Dalston Double

Hello again, everyone. Today, we’re looking at a sauce that’s been gaining a lot of traction, lately, but that I still hadn’t heard hide nor hair about until it arrived on my doorstep. A gift from my aunt, in london, to whom this week’s product is quite local.

This is Common Sanity’s Dalston Sunshine – The name of the sauce telling you exactly what borough its company are based in and their own hinting at an interest in mental health. With a portion of the company’s profits going to charity for that very reason.

Yet the common “Common Sanity” name, as a whole, is apparently a play on commensality, the act of communal eating. Not anything to do with the word “Common”. Which is just as well because, as much as it may look like a common caribbean mustard sauce, their Dalston Sunshine’s main ingredient is actually the fatalii chilli. An african relative of the habanero which, despite growing popularity in recent years, is still far from “common”.

And it’s not today’s only unexpected fusion flavour, either, since my little care package also contained a second item from the company:

Not a sauce, this time, but a chinese or filipino-style crispy oil. Filled with mexican chillies, seeds and nuts for a beautifully rich sounding, yet equally unorthodox blend that they call Fuego Greeze.

I’m very eager to try them both out.

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Pure Desire

Hey folks, guess what? This week we have another last minute addition to my review line-up but, unlike the previous one, it’s not because of some seasonal tradition. It’s because, just last thursday, I received something special and unexpected from one of my favourite producers.

Along with my latest order from The Chilli Alchemist – The intended contents of which you’ll be seeing quite soon – was a product so new that it isn’t even on their website yet:

The company’s “Venus” mayo, made with the legendary carolina reaper and set to grace the Alchemist’s web store in the next few weeks.

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Chilli Project Padrons

Hey folks, I believe I promised to show you all the first of my sponsored recipes this weekend. So, to get things started, I’m going to take a look at what can be done with The Chilli Project‘s 💰Fatalii Chilli Salt💰.

A delightfully citrus-tinged, mellow and peppery, yellow chilli product which really brings out the freshness of my fried padrons.

And sure, I’ve talked about this appetiser in the past but never quite like this. Not with today’s blend of african chilli salt and earthy, indian spices, pushing the peppers’ own nuttiness to the next level, while also bringing forth subtle fruity hints which I never knew were there before.

If you like padrons, you’ll love this brand new take on them and, while they might not be in season right now, the middle of january is when I most often see them in stores. So there’s no easier time to give this dish a go!

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Alkemio Kickstarter

Hey folks, happy thursday!

This is not a post that I was planning to write but, today, I have some fantastic news to share: I’ve got my first affiliate link. And it’s not from the company that I was expecting.

The one that I’ll be featuring is Alkemio Kitchen, who you’ve seen a couple of reviews for, in recent weeks, and are just now making their way onto Kickstarter. So, if you’ve liked what you’ve seen, so far, please do use 💰this link💰 or the one in my sidebar to go check them out and support both me and the company.

Or read on, to find out more about them and what this means for my reviews.

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Alkemio Yellow

Yo, what’s up, peeps? We’ve been on the rich and dark for a few weeks now and I think it’s time for something bright and fresh, to shake things up.

So, today, we have a couple of vibrant, yellow sauces from Alkemio Kitchen, down in surrey. A highly experimental dinner club restaurant who are pretty new to the hot sauce scene but sure do seem to have some crazy flavours. Like the Jalapeno, Lime, Mustard, Turmeric and Pineapple, Shiso Leaf, Calamansi, Sugar that you see here.

And, while their names are a mouthful, they’re also pretty informative. If you know what all of those ingredients actually are.

For those of you who don’t, however, I’m more than happy to help. Since I am, after all, very excited to get into these two before the launch of their their crowdfunding campaign, later this month.

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Wild Finds

Welcome back, everyone, to yet another review of a generous company’s free samples.

This week, they’re from Foraged Fire, who, unlike my last two features, are entirely new to me. A company that I’d barely heard of, before their owner got in touch, but one that I’m super excited to show you.

Every single one of their products contains at least one major talking point. And I have three of them!

Each of these items is easily special enough to warrant its own post and, at any other time of year, I’d definitely split them up. But we’ve just entered into december and it’s mere days until my christmas recap. So I’m taking this opportunity to talk about all three because, if they’re as special as they sound, they’ll all deserve my holiday recommendation.

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My Fourth Season

Hot Ones

Happy thursday, everybody. As I mentioned in tuesday’s review, it’s now september and that means that we’re overdue for round four of my Hot Ones-style line-up. That set of ten sauces, that I update annually, designed to give you the best UK-centric replica of the show’s experience that I can.

I am, after all, a UK chilli reviewer. Which puts me in the perfect position to craft such a collection.

This year, however, I’ve been somewhat disappointed by the products showcased on First We Feast. They haven’t interested me nearly as much as those in past seasons.

So, instead of looking at what the real show does and trying to mimic it, I’m going to try and whip up the wildest collection of wing-friendly, ascending heat sauces that I can, this time.

But, if you are after a more traditional line-up, there’s always the Chilli Shop and Mojo’s Bar’s monthly 📽️Hot Ones challenge night📽️, here in leeds.

Hopefully, between that and today’s post, I’ve got all of the bases covered.

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Surinamese Piccalilli

Hey folks, I don’t know about you but, for me, time seems to be moving abnormally fast in our new, pandemic-stricken world. I mean, it’s already september, for crying out loud!

So, with that being the case, there’s a little something that I have to show you today. A somewhat different product from a previously featured producer that I’ve been keeping in reserve but is now fast approaching its best before date:

FarradaySuriname

This is the Surinamese from Farraday’s Tasty – A product which they claim, on their website, is a traditional surinamese-style pickle, yet describe, on the jar, as a spiced up piccalilli. Seemingly quite the contradiction, given that piccalilli is another example of british bangladeshi cuisine.

In actuality, though, it would appear that piccalilli found its way over there, somehow, and has become a major ingredient in the country’s traditional cooking. Albeit adulterated slightly, in order to fit the locals’ tastes.

Let’s see what’s changed, shall we?

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Padronaroni and Cheese

Hey folks, it’s fresh chilli season again and that means that it’s time for padrons. Mountains of them, week after week, fried up to share with my family.

But what happens when one of my suppliers sends the peppers fully grown, with far more heat than the usual, early-harvested sort? What do I do when they’re too spicy for everyone else?

I can, after all, only eat them so quickly by myself. And they don’t stay fresh forever.

So, today, we’re going to look at a recipe that I concocted to make use of the last, extra hot, green padrons, before dehydrating the red for powder. A recipe inspired by the Reddit user PintSizedHerzl, who made something similar, yet with far less focus on the spices, and has had me eager to try out my own take for quite a while now.

A recipe for padron-topped macaroni cheese, which I finally have a good excuse to use my peppers on. Here goes:

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Psycho Killer – Mustard Edition

Hey folks, here’s one that I promised pretty recently: The Psycho Juice Mustard Ghost Pepper, from Doctor Burnorium.

PsychoMustard

Me and Vitani talked about our expectations for this sauce, in an unboxing of 📽️ his others 📽️, last month. And, while they weren’t honestly all that high, I bought this sauce to review and I intend to give it a fair shot.

After all, just because his other ghost sauces have been harsh and abrasive doesn’t necessarily mean that this one will be. Or that that sharp heat and acidity won’t go with its other named ingredient.

I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything that Doctor Burnorium has made with other peppers and even liked the ghosts, in his exquisite chocolate, so it’s not exactly a write off just yet.

I’ll keep an open mind as I give this sauce a go.

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