Butterfly Bakery Maple Sparkle Sriracha Hot Sauce Review

Butterfly Bakery Maple Sparkle Sriracha

One of the nicer things is finding out that a company you deeply admire because of their immense culinary skill is also comprised of really good people doing good things. It just adds a little extra wonderful overtone to supporting them. While I greatly admired Butterfly Bakery before because they make what I feel are pretty consistently delicious sauces, I was not aware of the whole Genersaucity mission they have to give back...until I saw this sauce, a sauce which is to support the Pride Center of Vermont. In these current times we live in, I feel it more important than ever to take a stand and plant your flag in the name of diversity and inclusion, which has been a hallmark of my time and of this blog and of the FOH video series and the very channel itself and I commend Butterfly Bakery for their further monetary support to help foster a sense of belonging.

I’ve said it numerous times, that I’m very very tired of the flavor of sriracha sauce generally, because I had so very much of it in my younger years, but when I saw this sauce and saw what it supported, I instantly wanted in. Happily, what is here does not contain many of the regular sriracha characteristics of which I’m so tired. Instead, what we have here is a sauce that is very forward on the red Jalapenos, all of which is buffered by the grace notes of the garlic scapes and the maple syrup. The label suggests this sauce is intended to go on a wide spectrum of foods and I think, indeed, that the flexibility of this is pretty pronounced, far more than a regular sriracha would be. It is also far more delicious than any of the more perhaps authentic srirachas.

This is a very accessible sauce and it starts by being utterly delicious. I’ve long said that when someone is in the front part of their potential entry into being a chilehead, it helps if the sauces are tasty, as then they will want to use it more. This fulfills this mission quite handily. It reminded me very slightly of the richness of a ketchup, though it is not so sweet as one of those, but even moreso as a very nice cocktail sauce, smoother than those usually are and far tastier as well. I adore this sauce on seafood, but I think it would be equally at home on Asian foods, such as a nice Vietnamese spring roll or banh mi or on a burger, pizza, as well as generally anything fried. It’s one of the facets of great-tasting sauce, which naturally adds to the number of things it will go well with...presuming the food base itself tastes great, of course. Because it is only red Jalapenos, heat, which is typical for sauces of this type, is quite low.

Bottom line: Not very representative of the classic sriracha flavor, but to my mind better, and could serve as a fantastic entry point not only to that, but to hot sauces generally. It is ultimately a fantastic sauce for a wonderful gesture. 

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 9
            Flexibility: 8
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10

Overall: 7