Spicefreak

Hey folks, today I have another less than stellar sauce bottle to show you. Yet this one’s far clearer and less chaotic than the last. With its own unique charm and, hopefully, just as great a flavour, hidden within.

Because this week’s feature is Professor Pods’ Bahamian Goat Pepper sauce and I’m really looking forward to tasting their rare, home-grown chilli.

This one doesn’t have much to say with its label, beyond the company name and that of the pepper, and its choice of font is a weird one. A bold, black, Jokerman style that I would recognise anywhere, since it was the favourite of me and many other children, back when I was in primary school. But it’s not one that I ever expected to see again.

Jokerman is simply too highly exaggerated and embellished for most adults to appreciate, so I’m not sure what appeal it even holds for those who don’t share in my nineties kid nostalgia. And why Professor Pods are using it is beyond me.

Yet, weird as it may seem, it doesn’t hurt the label’s legibility, like Mack Chilli’s scottish flag patterning did. And the company’s black text stands out clearly against their white and turquoise background. A background which, in turn, works wonders to contrast the vibrant, yet pale orange of the sauce, itself.

So, as minimalist and unprofessional as it may seem, there are definitely some good design choices at play in the Professor’s packaging.

Outside of the bottle, though, its contents don’t catch the light in quite the same way and their thin, lightly oil-speckled, peachy tones become far more apparent.

Their aroma is smooth and fresh, yet also rather tangy and the vinegar in this sauce only becomes more apparent when it comes time for my tasting. Which is odd because the companies other sauces (which I sadly am not able to properly review) are far less tart and use the exact same set of ingredients:

water, chilli (minimum of 28%), vinegar (from malted barley), onion, salt, garlic, rapeseed oil. Preservatives: ascorbic acid (E300), citric acid (E330).

With ascorbic acid being vitamin C, while the citric is another compound commonly found in citrus fruits and the only actual difference between Professor Pods’ sauces is the pepper strain that they use. Allowing each individual chilli’s flavour to really shine through.

Why this particular one, the bahamian goat, highlights their distilled malt vinegar so much I don’t know. But it also has a distinctive, soft and slightly carroty, orange pepper taste to it. With a fragrant, funky and slightly sweet finish that definitely doesn’t resemble its namesake animal but sure would work well with it, all the same. Be it in meat form or with its cheese.

And, for that matter, I can see it being an excellent pairing for fish, winter vegetables, potato salad and/or coleslaw, as well. None of which would be hurt by the sauce’s subtler undertones of garlic and onion or its prickly, habanero-like,

mouth heat. With a hint of something sharper in the throat.

So yes, today’s sauce is a simple as it label design but it’s well crafted, too, and really shows off the complex heat and flavour of its rare chilli. It’s earnt its great taste award and its place at my table, making an easy recommendation. Especially if you’re as interested in unusual strains as I am.

But I wouldn’t just recommend their Bahamian Goat Pepper sauce. I’d recommend Professor Pods as a whole. Their entire range is based around highlighting exciting peppers like this and, while the other two that I’ve tasted sold out before I could give them a proper review, they too have gone a long way to demonstrate the level of quality coming from this company.

Go check them out!