Review - Peppadew Mango Salsa with Peppadew Fruit
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Made with the Peppadew pepper, a bright red, cherry-tomato-sized, sweet n' spicy fruit originating from South Africa, Peppadew Mango Salsa sounds like it would be a peculiar and promising condiment and topping "on paper", but in my opinion it's mildly disappointing after putting it through its paces in the kitchen.
It's not that it's necessarily bad - it's not, but the overall taste is only a notch or two above "hum drum".
Ingredients:
Mangoes, Apples, Red Bell Peppers, Peppadew™ Peppers
(Sweet Piquanté Peppers, Water, Sugar, Vinegar, Ascorbic Acid, Salt, Spice, Calcium Chloride), Cane Sugar, Brown Sugar, Golden Raisins (Contains Sulfites), Dark Rum Flavor, Lime Juice, Cider Vinegar, Cilantro, Salt, Onion Powder, Ginger, and Spices.
Aroma:
2.5 out of 5. Contains little discernible smell. You have to dig your nose far into the jar to pick up hints of sweet brown sugar, onion, vinegar, and bell peppers. It reminds me a great deal of your average store-bought pork and beans.
Appearance and Texture:
4 out of 5. Peppadew Mango Salsa has a very beautiful orange color with bits of bright red pepper and yellowish-looking apple and mango pieces. It's both thick and relatively chunky, just the way I like my salsa. Unfortunately, the ingredients were mushy and could have used a little bit more firmness.
Taste Straight Up:
2.5 out of 5. This stuff is sweet and possessed just a tinge of red pepper taste. I was expecting a bit more "punch" and "zestiness" out of this. The flavor is very subdued and could have benefited from the use of a mild chile pepper, as mango often goes well with varying degrees of heat.
Taste on Food:
First I plopped some on a "scoop"-style tortilla chip. The Peppadew Mango Salsa provided little positive complementation to the crunch and saltiness of the chips. The over-softness of the chunks of fruit along with the flavor proved to be slightly sweet, barely adequate but almost boring. A few more chips and the taste of generic baked bean sauce became more prominent.
Next up for trial was some of this salsa on baked pork. Wow - the nagging flavor of pork and beans really come out on this dish. Again, this salsa doesn't have a bad taste, but it didn't fit well with this and probably most other meats and dishes I could muster up.
Looking again at the ingredients again, there are quite a few unique items that could've made this an out-of-the-park home run. Mangoes? I tasted very little of their unique flavor. Apples? Hardly any flavor of them at all - and this salsa could have benefited from the brazen tartness of some of the more tangy apple varieties. Peppers? Not enough fresh, vegetable quality present. It seemed all diluted, plain, and reduced to a simple, cheap, brown sugar-driven sweetness.
Heat:
None to speak of.
Overall:
It's not the worst item in the world, but Peppadew Mango Salsa did not live up my expectations, even though I had not set them very high. If for any reason you might be intrigued by Peppadew Mango Salsa with Peppadew Fruit, go ahead and pick up a 11.5 oz jar; it's harmless stuff. Unfortunately I have to give this product a reluctant "thumbs down". It's the quintessential example of a "woulda, coulda, shoulda" food item, as in "if this woulda had more of a stronger, fresher mango taste, this coulda been a top-notch salsa".
Go to the gourmetfoodmall.com site for information and ordering; two jars are available for $13.99 before shipping charges.
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2009-03-23 09:21:28
2009-06-27 19:23:27
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