Aji Lemon

Scottish Syrup

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Another week has arrived, dear readers, and it’s time for another review. But, this time, it isn’t just any old tuesday. It’s shrove tuesday – Now more commonly known as pancake day – and that’s my favourite food-based holiday. So you’d better believe I’ve got something special, sweet and spicy to slather over my breakfast, lunch and dinner:

This is Mack Chilli’s Ginger Ninja and, as much as it may look like a thai sweet sauce, the label assures me otherwise. Because it is, in fact, a chilli syrup, made from the pride of Mack’s home country and mine. The bright, orange, scottish soda that is Irn Bru.

With its appropriately orangey and almost bubblegum fruit flavour, the Bru might not be my favourite fizz but it certainly is an iconic one. And one that I still very much enjoy, despite its touch of bitter quinine.

Yet a huge part of its identity comes from that very quinine and how the subtle bitterness is brought out by the drink’s bubbles. In order to provide a sharp quality which contrasts with its sweet base flavour.

Can today’s chillies do the same?

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Swooning Chimp

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How’s it going everyone? I know we just had a holiday post for the lunar new year and valentine’s day isn’t until next week but, please, allow me to get a little ahead of schedule with today’s review. Because, as is often the case, my special showcase for the fourteenth of february is a limited edition that you’re going to want to grab in advance.

And, this year, it comes from the Screaming Chimp:

A delightfully jammy-looking hot sauce by the name of “Let Me Be Your Phantasy”, which they put out late each january and which holds a certain special interest for me, since it features the rare ají fantasy chilli. One which I’ve only come across once before.

Plus it just looks so inviting!

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Golden Garlic

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Hello again, everyone. I’ve had today’s trio in my back pocket for a little while know and, as I understand it, so have two of the companies involved. Because, despite their products looking completely different, both Hot Pods and Foraged Fire have done their absolute utmost to highlight the flavours of fermented honey and garlic, in these two:

And, though our third item may have been made a little quicker, it still promises the same sweet syrup and bold root, at its core:

It’s Torchbearer’s Honey Garlic and, while it promises to be rather milder than their last garlic sauce, that reaper concoction was far from all heat. If They can bring the same creaminess and garlic kick to today’s product, without the world record chilli, my bottle’s going to be gone in no time!

So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the lot and see how all three manage to set themselves apart.

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Somerset Chilli Choc

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Hey folks, it’s february and I really appreciate all of you, for reading my reviews and making this blog feel worthwhile. Chilli is my love and my passion but it’s you, dear readers, who give my writing meaning. And so, with that in mind, I’d like to share my valentine’s day chocolates with you.

Chocolates which are, of course, very on brand for my site ;).

This year’s come to me from Somerset Chilli Garden – Not to be confused with The Somerset Chilli Co. – and were actually sent to me a little in advance of their public release. Since a friend of mine happens to live nearby and put me in touch, back when they were still just prototypes.

What I have now, however, are the finished release. Just a little bit early, in order to give you all a good look at what’s inside, before you buy.

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Pear-Shaped Serenade

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Yo, what’s up people? It’s that time again and, this week, it’s another weird one. One of Saucey Lady’s specialist fruit blends:

And sure, it may call itself her “Moonlight Serenade” but there’s nothing as basic as the sweet seranade chilli in this sauce. Just take a look at that ingredients list:

pears, peppers, aji lemon, aji fantasy, habanero, lemon, white wine vinegar, sugar

Three different hot peppers, with a focus on citrussy and fruity baccatums to complement its use of pear for the first ingredient.

It’s not as wild as what we saw last week, of course, but I’ve tried the 📽️white ají fantasy📽️ before and it had a real pear sour candy vibe. So I have high hopes for how the yellow version is going to go with the real fruit.

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Epaƶoté Verde

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So the theme for this week has been green and I’m going to carry that on today as I take you through a strange twist on a tomatillo salsa, adapted slightly from the work of Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook.

It’s a recipe that I employed because it uses a large amount of mexican epaƶoté in its fresh form – Rather than the dried stuff that I’m used to – and I had recently received a bulk amount, on import from holland. Along with some unusual peppers that you’ll be seeing soon.

As it turns out, the fresh herb is quite different from the dry and that difference stands out wonderfully in this verde but the plant does come with its fair share of warnings. Since, while it aids digestion, in small quantities, it can seriously hurt the gut, if overdosed upon.

I’m not going to go into too much detail on that in this post, given that the original recipe writers know more about the herb than I, but I will urge you to read what they have to say about their salsa before making it for yourself. As well as maybe not eating it all alone, since it’s pretty potently epaƶoté.

In fact, you might want to skip out on today’s recipe, altogether, if you have any pre-existing digestive problems. But, if not, it won’t hurt to try it and it’ll provide you with a unique look at mexican cooking.

Despite how traditional it is, this blend of fresh, charred and roasted greenery tastes like nothing else!

EpazoteDone

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Triple Chocolate

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How’s it going, fellow fiery food fans? It’s been three weeks since world chocolate day, making this post quite disappointingly late, but here it is: The promised confection!

PricesChocolates

Not one, not two but three whole bars from Prices Spices, who’s delay in shipping them out to me apparently stems from a chronic inability to keep up with demand. So many people want Michael Price’s chocolate that he just can’t keep it in stock and he seems to have to make each batch to order.

So it would seem that these are some seriously well-liked bars. But is their popularity truly warranted?

Let’s find out!

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Udon a la Spaghet

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Hello again everyone, it’s the last sunday of the month and I’m sure you all know what that means. It’s recipe time!

Now, of course, I don’t always leave my recipes until the last minute like this but, well, my access to ingredients has been somewhat restricted, lately, and I’ve had a lot to do in the last week or two. So, this time around, I’m falling back on a silly suggestion from my friends, mixed in with a family staple.

I’m making udon bolognese – A variation on the classic spaghetti dish using thicker, heartier noodles and a bit of jalapeño-based spice in its sauce.

It’s not traditional and it’s made even less so by the fact that what I know as “bolognese” is actually a twist on spaghetti and meatballs, handed down from generation to generation. Yet it’s still delicious and hey, isn’t that what really matters?

Here’s my take on an italian pasta dish, with just a little bit of a japanese twist.

UdonBolBowl

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The Marmalade Beast

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My god, you lot, it’s tuesday and I’ve only just recovered from this year’s birthday post. I’m going to need something extra mild for today’s review. So it’s pretty fortunate that I’ve got just the thing:

MildBeast

This is the Mild Beast and it’s from a company who’s sauces I’ve been liking a lot, lately. Yet it shows a very different side of them.

You see, while it might be another Hot Pods product, this particular sauce isn’t the work of Stephen Dixon. It’s made by his daughter – The supposed boss of the company – and it’s made for younger palates, like hers.

The Mild Beast is designed to be heavy on the fruit, light on the vinegar and much much milder. Forsaking the company’s usual chilli blend in favour of a single, not so superhot, pepper.

And yes, I picked it up now because I looked at the calendar and knew that a monday birthday spelt trouble. But I was already planning to try it, anyway, because I find the idea of hot sauce by kids for kids intriguing.

Especially when the label is so clearly their design.

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Khoo’s Hot Syrup

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Happy tuesday, folks. Today’s a bit of a special one.

Why? Because it’s shrove tuesday. The start of lent, now all but stripped of its religious significance and transformed into my favourite food-based holiday: Pancake Day.

A day for the appreciation of round, flat, pan-fried breads from all across the globe. Be they ultra thin and lightly crispy like a french crêpe or thick, puffy and well-risen like a japanese hot cake. Smothered in sweetness, as per american tradition, or served up savoury like the potato variety.

And hey, I may not consider the common gluten free alternative, the banana pancake, a true member of the pancake race but it is, quite clearly, pancake-inspired and utterly delicious. If you want to spend your pancake day with those, I’m definitely not going to fault you for it.

Me, though? I was brought up on blueberry ones – Good, thick, american-style pancakes, chock full of my dad’s favourite berries. And, if you don’t count peppers, quite possibly mine as well.

The sweet yet tart bursts of randomly distributed fruit added an extra level of enjoyment to my childhood breakfasts and I still love those pancakes to this day. Despite their mess.

It should, therefore, come as no surprise that I first tried today’s product – A chilli golden syrup – in that manner.

khoocakes

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