided they could make them taste better than the next, and suddenly you had centuries of friendly culinary competition. The Aztecs kicked things off with mashed …

If you trace the history of spaghetti sauce far enough, you’ll eventually find someone’s Italian ancestor stirring a pot the size of a horse trough, muttering about family, tradition, and why nobody helps clean up. Red sauce has been around for centuries, long before grocery …