Note: Video support available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZMz2_8963Q
A note before I start the review proper, which I don't usually do. As you may have surmised from either my numerous Yelp reviews or this blog, I'm based in Salt Lake City. As such, I find it opportune to have a go-to grocer. That one for me (and one of the largest in the area) is Smith's, which is part of the Kroger family. The "Private Selection" label refers to their higher end house/store brand. They have recently launched a line called "Culinary Hot Sauce" within it.
I have chosen to start with the best of the lot for this introduction, the Mango Scotch Bonnet. As regular readers may have noted, my favorite pepper generally is the Cayenne. Say that someone asked for my second-favorite. Odds are, it would probably be the Scotch Bonnet, which is kind of odd, I suppose, considering my general disdain for its close relative, the Habanero. There, however, as the saying goes, it is, though. I have yet to have a bad hot sauce with Scotch Bonnet, providing they don't also include my two nemesises (nemesi?), that being extract and onions. I also find the Scotch Bonnet to be one of the tastier peppers in general.
I will say I have not had a solid Mango-hot sauce...until now, that is. Despite misgivings, considering this is a sauce from a large grocer containing what I consider a very volatile flavoring element, it succeeded wildly. It captures, somehow, the fruit well, with both that sort of tangy tartness frequently a hallmark of the fruit, with the distinct sweetness it is known for. It also rounds it out nicely with that flavor profile and (admittedly minor) heat that the Scotch Bonnet provides. This is a well-crafted and well-blended sauce and my main (and perhaps only) complaint is the idiot cap that comes with it, something that plagues the entire line. A dropper cap with a glass bottle with a thick sauce is a shit combination and they should not have made that choice, as one has to remove the cap entirely for usage to make any sense at all.
Bottom line: This is the best of the lot for the Culinary Hot Sauce line from Private Selection. Only minor heat and is best used as a dipping sauce, but the flavor profile is excellent. Worth a look.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 3
Flavor: 8
Flexibility: 6
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 8
Overall: 6
This may be a pretty old post but if you haven't had many mango hot sauces you've liked. Try pepper Joe's mango scotch bonnet sauce. My absolute favorite. Scotch bonnets are my favorite pepper and I love mango too so I really enjoy finding good mango scotch bonnet sauces.
ReplyDeleteNeed to track down that Trader Joe's sauce...keep forgetting...I didn't see it the last time I was at one, though, when I was buying their ghost pepper chips for the video I did on the FOH series...
DeleteThis is a strange pairing but this sauce is fantastic with Cauliflower. A little butter, a sprinkle of parm and several shakes of this sauce make a fantastic,psuedo healthy snack.
ReplyDeleteThis is an intriguing idea...hmmm.
ReplyDeleteThis is my go-to sauce. I eat this on everything. The flavor and spice level are light enough to compliment almost anything. I can eat this on tacos, chili, popcorn, even add a dash or two to a PB&J. Highly recommended!!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the Scoville heat rating of this sauce?
ReplyDeleteThe description says the heat level is 3 but from what I know, Scotch Bonnet peppers are upwards of a 100,000 Scoville rating.
To my knowledge, the actual SHU has never been published, but 100K is really pushing it for this sauce, which is relatively tame. Scotch Bonnets can get upward of 350K, but the varying picante levels of any pepper, including the superhots, do not necessarily correlate to a similarity in the SHU of the finished product.
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