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First Impressions: The front of the label seems ever-so-subtly psychedelic to me: there is some kind of desert scene appearing through a peripheral maze of wood-colored smoke. On the back, we see another image of a man, presumably Benito, sitting in a lawn chair in a river, feet submerged in the water. I want to imagine that this product was the result of a vision quest of some kind, inspired by the “Delectable Addiction†to hot sauce touted on the bottom of the label. 100% Organic. I am reminded of my first experience with an all organic “naranja†sauce, my first review actually, which didn’t go so well. This seems to have kept its color a lot better than the Mayanik did. It is bottled and served at a place in Caldwell, NJ called the Laughing Burrito. East Coast baby! I hope it represents my region well.
Ingredients: Orange habanero peppers, onions, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, bell peppers, distilled white vinegar, lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, spring water
Appearance: Woah…first I have to report on something that’s never happened before! The shit blew up on me! I opened it and all this pressure, along with all this sauce, busted out! And then I put it by the sink, where it proceeded to foam out of the bottle for a good 2-3 minutes! Is this even safe? Weird. Anyway…it’s very, very orange, light orange, almost neon, probably more a credit to the carrots than the habaneros. It’s a little chunkier than it looked in the bottle. I’ve said this about another sauce, but I’ll say it again, it looks a lot like a squash soup that one might make for a fall harvest dinner.
Smell: Benito’s smells extremely fresh, like if you were walking through someone’s vegetable garden when everything was starting to ripen. The bell peppers, the tomatoes, and the onions are all quite discernable. And earthy carrot smell is also present, as is a hint of garlic.
Taste: This sauce is fun because you can really identify the individual components one after another when you place it on your tongue. I always thought of carrots as more of a filler and coloring agent, but in this sauce they really shine. As with the smelling, the other vegetables are potent and fresh, and it’s held together with a citrus-infused acidity of lime juice and vinegar. The flavor is not unlike a fresh salsa. The garlic is there, but I would actually like a considerable amount more of it. It could also use something salty, like salt. It comes across as a bit watery, or perhaps “watered down†is a more accurate characterization. I don’t think it needs thickening though, just the aforementioned additions. I guess another way to solve this problem would be to pair the sauce with a dish that is already heavy on garlic, salt, or other spices. In that sense, Benito’s is the perfect burrito sauce.
Heat: The heat is on the lower end of medium. It’s mostly sticking to the back of my tongue. Nothing impressive, but I like that there are absolutely no heat claims on the bottle. This appeases the heat gods, as well as the picky reviewer. Nobody’s gonna have trouble with the heat in this sauce, but it’s a yummy kind of spice nonetheless; it works with the whole salsa vibe I’m getting.
Addendum: I used it as a salsa on tortilla chips last night and the heat was more intense. Still nothing crazy, but if I was to put it up against some mainstream, store-bought salsas, it would probably get a “hot†rating.
Overall: I’d buy it. It’s fresh, it’s colorful, it’s different, it’s from New Jersey. I would like an explanation of that little explosion in the beginning, or maybe that was just a literal testament to the figurative explosive potential of this sauce. Maybe this particular bottle has a mind of its own and knew that it was about to get reviewed on the HSB, and you know, just had to do something memorable. So I blasted some Benito’s on a homemade fried tilapia soft taco (sorry, not a Laughing Burrito), and it was an excellent accoutrement. This could turn into a delectable addiction, indeed.
Chilehead Comments:
Posted by: Brendan - Categories: Uncategorized
Permalink: Review: Benito’s Original Naranja Hot Sauce
One year ago: Review: Gecko Gary's OUCHipotle Hot Sauce
Two years ago: Black Mamba 1 - Lee Cichon 0
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33 Comments »
Yeah I thought it was at first too. Actually looks cool.
I’ve had this happen before with Hot Chocolate Habenero sauce. Usually this means that some fementation has taken place…..I’m not sure i’d be eating much of it if I were you.
I’m not sure I’d have eatin’ that after spewing from the bottle and foaming. That’s just wrong.
