Judge a salsa contest with numbered bowls and a ranked vote
Salsa contests are tricky to taste fairly. Once someone hits the habanero bowl, every mild salsa after it tastes like nothing. Line up the bowls from mildest to hottest, number each one, and put a heat note on the card. Add the numbered salsas to a Rankd and share the link. Tasters work down the line with the same chips, then rank every salsa privately. Reveal who made each one after the winner is announced.
- Salsa 1: pico de gallo (mild)
- Salsa 2: roasted tomatillo verde
- Salsa 3: mango habanero
- Salsa 4: charred chipotle
- Salsa 5: pineapple jalapeño
- Salsa 6: ghost pepper red
Free. Add your own options (these are just examples), then send one link to your group.
Why ranking beats a regular poll here
- Numbered bowls keep tasters from ranking a friend’s salsa first.
- Ranking every salsa lets a fresh, mild pico beat a hot one that only heat lovers liked.
- People rank on their phones while the chips are still out, with no ballots to count.
How it works
- Add the question and 3 to 30 options
- Send one private link to the group
- Everyone ranks privately, in about a minute
- You reveal the winner
Tips
- Use the same plain tortilla chips for every bowl, so no salsa gets help from a fancy chip.
- Set out milk or horchata for the hot end of the line.
- Make a second Rankd for “hottest” if your crowd wants a heat award.
Questions
Should hot and mild salsas compete together?
They can, if the tasting goes from mild to hot. If your entries split cleanly, make one Rankd for mild and medium and another for hot.
Can people see how I ranked?
No. Each person’s order stays private. Everyone sees the group’s final order and where they personally landed, never anyone else’s individual ranking.
Is it free? Does everyone need the app?
Rankd is free and runs in the browser, so there is nothing to download. Friends open the link from any group chat (iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack, email) and rank in about a minute.