salsas and condiments Archives - Page 2 of 15

Musashi Green Sriracha and Spicy Mayo sauces

by Brian Meagher : 04/21/2014

Yes, a green sriracha sauce called Midori Sriracha and a Japanese Spicy Mayo are now available in the US.

Musashi Two Bottles

Musashi Foods introduces first green sriracha and authentic Japanese spicy mayo in US

A few bottles of Midori Sriracha and Japanese Spicy Mayo arrived at HotSauceDaily headquarters recently. What in the world? Green sriracha? What will we do with these?

Homemade Egg rolls

Egg rolls to the rescue! Marilyn cooked up a batch of her homemade egg rolls (from scratch), and along with some veggie lo mein, we had ourselves a spicy brunch with Musashi’s new sauces.

Musashi Midori Sriracha

Midori Sriracha Bottle

It’s weird to see a thick and saucy green sriracha that tastes for all the world just like sriracha! Oh, there are unique aspects of the flavor – we’ll get into that shortly.

Ingredients: green serrano peppers, garlic, rice vinegar, brown sugar, salt, xanthan gum, less than 1% preservatives, red cabbage juice, turmeric, sodium bicarbonate, glycerin

Texture & Appearance: Thick and very green – almost a perfect consistency for any application.

Midori Sriracha texture

Taste Straight Up: The vinegar hit is pretty strong here. Next up is the heat and burn from serranos – a bit sharper in profile than your usual “red” sriracha sauces.

Heat Level: – Overall, fairly tame in heat compared to the venerable “rooster sauce” of Huy Fong. I would even say a bit milder than the other new kid on the block, Texas Pete’s CHA!.

Overall Rating: – I give this 4 stars for effort. Maybe if the garlic were a bigger flavor here I’d go higher. Also, there’s the bright green color that my brain thinks “wasabi” or a bigger olfactory hit of heat and burn.

It just occurred to me that this is a perfect “starter” sauce for sriracha newbies. Wife or hubby not into the heat of Huy Fong’s Rooster sauce? Have them try Musashi’s Midori Sriracha and I bet you get them converted.

Midori Sriracha on food

We dipped some delicious egg rolls into the Midori Sriracha for our taste test. I preferred the Midori Sriracha over the Japanese Spicy Mayo, whereas Marilyn preferred the Mayo. Go figure, different tastes for different folks!

Final thoughts

As I said, this might just be the perfect sriracha sauce to get your significant other to like sriracha. Also, I can imagine this sauce as a great base for sriracha wings.

Musashi Japanese Spicy Mayo

Musashi Spicy Mayo

I did not know what to expect from this sauce. Wow! What a big, sharp hit of heat – right to the back of the throat. This creamy, thin sauce packs some punch.

Spicy Mayo from Musashi

Ingredients: mayonnaise (soybean oil, water, eggs, vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard flour, spices and EDTA (preservative)), water, red serrano peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar, sesame oil, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate (preservative), potassium sorbate (preservative).

Texture & Appearance: Very thin and runny. It looks just like a thin deli style mustard with its muted color and flecks of spices.

Taste Straight Up: This smooth mayo sauce brings with it a sharp, back of the throat hit of heat. This is not a timid sauce. It’s also not a killer sauce… most anyone should be able to handle it.

Heat Level: – Just a tad above average in heat, the thin, spicy mayo from Musashi will hit you in the throat with the serrano peppers – this time they’re red serranos. Interesting!

Overall Rating: – I can’t get past the thin consistency (nowhere near a mayo thickness) and saucy appearance.

Mayo is mayo, and if you are going to create your version of a spicy mayo, it should be thicker. In my opinion.

Musashi Japanese Spicy Mayo on food

Marilyn loved this on her egg rolls – even more than the Midori Sriracha. I was the opposite.

Final thoughts

Musashi on food

Marilyn had a half dozen suggestions for this sauce – deviled eggs, sandwiches, egg salad… pretty much anything you’d put mayo into.

