Salsas, hot sauce, relishes, and spicy mustards abounded at ZestFest 2006, but one outsider caught the attention of Mrs. Adam and subsequently won my heart. The crowd seemed to ignore Heaters, makers of peanuts and spicy peanut brittle. This was a shame, because I think that the Habanero Brittle was one of the most unique products at ZestFest.

Heaters offered up plenty of jalapeno-infused peanuts as well as a red-tinged variety infused with habanero. All were good, but I just didn’t get too excited about it until Mrs. Adam handed me a tiny piece of peanut brittle.

“Try this,” she said, excitement in her voice.

At this point in the day, I had just come off a shot of Blair’s New Jersey Death Sauce plus a dozen or so salsas, wing sauces, and relishes; I didn’t feel anything at first. All I could taste was sugar and peanut through my weakend tastebuds.

“Mmm, that’s OK, I guess.” And then it hit me. A zing went right up my tongue. My eyes widened in surprise as Mrs. Adam nodded in agreement. This brittle was the bomb. The flavor and the heat were staying with me as long as the brittle was wedged up into my back molars.

The brittle itself was everything you could want in a brittle. It was sugary sweet with a hint of peanut butter. The texture was very porous, but it still had that telltale crunch. For the spice, the brittle surrounds a load of Bucka’s Burners Habanero peanuts. I’m not 100% convinced that this is the only way the brittle gets its spice, though. It seemed like they may have added a little bit of oomph to the brittle batter itself.

Overall, the flavor is excellent, and the habanero heat lasts quite a while. Just a while ago, Mrs. Adam and I sat on the couch with our tongues hanging out just enjoying a couple of bites.

I guess the average person normally shies away from anything sweet combined with anything spicy. John Q. Public has been conditioned to believe that spicy things are usually salty and/or sour. This might be why the Heaters booth seemed to be passed by on the whole. But for me, combining sweet and spicy is a wonderful marriage; I love all the spicy jellies, jams, and sweets.

Heaters story is much like a lot of hot sauce and salsa bottlers. It began as a love affair in the kitchen which eventually blossomed into a business. They offer jalapano salted peanuts, habanero salted peanuts and this kick butt peanut brittle.

If you’ve had your fill of the endless parade of sauces, and want something more, I definitely believe the Heaters Peanut Brittle is a must have for all chileheads.

Heaters Nuts
4104 Holland Blvd., Suite 108
Chesapeake, VA 23323
Ph. (757) 485-8688
Toll Free (888) 485-8890