I’m surprised that even after the bottle exploding that you actually ate it. The taste should have been affected by the fermentation going on in the bottle.
Hmmm. That’s interesting.
I received bottles from Benito through a MySpace conversation a while back.
All of the bottles “champagned” on me due to pH issues.
I never had the pleasure of trying them.
Now I know what I was missing.
Nice review, but I would not have eaten it. The Champagne effect is due to improper processing. Be careful, you don’t know what’s growing in the bottle. Notice Big had the bottles Champagne and didn’t try them?
The explosion is from a build up of gases created by the acidity in the tomatoes, vinegar, and lime juice. THT had a similar experience with a coconut hot sauce we once made…
Brendan, you are either trying out for the Hot Sauce version of Jackass, or just so devoted to the cause that you are willing to “take one for the team”. In either case, folks should be warned - “Don’t try this at home!”. Leave it to iron-stomached professionals like Brendan.
Lisa, your comment scares me too. Did you actually eat any of that stuff? Next one of you that gets a gusher like that, I have an idea for a new fuel for potato cannons.
jackass, devotion, a little bit of both i guess…i knew it wasn’t right. i can report that i’ve consumed most of the bottle over the last couple days and so far so good, but yeah, its probably wise to stay away for now…maybe Benito’s can weight in on this or let us know when the problem has been corrected. because for flavor, the sauce is definitely worthwhile.
I won’t even drink champagne and its supposed to do that! But if you are still Ok it’s all good.Maybe you are a decendant of the first guy to ever eat a raw oyster.
99/100 it is simple fermentation from either not having the right pH and/or an improper bottling temperature. It usually doesn’t present a human hazard though carrots and bell pepper (raw or processed vegetables?) on the ingredient list might give me some pause. Many sauces on the market are made from fermented mash but it’s usually allowed to run it’s course before bottling. Improper techniques sometime allow it to attempt to ferment ‘in the bottle’. It’s CO2 that causes the ‘champagne’. As we’ve all consumed lots of fermented sauces in our day (Tabasco comes to mind) and survived there isn’t an instant panic attack that hits me upon finding one ‘a little young’. There is a wide range of micro-organisms that can cause fermentation (yeasts) which are mostly harmelss to humans. Most of the botulism buggers will produce some foul smells, though not always, that indicate it might be bad. Watch out for that remaining 1/100 though 
I’d pitch it, or more likely send it back and demand a refund, not out of fear but as a protest to the bottler not being able to follow the GMP! (General Manufacturing Principles)
The concern comes after a few days (!) when the improper bottling can allow other beasties to grow after the fermentation process has allowed other things to take hold.
I have consumed 3 full bottles of Benito’s hot sauce. Two of the Old Bricktucky Cayenne, and one of the Naranja. I really enjoy his sauces, even though they are like a 2 on the HSB heat scale. Definitely is the low down range of heat levels. I’d love to taste xxx hot versions of both of these sauces, I think that would be awesome.
None of the bottles I consumed had the champagne effect upon opening. I do recall a short while back that Ben recalled a certain batch of these bottles. Not sure when you got this one, perhaps it could have been one that slipped through the cracks.
Since these are bottled at the Laughing Burrito, there isn’t a batch number on any of the bottles, so this makes it tough in the case where he might have to ‘recall’ any of the batches.
I would never market a food product without a batch number.
Ahhh Champagne sauce, JimC, didn’t you step me thru that once with my sauce, lol !!!
Temp and PH folks…….
Arizona Jack on 3/14/2008 at 7:17 pm said:
Ahhh Champagne sauce, JimC, didn’t you step me thru that once with my sauce, lol !!!
Temp and PH folks…….
SteveM on 3/14/2008 at 3:21 pm said:
Brendan, you are either trying out for the Hot Sauce version of Jackass, or just so devoted to the cause that you are willing to “take one for the team”. In either case, folks should be warned - “Don’t try this at home!”. Leave it to iron-stomached professionals like Brendan.
Lisa, your comment scares me too. Did you actually eat any of that stuff? Next one of you that gets a gusher like that, I have an idea for a new fuel for potato cannons.