Pin this image on Pinterest for later:

Pin this on Pinterest

Available on Amazon

Both sauces come in 12 ounce squeeze bottles and are available with our affiliate links on Amazon:

[vision_one_fourth]

[/vision_one_fourth]

[vision_one_fourth]
<br />
[/vision_one_fourth]

[column_break]

Or you can order directly from Musashi:

http://musashispicymayo.com/order/green-sriracha and

http://musashispicymayo.com/order/japanese-spicy-mayo

Are you up for a green sriracha sauce? Or a spicy mayo with Japanese overtones? Leave a Comment below and let us know.

Filed Under: hot sauce, reviews, salsas and condiments Tagged With: 2014, condiments, mayo, sriracha

Salinas Salsa Mild Angel Hot

by Brian Meagher : 11/18/2013

A fresh salsa created in small batches that is authentic with every mouth watering bite. A homemade taste like no other.

Salinas Salsa Mild Angel Hot Salsa

Salinas Salsa, Co. is heating up Texas and beyond with their line of super fresh salsas. They are winning awards like the 2014 Worldfest People’s Choice Champion for Salsa Challenge.

This first review of 3 salsas begins with their “Mild Angel Hot” salsa. Salinas Salsa Mile is orange in color but green in flavor with cilantro and jalapeños and serrano chiles.

Nice texture.

Ingredients: fresh variety of tomatoes and onions, cilantro, fresh jalapeños & serrano peppers, lime juice, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, fresh herbs and spices & sea salt.

Small, chunky texture is satisfying.

Texture & Appearance: 5/5 – Beautiful bright salsa with a medium grind texture. Remarkable for the consistent size of tiny chunks of tomatoes and chiles. I love the “chew” factor and crunch. Superb.

Taste Straight Up: 5/5 – Big taste of tomatoes and onions – almost like a “pico de gallo” flavor, without the big chunks. The garlic flavor is there, with the vinegar in the background with a fresh lime taste supporting the bright flavor of the chiles. The serrano peppers bring their own unique flavor without an overpowering heat. Classic.

Heat Level: 1/5 – The heat in Salinas Salsa Mild would appeal to everyone from Mom and Dad to Uncle “Chilehead” Ed. Just the right amount of heat and flavor to please everyone. Satisfying.

Nice cut-out style label.

Label/Graphics: Very classy with a “cut-out” designed label, but a bit on the dark side with the fonts. It’s hard to read from a distance, but the shape is recognizable once you become familiar with it. Original, but hard to read. On the plus side, the label doesn’t cover up much of the jar, so the contents are easily seen. Innovative.

Final Thoughts

Salsa, salsa, salsa. Red, red, red. That’s pretty typical, isn’t it? Salinas Salsa Mild is a green tasting salsa with a bright orange look. It is incredibly fresh tasting for a jarred salsa. It is truly green only in flavor and concept. Highly recommended.

We did the dip and chip standard taste test…

Made for chips and dipping.

…and heated some up on some nachos with taco meat and cheese. Delicious.

Perfect on nachos anyway you like them.

Stay tuned to our reviews of the other Salinas Salsa Co. offerings – That’s Good Hot, and Hunter’s Habanero Hot.

About Salinas Salsa Co.

Salinas Salsa, Co. is from the founder Eliseo ‘Shane’ Salinas, Jr. – created to make a natural homemade taste & spicy blend to match the flavors he grew up with. This a natural homemade taste that infuses Texas & Mexico together to give you the authentic taste and feel of the deep TexMex south.

Social Media: Follow Salinas Salsa Co on Facebook, Salinas Salsa on Google+, and on Twitter.

Where to buy: You can visit http://salinassalsaco.com/ to purchase all of their salsas, and as usual, please tell Shane that HotSauceDaily sent you.

If you are a fan of Salinas Salsa Co., please let us know in the Comments below. Are you a fan of green salsas? What do you like in a salsa? We want to know that too!

Filed Under: reviews, salsas and condiments Tagged With: green, jalapeno, mild, salsa, serrano

Frankie V’s Kitchen Salsas review

by Brian Meagher : 10/15/2013

Frankie V and the Serranos – Frankie V and the Habaneros – two salsa offerings from Frankie V’s Kitchen of Dallas, Texas that also make Spooky White and Fiery White hot sauces.

