When I think hot sauce, a few places come to mind: the spice-crazy Caribbean islands; the "spice belt" of Southwestern American states filled with hardcore hotheads; the downright satanic levels of spice rockin' India. Yet in a little place called Quebec, north of the USA and just south of the brutal Canadian tundra, there is some of the best, must-eat hot sauce any hot freak must know about. For the next three days, I'll be examining three humble gourmet sauces from Peppermaster foods.
Let's look at the facts: Memorize this face:
THIS is the intimidating smile of a true pepper master! This is the hat of a flavor expert! This is a hot sauce maker who speaks at least two languages!
Peppermaster foods, the brainchild of Greg Brooks, has been cranking out goatpepper hot sauces since 2003. Besides being the executive chef of Apple Tree Landing Restaurant, Greg is a fire expert who grew up in the jungles the Bahamas and acquired a taste for searing spice and top-notch flavor. Goat peppers, habanero cultivars, are the central point of Curry Fire sauce. What a sauce it is! Full of spice and flavor...AND the reverse side of the bottle is in French (or should that be the reverse side is in English?)! Unique and delicious is a great combination.
Good Hurts: The tropical goat pepper lets loose a throat tickling, mouth busting burn. It's almost the perfect level of heat: hot enough for even jaded chili-brains, but tasty enough to completely change (most likely for the better) a meal. This sauce, though Canadian, is rife with the essence of India: curry spices mesh perfectly with the hot peppers into a thick, rich sauce. It won't kill you; it's slightly less hot than the habanero/ghost pepper organic sauce division, but it certainly will knock you around as spice builds bite after bite. The best part about it is the lingering, sharp spice that other hot sauces can't keep alive for long enough.
Flavor: It's a welcome (and needed) addition to the acidic and vinegar-y world of hot sauce. Rich, sweet-hot Indian spices, sugar, onion, ginger, thyme, guar gum (for thickness), and fresh hot peppers come together masterfully. Imagine the aromatic sweetness of creamy, fresh yellow curry, filled with savory, juicy veggies. Somehow, Brooks has crammed that flavor into a hot sauce using fresh, fair-trade ingredients. It's so unique and so simple: the perfect one-two punch.
Availability: This sauce is, according to the website, available commercially in the US and Canada. You can order it from their home page, obviously, as well. Where it's located is something I just can't answer; haven't seen it anywhere. They use the same (fun looking) label for their sauces, so make sure you read and make sure you're getting the right sauce! However, it needs to be mentioned that they will make special hot sauces for you! Design the label and name, and all they do (!) is make it for you! It's a good idea for promotional gifts and fun personalized stuff.
Good for: This amazing sauce is a must have for Indian food, rice, naan, and can add an Eastern kick to pretty much anything delicious: chili, salads...yes, I have put some on hot dogs. Think Indian chili dogs: kidney beans, onions, spicy mustard, and thick helpings of this sauce! The sky is the limit for such a unique-yet-versatile mastery of yellow curry.
Review:
Heat: ***3/4
Flavor: *****
My Review: 9.8/10
It's the holidays. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, or just want to tip your straw hat to the Peppermaster, order this sauce. I'm not gettin' paid from them...I'm just a hot freak who loves a great hot sauce. Don't delay: order it now!
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