Nah, once we realized what was going on we stopped producing that sauce. That was in the very beginning of THT. When we were still in our sampling stage. That one was a tough one to get the PH just right so that didn’t happen. Great sauce, just a tough one to process properly. We wouldn’t even eat it! I would advise that no one eats a sauce that explodes like that! Never know what is growing inside those bottles!
Jim- StepUpForCharity.org on 3/14/2008 at 6:17 pm said:
99/100 it is simple fermentation from either not having the right pH and/or an improper bottling temperature. It usually doesn’t present a human hazard though carrots and bell pepper (raw or processed vegetables?) on the ingredient list might give me some pause. Many sauces on the market are made from fermented mash but it’s usually allowed to run it’s course before bottling. Improper techniques sometime allow it to attempt to ferment ‘in the bottle’. It’s CO2 that causes the ‘champagne’. As we’ve all consumed lots of fermented sauces in our day (Tabasco comes to mind) and survived there isn’t an instant panic attack that hits me upon finding one ‘a little young’. There is a wide range of micro-organisms that can cause fermentation (yeasts) which are mostly harmelss to humans. Most of the botulism buggers will produce some foul smells, though not always, that indicate it might be bad. Watch out for that remaining 1/100 though
I’d pitch it, or more likely send it back and demand a refund, not out of fear but as a protest to the bottler not being able to follow the GMP! (General Manufacturing Principles)
The concern comes after a few days (!) when the improper bottling can allow other beasties to grow after the fermentation process has allowed other things to take hold.
I was hoping you would chime in on this one! The voice of reason, from a reliable source.
l
Sam on 3/15/2008 at 2:11 am said:
I was hoping you would chime in on this one! The voice of reason, from a reliable source.
l
I don’t know about that, but thanks 
Most everyone I know has had a lesson or two learned with pH/temp. With hot sauce, it’s most alwyas temp. You’ve really got to try to get the pH messed up since nearly all use vinegar and citric. The cutoff point is 4.6 which is tomato- by themselves they lack the pH necessary. CaJohn could chime in with quite a bit of info from his BPCS classes.
As I’ve related previously, in my very early days of producing mash I made a few 5 gl buckets of ‘champagne’. If you think a bottle foaming is neat, try looking at a heavy duty (.9) 5 gl plastic pail shaped like an egg! And then- try to figure out how to safely defuse it
AZ! Nice to see you about again.
As I’ve related previously, in my very early days of producing mash I made a few 5 gl buckets of ‘champagne’. If you think a bottle foaming is neat, try looking at a heavy duty (.9) 5 gl plastic pail shaped like an egg! And then- try to figure out how to safely defuse it
I’d call the fire dept.! 
Probably one in Indiana! 
Hey Jim, you got any pics? 
Jim- StepUpForCharity.org on 3/15/2008 at 2:26 am said:
I don’t know about that, but thanks
As I’ve related previously, in my very early days of producing mash I made a few 5 gl buckets of ‘champagne’. If you think a bottle foaming is neat, try looking at a heavy duty (.9) 5 gl plastic pail shaped like an egg! And then- try to figure out how to safely defuse it
AZ! Nice to see you about again.
I just took the BPCS 3 weeks ago. Lots of usefull info, plus lots of not so usefull info, unless you are running a canning factory that uses double seam metal cans.
Jim- StepUpForCharity.org on 3/15/2008 at 2:26 am said:
I don’t know about that, but thanks
As I’ve related previously, in my very early days of producing mash I made a few 5 gl buckets of ‘champagne’. If you think a bottle foaming is neat, try looking at a heavy duty (.9) 5 gl plastic pail shaped like an egg! And then- try to figure out how to safely defuse it
AZ! Nice to see you about again.
In Texas we would take that bucket to the deer lease and blow it up with a hi powered rifle.
Tony Legner on 3/15/2008 at 12:12 pm said:
In Texas we would take that bucket to the deer lease and blow it up with a hi powered rifle.