Frankie V’s Kitchen Salsas

FRANKIE V’S GOURMET HOT SAUCES AND SPREADS are made using the freshest and highest quality ingredients, local when we can and 100% all natural, Texas Style! Frankie V’s passion for cooking was the inspiration for transforming the ordinary into a culinary masterpiece. Made from scratch with attention to detail, every jar is inspected and approved before it leaves Frankie V’s Kitchen. Great food that’s great for you!

We met the inimitable Frankie V at the NYC Hot Sauce Festival, where Frankie V’s Kitchen won a 1st Place Screaming Mi Mi Award for Best Artwork as well as a 2nd Place Mi Mi for his Serrano salsa.

Frankie V at NYC Hot Sauce Expo 2013

Frankie V & The Serranos

Frankie V’s Serrano

I’ve mentioned many times publicly and here on this blog, that serranos are one of my top 2 favorite chiles for salsa (the other being chipotle chiles), and when you combine serranos with tomatillos, you have the makings of a very green, very flavorful salsa or hot sauce – if done right.

Texture & Appearance: This sauce is of a very fine grind. Think apple sauce consistency. And you can see in the pics that it has a bright green color.

Frankie V’s Serrano up close

Taste Straight Up: First up, a big hit of sweetness from the pear and pineapple give way to what you may perceive as vinegar… nope. That would be the tomatillos. A light garlic flavor finishes with the mild heat of the serrano chile peppers – with the lime juice adding a slight “tang” to the whole mix. This green serrano-based salsa with tomatillos and pineapple really brings on the fresh, citrusy flavor of a good mild salsa. And surprisingly, there is no vinegar in this salsa.

Heat level: – ½/5 A very mild salsa with a big “green” flavor.

Frankie V’s front label

Label/Graphics: Some of the best graphics we’ve seen in awhile. With a simple black & white “turn of the century” sideshow/circus “silent movie card” style of flourished fonts and embellishments – the front panel and side panel graphics are inventive and entertaining. Some would argue the panels are hard to read, and indeed some of the text is very tiny (ingredients among them), but there is a reason Frankie V’s won best graphics at the NYC Hot Sauce Expo.

Frankie V’s side label

Ingredients: tomatillos, pear, pineapple, mango, onion, agave nectar, garlic, serrano pepper, cilantro, lime juice, coconut oil.

Overall Rating: – Frankie V & The Serranos could be just a bit hotter to get our favorite rating of 5. But for flavor and quality it’s up there!

Frankie V & The Habaneros

Habanero salsas, in my opinion, can be like habanero hot sauces – you either love ’em or not. I think it takes a true stroke of genius to craft a hot sauce or salsa with mainly habaneros, and not have it turn out to be simply hot for hot’s sake. Before the onslaught of the “superhots” (ghost, scorpion, jolokia), the habanero chile was the venerable king of the hottest chiles. Ok, this has been a few years, but stay with me here. And at its inception as a hot sauce chile ingredient, habanero salsas and sauces were all simply salt, vinegar and habaneros.

As a result, I was really late to the party as a fan of habanero sauces. To this day, there are still some that are simply the trio of ingredients. But things have changed! As the hot sauce crafters’ world has grown, and with the influx of chef created and inventive sauces, I’ve come around to actually liking habanero based products. Frankie V & The Habaneros Salsa is yet another one that raises the bar.

Frankie V’s Habanero closeup

Texture & Appearance: Not surprisingly, this salsa is of the same “apple sauce” consistency as the Serrano. Not that that’s a bad thing. Consistency, folks. A nice, fine grind (and I’m a fan of the fine grind as well as the coarse, chunky grind) – this is a medium-hot salsa that would just go over as gangbusters at your next tailgating/foo-foo dinner party. Yea, it would fit into both worlds.

Taste Straight Up: Wow. This just may be the most unique habanero based salsa we’ve ever had at the HSD HQ. Again, like the Serrano, sweet taste from the pineapple comes on strong, supported by the mango. Even the tomatoes lend a bit of body and sweetness – but ultimately, it’s the habanero and garlic that bring on the heat.

Heat level: – 1½/5 I’m pushing the limits of 1.5 stars here. I really want to say just 1 star, but there is the undeniable zing and heat and flavor of the habanero involved. And even though there is the habanero chile pepper in this salsa, it still remains a mild-medium salsa.

Ingredients: tomatoes, pineapple, mango, white onion, habanero, raw agave nectar, lemon juice, garlic, coconut oil, chili powder.

Overall Rating: – Again, Frankie V & The Habaneros would garner our highest rating of 5 if only it packed a bit more heat. But we realize not everyone is a Chilehead, and to cater to the masses, you have to compromise a bit. Still, it’s a stellar salsa.

Final Thoughts: Of course we had these salsas with chips, and the obligatory pizza slices. But they really shined when added to a small plate of nachos.

Frankie V’s Habanero on left, Serrano on right

Frankie V’s Serrano nachos

Frankie V’s Habanero nachos

Where to buy: You can purchase any Frankie V’s Kitchen products on their website https://www.frankievskitchen.com/

You can also follow Frankie V’s Kitchen on Facebook.

Which of the two do you think you would most enjoy? The Frankie V & The Serranos or the Frankie V & The Habaneros?
Tell us in the Comments below.

Filed Under: reviews, salsas and condiments Tagged With: habanero, salsa, serrano

Crazy Good Raging Pineapple Salsa Review

by Brian Meagher : 10/01/2013

Crazy Good Specialty Foods out of Hernando, MS has just released their Raging Pineapple Hot Salsa.

I love anything pineapple – salsas, bbq sauces, glazes, ice cream toppings, yogurt – if it has pineapple in it, I’m all in. We even posted our own recipe for a quick Pineapple Salsa you can make at home. Let’s see if Crazy Good Raging Pineapple Salsa deserves a spot on my list of good pineapple stuff.

Crazy Good Raging Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients: pineapple (pineapple, pineapple juice), diced tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato juice, salt), crushed tomato (tomato, salt, citric acid, spices), water, jalapeno peppers, distilled vinegar, poblano peppers, onions, orange habanero peppers, sugar, kosher salt, granulated garlic, natural smoke flavor, xanthan gum.

Texture & Appearance: Small chunks in a medium thick sauce, with a nice body and red color. Red? This is pineapple salsa! Where’s the bright yellow pineapple chunks? Well, they’re in there for sure, but with all the tomato ingredients and the jalapeño and poblano peppers, the nice yellow pineapple bits get colored over and lost in the overall look. So, it looks for all the world like your typical salsa. Ok, no biggie. Don’t panic.

Closeup of Crazy Good Pineapple Salsa – chunky

Taste Straight Up: Out of the jar, a spoonful tastes like tomatoes at first, and garlic and jalapeños. The poblano chiles lend just a little dark flavor followed by the heat of the orange habaneros. Only a hint of the pineapple brings a slight fruit flavor to the mix.

Heat Level: – 2.5/5 Right in the middle. Actually, the heat is on the far end of medium, just slightly. Habaneros are the chile that bring on the most heat in this recipe. And it’s a bright, fresh tasting heat. I thought at first, it was quite hot during the first couple of bites. Then I got used to it, and was able to eat more and more.

Label/Graphics: There’s an angry pineapple in the center of the label – that’s pretty cool. But most of the other lettering is muted and gets lost in the background colors. I think the fonts and colors could pop a bit more.

Crazy Good Pineapple Salsa served cold with chips

Taste on Food: Crazy Good recommends serving this salsa “cold for maximum flavor”. So that is how I first tried it with tortilla chips. And it really does bring out all the flavors and heat when you dip a chip into this cold salsa.

Small plate nachos with salsa

Next, I made a small plate of simple nachos with tortilla chips, 4 cheese shredded, and Raging Pineapple Salsa. I enjoyed the salsa so much more this way. It was gently heated as the cheese melted and the chips got crispy. I preferred this over the straight up / served cold chips and salsa.

Finally, and I couldn’t get it out of my head, that this just may make a good pineapple ice cream topping, so I had a few spoonfuls over vanilla ice cream.

