Lots of Reviews! Tropical Island Gourmet Company's Fire Ant Juice, Piney Pete's Jersey Heat and Hobo Howie's Jalapeno Treats
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Chef Wayne Howey of the Tropical Island Gourmet Company was been slugging out spicy sauces for over ten years. His first official offering to the masses was dubbed "It's Sweet To Be Hot Sauce" and he's been adding other products to his stable, including Pineapple Jalapeno Hot Sauce and Fire Ant Juice (the last of which is a subject of this review). He also sent me a bottle of Piney Pete's Jersey Heat Gourmet Hot Sauce and a jar of Hobo Howey's Jalapeno Treats to test out.
Despite the fact that they're all very much different, I'll cram in the later three concoctions in this post.
Left: touristy key chain affixed to the Piney Pete's Jersey heat bottle. Right: A collector's bottle signed by Chef Wayne Howey.
Fire Ant Juice Hot Sauce
Ingredients:
Cayenne Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Habanero Peppers, Onions, Vinegar, Mango Juice, Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic and Salt.
"Fire Ant Juice"? Another cutesy moniker for a specialty industry that's quickly running out of unique names for products. The label itself is constructed like a novelty product and should fit right in with the "Anus Blasters" and "Rectal Rippers" of the hot sauce world. Taking the goofiness angle to the next level are red plastic ants glued to the bottleneck's shrink wrap (one of which fell off when I removed this sauce out of the mailing package - I hope this product isn't as cheap as the glue was).
To be fair, Fire Ant Juice Gourmet Hot Sauce is not any old generic sauce poured in a bottle. This is a Scovie Award winner; and while just winning such a prize doesn't necessarily make it a great sauce, there's a much greater chance that the product will be above ordinary.
The aroma suggests that strong chile peppers, vinegars, garlic and tomatoes are at play in the liquid. Consistency-wise, it's medium-thick with pureed pulpiness with lots of shreds of red peppers and ground up seeds. When I poured a measurement out on a spoon to test, the sauce looked to be a smooth and creamy tomato sauce. So far, so good.
A taste on the tongue surprisingly gave the sensation of sweetness from mango juice and tomatoes, saltiness, tanginess from the vinegar with a vague hint of garlic. I think Tropical Island Gourmet did a respectable job juggling these different ingredients to make an interesting condiment. But where were the peppers? With jalapenos, cayennes and habaneros all at work to provide warmth and chile flavor, they were strangely absent, at least during the first several seconds. Then, a fire slowly rose from the ashes of the vinegar tartness taking around 20-30 seconds to build to full capacity. The heat peaked out at cayenne-level medium.
I'm all for the concept of great taste over mindless chile pepper burn. Chefs and hot sauce manufacturers should be shooting for this ideal with every new product they create. But the sweet and twangy mixture that was Fire Ant Juice was just screaming for more of a habanero heat. That would have put this over the top in my mind and produced a really superb hot sauce. Instead, it was merely "good"; it was tasty enough to recommend, yet still didn't blow me away. Fire Ant might be okay enough to put into your rotation of all-purpose hot sauces that you would use with burgers, pizza, eggs and the like, though I probably wouldn't use it as a replacement for anything.
Heat: 2.5 out of 5.
Overall: 3.0 out of 5.
Piney Pete's Jersey Heat Hot Sauce
Ingredients:
Plum Tomatoes, Onions, Balsamic Vinegar, Lime Juice, Habanero Peppers, Garlic, Honey, Olive Oil, Salt, Citric Acid, Spices, Xanthan Gum
This is without a doubt the dark horse of the group.
Let's begin with the label. If Fire Ant Juice Hot Sauce looks of a novelty hot sauce, the label of this looks especially cheap. Ugly green color, scratchy font and a lazing hillbilly under a pine tree makes this something I probably wouldn't pick up in a hot sauce shop. And what's the deal with the pipe-smoking hillbilly? Does Howey (or a "Piney Pete") originally hail from the foothills of Missouri or Arkansas? If not, then what does this imagery have to do with New Jersey? Was there an influx of mountain men and rednecks that invaded Jersey's Pine Barrens at one point in history? Anyway, the bottle does come with a rubber New Jersey key chain, so in some odd way this may be interesting as a collector's item.