In California we would do the same. Except we would use lead free ammunition and then go pick up all of the fragments we could find (and recycle them) while making sure no wildlife was harmed.
Gildo on 3/15/2008 at 4:47 pm said:
In California we would do the same. Except we would use lead free ammunition and then go pick up all of the fragments we could find (and recycle them) while making sure no wildlife was harmed.
Cool!
Gildo on 3/15/2008 at 4:47 pm said:
In California we would do the same. Except we would use lead free ammunition and then go pick up all of the fragments we could find (and recycle them) while making sure no wildlife was harmed.
Me?- I just used an ice pick on the end of an 8′ stick & was rewarded (?!) with a near 20′ spew of tabasco habanero It ‘rocked & rolled’ for over a minute.
Lesson learned
“Botulism kills sauce critic. News at 11:00…”
Rob on 3/16/2008 at 5:30 pm said:
“Botulism kills sauce critic. News at 11:00…”
Not very likely at all. From CSU (among many others): A pH near 7 or neutral favors the growth of Clostridium botulinum, while growth is inhibited at a pH of 4.6 or lower. The pH of a food also has an influence on the amount of heat necessary to kill the spores of Clostridium botulinum. The higher the pH (lower the acid level [meaining 4.7, 4.8 etc]), the greater the amount of heat needed to kill the spores.
It is difficult to imagine a hot sauce with a pH higher than 4.4, certainly NOT one that has vinegar, chiles, AND lime juice unless they are only in trace amounts. Canned foods have botulism because they have pH values at or near 4.6 and up- hence the extensive classes on aseptic packaging required by manufaturers of low acid foods. “Chapagne” in hot sauce is near *always* caused by stray yeasts from improper bottling temps.
I was joking when I wrote that, but it’s nice to know the specifics. Thanks Jim.
Rob on 3/17/2008 at 7:22 am said:
I was joking when I wrote that, but it’s nice to know the specifics. Thanks Jim.
I guess i need to learn to lighten up, eh?
Sorry.
Ha its great to see Ben’s hot sauce on here. I use the naranja everyday on my eggs. I’m not a huge hot sauce guy so I throw a few dollups on my eggs and its the perfect taste for me. Some days I get just the right amount and the eggs are perfect. My bottle label is a bit different. I got my bottle in 06 around december and didn’t start using it till prob sept 07. I didn’t get the explosion though lol. All in all was good to see the review here.
Love dat Hot Sauce
I have had 2-3 bottles of Benitos Naranja and never had any explosions. I don’t think that its very common for his sauces at all. Just wanted to let everyone know that. I really enjoyed them all!!! And you cant beat all Organic-
I had the pleasure of receiving 4 bottles of this great sauce for Christmas and I can tell you now, I finished them by the end of January. The combonation of the fresh taste, and the well concealed fire make Benito’s Hot Sauce truly a “Delectable Addiction”.
I appreciate the solid review despite the fact that the bottle exploded. We will just have to redeem ourselves with future submissions. I want to assure everyone that our product is prepared and bottled under more than sanitary conditions. We have isolated the batch and disposed of it. If anyone would like to receive a sample bottle of some non-explosive
NARANJA please e-mail your mailing address to maniscalco5@hotmail.com. Thanks for all the testimony and support of those who have enjoyed our sauces. - Ol’ Benito
I had a bottle of Benito’s Naranja shipped out to Japan (a hot-sauce-deprived place for the most part) and it was fabulous in Japanese noodle dishes and veggie stir fries. Never experienced the champagne effect.
The freshness of this sauce is something that really stood out for me. I agree with the reviewer—it’s possible to taste each of the individual ingredients in the sauce. Maybe this is possible with the Naranja because it’s not extremely hot? Not sure. Either way, it’s one of the most unique hot sauces I’ve ever tried. Keep it up Benito!
Ben is a fine man and an educated man. I’m sure he would not be so negligent to poison anyone. And I’d bet my life on that. For real.
His hot sauce is delicious! He is a skilled artist, and chef.
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The picture where it blew up - looks like someone’s attempt at a collectable.