This is my first in a series of reviews of Nando’s Line-up. I am somewhat familiar with their products as I use to frequent one at a food court at lunch many years ago. There aren’t that many around but knowing that their products are available is great.

So what can money buy you in the hot sauce world? Well it looks like it can buy quite a bit. Obviously a marketing strategy was thought out. The graphics, web-site, packaging are all top notch. It can also buy you an impressive ingredients list – the likes of which I have no idea of what they are (wait for my hot peri-peri marinade review). But the bottom line is?does it taste good? I will admit I tried some from my finger and it was very citrusy. Maybe too much so. But it resulted in nothing conclusive.

I opened up this bottle and was expecting a blast of lime and cilantro. What I got was…well not much. It did have a faint aroma to it but nothing as powerful as I would have expected. The presentation of this bottle and the sauce inside seemed to invite a very strong smell. It wasn’t till I had some pork chops marinating for a few hours did I really start to notice a zesty smell.

The sauce itself poured out nicely. It is medium in viscosity and created a nice bond with the meat. The sight is pleasant with lots of green chunks to enhance the presentation of the meat. So far, so good. But like I said…does it taste good?!?!?

Ingredients: Water, Sunflower Oil (17%), Lemon Puree, Sugar, Vinegar, Glucose Syrup, Salt, Salad Cream (Sunflower Oil, Water, Sugar, Vinegar, Egg Yolk, Modified Corn Starch, Salt), Modified Corn Starch, Serrano Peppers, Garlic Puree, Herbs, Xanthan Gum, Black Pepper, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Cilantro, African Birds Eye Peppers (Peri-Peri), Citric Acid, Stabilizer, Onion Powder, Flavors (Lime & Cilantro).

So with some rice and vegetables cooking up I heated up the skillet for the pork chops. What I thought was great is that half way through the cooking process the marinade didn?t start to burn against the skillet. It held up right through the cooking process and even wafted some great vapors in the air. The finished product lost some of the colour from the marinade but the taste carried through in spades. These were by far the most tangy pork chop I ever had. My Hot Sauce Hottie and I agreed that these were some great pork chops. We enhanced the rice, vegetables and pork with some of the Nando?s Lemon & Herb Grinder (review coming soon). The final result was a delicious, perfect balanced meal of zingy, zesty chops, rice and vegetables.

This next comment may put me in the land of political incorrectness, but I found that this marinade is almost feminine. It is delicate and sweet. In fact, guys, this could be a date marinade. Just throw it over some lobster, or shrimp and…

To get back to my comment on can money buy you taste. Well this review is inconclusive as I have found just as good a marinade with independent products (find them yourself or make it yourself). The bottom line is that it is good. Not the absolute greatest but very good nonetheless. If you don’t want to make your own marinade or not sure which is the best on the shelf to choose from, you can?t go wrong with this. Great Stuff!!!

Packaging 7/10 – Colours are dull – if you wear glasses for reading good luck
Aroma 5/10 – Not bad – just not very noticeable
Appearance 8/10 – Looks very nice
Taste 8/10 – VERY tangy with citrus flavour
Heat 1/10 – Heat is not a factor

Overall 8/10

Nando’s USA
1041 18th W. Ste. A205
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Tel: 1-888-625-2657
Fax: 949-722-0102
www.nandousa.com