It's a shame if people think that, because there's some good "under the hood". A whiff of this reveals itself have characteristics of a deep, rich spaghetti sauce. Piney Pete's looks like a dirty brown BBQ or steak sauce, thick in viscosity and bespeckled with blackish spices.
A lick off a teaspoon confirms it's similarities to an Italian sauce. Rich tomatoes, basal, oregano and onions were all strong in this coalescence, but with added zing and punch from vinegar and hot peppers. There's not much heat (it's safe for folks who can't take fiery cuisine) and by far the emphasis is squarely on flavor. I'm not crazy about Jersey Heat but I think therein lies bucketloads of potential.
Heat: 1.5 out of 5.
Overall: 3.5 out of 5.
Hobo Howey's Jalapeno Treats
Ingredients:
Jalapeno Peppers, Apple Cider Vinegar, Cane Sugar, Pickling Spices and Seasonings
Overview: I rarely get to have candied chile peppers, and these little beauties reminded me of how good the "real deal" can taste. Granted, these aren't technically candied jalapenos, but since they're packed in with cane sugar and apple cider vinegar (in addition to standard pickling agents like vinegar) they're pretty darned close. I classify these as a hybrid of pickled and candied peppers, and I also believe Hobo Howey's Jalapeno Treats can enjoy the applications of both of those distinct forms of capsicum.
The pepper rings are somewhat blacker in color than the familiar olive green pickled version everyone is accustomed to.
Hobo Howey's boast an impressive, natural jalapeno heat (no TAMs here!) and the brush of a twangy vinegar. They also are delectably fruity and sugary and are close to maraschino cherries in their candylike yumminess. Everything from savory uses like topping nachos and pizza to dessert-like employment such as plopping on cream cheese-slathered bagels, toast and buttery English muffins would be fantastic with Hobo Howey's Jalapeno Treats.
Heat: 2.0 out of 5.
Overall: 4.5 out of 5.
Taste on Food
I've said it before: one of the best litmus tests of any spicy derivement is pizza. Earlier tonight we had some of the homemade variety with a medium-thin crust, tomato sauce with just the optimal amount of herbs and spices, pepperoni and mozzarella.
I gave some square pieces differing amounts of the Tropical Island Gourmet products. Fire Any Juice gave the food a decent amount of warmth along with a sweetness and brightness. I had to really dose the stuff, though, to make it truly shine through.
Piney Pete's Jersey Heat was given less of a shaking, and while a dashed on a few more globs than what is pictured, it didn't need much more. Piney Pete's offered just a perfect splash of Italian-type seasonings and married beautifully with the pizza. I could also imagine with sauce going equally well with other Italian treats when it needs a mild kick.
With the Hobo Howey's Jalapenos the pizza pie was ambrosial. Now this was masterfully scrumptious! A lot of subsequent squares of pizza (about five in all) got the ol' Hobo Howey's treatment. I've never been a fan of dessert pizza, but the candylike pepper rings added something I really loved.
In Conclusion
All three have value in differing levels. The product that stands out for me was the Hobo Howey's Jalapeno Treats.
After scouring the Tropical Island Gourmet Company I was unable to see any option for ordering the Piney Pete's Jersey Heat and Hobo Howey's Jalapeno Treats, but regular 5 oz. woozy bottles of Fire Ant is on sale for $4.95 plus shipping. As with many online retailers, the more you purchase, the less the cost is per bottle, and the cheaper the overall shipping costs per unit is as well.
Related Articles:
Spicy Food Reviews - Hot Sauce Reviews, Hot Snacks, Hot Wings, Seasonings, BBQ Sauces, Condiments, and More
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2010-05-18 14:36:20
2010-06-05 09:06:33
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