Review - Island Girl Gourmet Pepper Sauce and Gourmet Sauce & Marinade
Digg
Share
Here's an interesting pair of sauces I acquired a few months back: Island Girl Gourmet Pepper Sauce and Island Girl Gourmet Sauce & Marinade. Upon studying the labels I deducted a few things. One, with a name like "Island Girl", perhaps these would evoke some sweet, tropical tastes, either by thinking of the Caribbean and its distinctive style of hot n' tropical flavorings; or on the Pacific Ocean side of things, by conjuring up Polynesian, Hawaiian or even teriyaki-esque blends. Two, these had nearly identical ingredients lists, so I assumed a heavy similarity in tastes for them. And three, the main ingredient was soy sauce, therefore my expectations changed from these being tropical-style liquids to maybe more of Asian-style condiments.
Gourmet Pepper Sauce
Ingredients:
Soy sauce, chili paste (chili, salt, potassium sorbate and sodium bisulfite [preservatives], xanthan gum), vinegar, hot yellow pepper sauce (tabasco peppers, vinegar, salt, sodium bisulfate [preservative], turmeric), citric acid
First Impressions:
2.5 out of 5. I cracked this baby open and sensed a rich, tart and aromatic smell...it seemed like a rich soy sauce laden with chile pepper burstings. It made my mouth water, so I couldn't wait to taste this. Island Girl Gourmet Pepper Sauce is very thin, much like a soy sauce, yet has a lighter and redder tint to it and is strewn with red flecks of chile pepper flesh and seeds. It perhaps has a viscosity that is on the runny side of my preferences but for something that's a splash-on liquid it might be suitable. I took a rapid sip off a spoonful and wowza! Did it ever have some vinegar twanginess and tartness. It could have used a touch more salt (yes, I'm admitting that) as well as deeper flavors and tones.
Taste on Food:
2 out of 5. Going the Asian food route, the thought of having a dipping sauce for sushi immediately came to mind. I had a maki roll and a California roll and tested out pieces of each in the Island Girl. There wasn't much to complain about, but I felt the sauce had too much high end tartness and bitterness to make it a go-to sauce. I would have preferred a product that better covered territories of savoriness, saltiness and umami; Island Girl's dour sourness was much too one-sided for me. I must mention that the girl I was dating at the time loved the Gourmet Pepper Sauce, so I let her keep the remainder in the bottle.
Heat:
On a heat scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being mild and 5 being nuclear, this sauce clocks in at around 2. There's enough burn to be noteworthy to heat freaks, yet a bulk of the perceived pungency is derived from the vinegar's punch.
Gourmet Marinade
Ingredients:
Soy sauce, chili paste (chili, salt, potassium sorbate and sodium bisulfite [preservatives], xanthan gum), vinegar, hot yellow pepper sauce (tabasco peppers, vinegar, salt, sodium bisulfate [preservative], turmeric), citric acid, cornstarch
First Impressions:
2.5 out of 5. Island Girl's Gourmet Marinade is essentially the same as the Pepper Sauce, with the addition of cornstarch to thicken it up a bit. The aroma was similar, as was the color and appearance of the liquid. A lick off my thumb provided that this closely related to the Pepper Sauce, only more subdues in the heat department.
Taste on Food:
1.5 out of 5. I soaked some boneless chicken pieces in the Island Girl Gourmet Marinade for about an hour and then slapped them on the grill, cooking them thoroughly. I rustled up some steamed white rice, ladled a portion on a plate and spooned in the Gourmet Marinade. I then laid a grilled, marinaded chicken thigh atop the bed of rice and poured on more Marinade. Again, there was that distinct sourness and over-the-top high end zing. In this case, it was even more evident than the Pepper Sauce was in that the tartness and brightness would steal the show.
Heat:
The marinade rates at a 1.5 out of 5 for chile pepper burn.
Suggestions For Both:
I don't want to sound as if I'm trying to tear these products apart. There may be some positives in them, but the flavors just aren't balanced enough for me to recommend them. Either the Pepper Sauce or the Marinade may be decent if you combine them with other strong flavors in your dishes: natural sugars from a mango salsa; the strong notes of allspice, turmeric or cilantro; generous doses of freshly-minced garlic and cracked black pepper; a side of caramelized grilled onions and mushrooms; or a juicy, hefty rib-eye cooked to perfection. When I relied on Island Girl sauces too much, they seemed too lopsided for my tongue to truly enjoy. Perhaps if you enjoy flavors on the harsh, bright and sour side, these may be food enhancers that you may want to try out for yourself.
Labels and Packaging:
3.5 out of 5. The artwork on both bottles are sharp and modern-looking. I would have a complaint in that the labels for both the marinade and the hot sauce look nearly identical, but once someone learns that the Marinade comes in the larger 12-oz. bottle (as opposed to the smaller 5-ouncer), it's easy to tell them apart.
Overall:
Island Girl Gourmet Pepper Sauce - 
Island Girl Gourmet Sauce & Marinade - 
For more information, you can visit http://www.islandgirlsauce.com.
Related Articles:
Spicy Food Reviews - Hot Sauce Reviews, Hot Snacks, Hot Wings, Seasonings, BBQ Sauces, Condiments, and More
Comments
2011-04-16 11:26:29
2011-07-24 21:12:10
I happen to like the Island Sauce very much. Since I like to add flavor rather than heat, it works for my pallet. It's great for many kinds of food, I've tried it on eggs, fries, even fish. Keep up the great job and reviews.
Thanks, Bill
Add Your Comment: