Turmeric

Dalston Double

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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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Indian Fruit & Fire

Spicefreak2 Comments

Sup folks, it’s tuesday again and, I’ve held off on this pair for a little too long already. So, today, we’re going to see a couple more mango sauces, from Alkemio Kitchen and Hop’t:

Two rather unique takes on this fruit and chilli combo from two very experimental companies. One featuring green jalapeños, red scotch bonnets and citrussy hops, while the other’s more focussed on indian spices, including turmeric, cumin and nigella seed.

Neither sounds quite like what I’m used to but that’s part of the fun of running a blog like this. I get to try a tonne of unique flavours and, hopefully, find something which I truly love.

Now let’s see if I’m going to do so today.

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Haskhell’s Curry

Spicefreak3 Comments

Hey folks, how’s it going?

I’ve just got the one product for you, this time, but it’s the long awaited third and final Haskhell’s sauce and I’ve saved their best for last. Or at least their most popular:

This is their pineapple curry and, aside from having a two word name, its label looks identical to Haskhell’s others. Yet that warm, golden, yellowy-brown, around its edges, sets it apart from the rest of the range. As well as almost anything else that I’ve ever had.

It’s a unique, beautiful and enticing shade, when seen through the sides of the bottle. But how is it when it’s not behind glass?

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Alkemio Yellow

Spicefreak6 Comments

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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Price’s Pair

Spicefreak2 Comments

Sad new year everyone. I’d say “happy” but it’s not.

Not for me and my blog.

The year that’s just gone has taken away both of my usual new year’s traditions – The night of partying and the green sauce for my first january review. So, while my special jalapeño product is still stuck in the twenty-twenty mail backlog, I’m afraid that I’m going to have to show you something else. A pair of red and yellow items from Prices Spices:

Their Reclus Red chilli jam and their El Salivate Ador sauce. Both of which will hopefully have the great taste to live up to their fake stickers’ claims and kick off this year, if not “right”, at least well.

After all, Prices Spices have managed to wow me many times before, including with their use of pineapple, so I definitely have reason to expect great things from the fruit in today’s sauce.

But it’s actually the jam that I’m really excited for. Because, despite its simple, red and black labelling, its chilli of choice is quite unique.

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I Can’t Believe it’s Not (Mostly) Mustard!

Spicefreak3 Comments

Hello again, everyone, this week we’re trying something borderline luminous:

DalstonBajan

But that’s not colouring. No, Dalston Chillies are quite proud of their all natural approach.

What you’re actually seeing is the reason why I bought this sauce: It may claim to be bajan but, unlike other island sauces, this one isn’t mustard-based. It contains mustard, sure, but its main spice is fresh turmeric and that, dear readers, is unique.

For good reason, mind you, as the stuff stains like little else, during cooking.

In flavour terms, though, turmeric is golden, rooty, somewhat mellow and at the height of its popularity as a drink ingredient, recently. I have high hopes for today’s sauce.

Here’s the full list of what goes into it:

Vinegar, Onion, Fresh Turmeric, Scotch Bonnet Chillies, Mustard Powder, Unrefined Sugar, Garlic, Salt.

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