Don’t do this…

Unless you like tomato salsa on your ice cream. Because when it comes down to it, this IS a tomato based salsa with the addition of pineapple chunks. Then again, you may like it. People put some weird stuff on their ice cream!

Overall Rating / Final Thoughts: – I was a little disappointed that the pineapple wasn’t the big flavor player here. This is not the fruity salsa I had expected based on the name. Raging? Yes. Salsa, yes. Pineapple? Just a little.

All in all, it’s flavorful from the 3 chiles in the mix – the garlic is fairly present, and the quality of the tomato base is solid. Crazy Good Raging Pineapple Salsa – Hot, is pretty good! It’s just not an over-the-top pineapple mix.

Parting shot of some good nachos with Crazy Good Raging Pineapple Salsa

While this salsa will not make my list of favorite pineapple products, it really is a very good, high quality salsa that brings on a nice bite and big flavors. I would be proud to serve it at any party or tailgate. Let’s face it, your friends would be wowed to know it’s a pineapple salsa, without tasting like a sweet pineapple sauce. Yea, people are like that. They like the familiar. Get yourself some, and try it for yourself.

You can order all the delicious Crazy Good products at CrazyGoodSauce.com

Filed Under: reviews, salsas and condiments Tagged With: habanero, jalapeno, pineapple, poblano, salsa

Passion Pickles from Cin Chili

by Brian Meagher : 08/10/2013

Cindy and Bruce Wilkins of Cin Chili & Co (makers of the multi-award winning chili mix that bears their name), have launched Passion Pickles. Not “dill” or “bread and butter”, Passion Pickles are a little sweet with just the right amount of heat.

We’ve been big fans of Cin Chili spices and sauces for years. Their Serrano Sauce pairs perfectly with their award winning Cinderosa Texas Style Chili Mix, and their Hell’s Passion Hot Sauce makes some great wings. So when we learned they now have Passion Pickles we promptly bought a couple of jars.

Passion Pickles

The label says these pickles are made with Cin Chili’s Hell’s Passion Hot Sauce. That sounds scary hot doesn’t it? But they’re not – read on to learn more.

Pint jar of Passion Pickles from Cin Chili

Ingredients: cucumbers, water, sugar, vinegar, salt, red pepper, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne powder, habanero powder, garlic powder, cumin, xanthan gum, alum, calcium chloride, natural flavorings, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, oleoresin tumeric, yellow #5, polysorbate.

Texture & Appearance: Big, thick slices of pickles in a nice green brine with bits of seasonings floating about.

Taste Straight Up: Just a slight hint of dill flavor at first, followed by the sweetness of the sugar. Next up comes the heat – mild at first, then a bit stronger. The various chile powders give Passion Pickles a unique, complex taste and type of heat.

Heat Level: – While certainly not as hot as some of the hot pickles out there, these babies bring on a mild level of heat that quickly warms the tongue with pleasure, and then fades fast enough so you can grab another.

Label/Graphics: Bumpy, green lettering in the title is a nod to the pickles, and there’s the familiar Cin-Chili Girl in front of a pickle barrel – this time she’s holding a giant pickle fork. “Homestyle Chips” and “Blend of Sweet + Heat” are indeed true words.

Grilled Reuben with Passion Pickles

Overall Rating: – As pickles go, Passion Pickles are high quality in taste, flavor and crunchiness. These thick chunks of spicy pickleness are great alongside your favorite sandwich or burger. Get yourself a couple of jars, they’ll go fast.

About Cin Chili & Co: Cindy Reed Wilkins, aka The Chili Queen, is a legend in the chili community. She’s one of the greatest champions in the history of chili competition. Cindy and her husband, Bruce, manufacture and sell her award-winning chili seasoning and hot sauces through family-owned Cin Chili & Company.

Social Media: Visit Cin Chili on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. They often offer special sales via their Facebook page.

Where to buy: Shop Cin Chili’s online store.

Disclaimer: We purchased this product for our own personal use and review purposes. No compensation was received. The thoughts and opinions expressed are our own.

Filed Under: reviews, salsas and condiments

Musashi Green Sriracha and Spicy Mayo sauces