Pepper Palace Uff-Da Scandinavian Gold Hot Sauce
Note: This will be a lengthy blog entry, as there are a number of things attendant to this sauce I feel need some discussion. If you are not interested in those things and want to skip right to the actual review of the sauce, skip the next two paragraphs.
Note: The phrase "uff da," Norwegian in origin (with possibly some Danish usage as well, from what I understand, though I have yet to hear any Danish person I know actually use it), is something you may hear around either Norwegians or persons of Norwegian descent, particularly if you are in the upper Midwest, where in various locales, it is ubiquitous. Pronunciation phonetically in normal usage would be something like "ooffda," with the double o sound not being drawn out but fast like the "ew" part of the word few. If it is an especially grievous event, the oo may be drawn out longer, but that is somewhat unusual and emphasis tends to be on the "da" part. I have heard certain Norse-descended persons Americanize the phrase slightly with a "wh" sound in front, which comes across as "whooffda." It carries a meaning very similar to the Yiddish expression "oy vey," which is of grief or dismay. "Oy vey" itself means more or less "oh, woe."
Note: This is second Pepper Palace sauce I've gotten with some very questionable naming strategies. The earlier one, the Asian-oriented, Wok Dis Wei, I addressed somewhat in the review, but here, this reference to ethnicity refers rather directly to my own ancestry. So, this name..."uff da," as mentioned above, is not a phrase even remotely denoting something positive. So, using that doesn't really make sense. The label also has a Viking figure on the front, which is fine, but then it goes on to include "Scandinavian Gold," which really makes no sense with that already dubious name, given that Scandinavia tends to include Iceland, Finland, and Sweden, zero of which use the phrase "uff da." I will also observe that pepper plants are tropical and there is no region of Scandinavia which would fit that description. Habaneros and Cayennes would only thrive there in a well-protected area, same with the black pepper plants. I really find this sort of appropriation frustrating and truly wish they would stop. Here, it is quite literally a historical call to nothing. Culturally, Norwegians do tend to make heavy use of black pepper (you could even say that was my own gateway into being a chilehead), but this is not meant to be a black pepper sauce.
I have understood this was the first Pepper Palace sauce and from which they built the empire they now enjoy across various states. As far as the sauces I got last year go (this is #5 of 6), it is far and away the best of the lot, but that is not really saying much. It is a fairly pedestrian sauce overall. I do rather enjoy the prominence of black pepper. Habanero and Cayenne I think can go together, but this sauce seeks to try to balance them instead of leaning heavily to one or the other, which is the wrong way to go. Black pepper is definitely must more to the fore than either of those, though.
I'm not sure which vinegar this uses, I'm guessing apple cider, as there is somewhat of an off-taste to this, which oddly only becomes apparent when the sauce is chilled. Warm, it is very pepper forward and much more enjoyable. It is something thin, but smooth. It's right on the border of being appropriate for a restrictor cap, but this does not come with one, so careful with the pour. It is not particularly hot, but definitely it overpowering foods is not an especially enjoyable thing to experience.
I guess the big question here is if the sauce is worth getting. I will probably run out the bottle, but the sticker on it reads nearly $13 (not what I paid for it), and you can get much better sauces for that same money or less. The bigger problem is that it doesn't fit in anywhere especially. I got it hoping to use it as a Louisiana-style, but it doesn't hit enough of the right notes there. It's probably worth trying, if you haven't had one of their sauces and are curious and can also get a discount, but not one to go out of your way to get.
Bottom line: Very okay-ish sauce overally, which makes it easily the best of the 5 I've tried so far from this company.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 1
Flavor: 5
Flexibility: 5
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 4
Overall: 4
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