Review: CaJohn’s Select Cayenne Puree

The select [tag]Cayenne[/tag] Puree was my first exposure to one of CaJohn’s fine hot sauces. It comes in a clear bottle that shows off the velvety, lustrous sauce quite nicely. There’s a picture of a cayenne on the side, which makes the bottle quite attractive to look at – it’ll be a nice addition to my shelf.

Ingredients: Cayenne chilies, distilled vinegar, citric and ascorbic acid

Simple and straight to the point, this sauce isn’t messing around with fancy flavor combinations or heavy seasoning. It’s all pepper, all the time. Just the way I like it. I especially like the lack of salt; it keeps the sauce closer to the plant and tasting more natural.

The sauce is at once both thick and pourable, and what liquid there is separates out very quickly. The aroma is pure cayenne pepper, fresh and lively on the nose.

CaJohn selects only the finest chilies for his signature line of purees. Ground fresh from the fields, they are bended with distilled vinegar. Citric acid and vitamin C are added to preserve color, then bottled immediately. The result is a minimum of 80% chile solids, more than four times the content of most hot sauces. These purees are wonderful for inclusion on your culinary creations, or you can use them to create sauces of your own design. Their use is limited only by your imagination! From CaJohn’s to yours, enjoy!

On First Taste
With no idea of the heat or character of CaJohn’s Select Cayenne, I gave it a try on a tortilla chip. And it was pure cayenne flavor all the way. Nothing to get in between myself and the pepper. It’s a welcome change from your run of the mill cayenne sauce. The vinegar is understated, leaving the lively pepper taste to come through alone.On Food
There’s few foods better paired to my taste than eggs and cayenne peppers. So, to fully appreciate this sauce I whipped up a couple pieces of bacon, fried a couple eggs in their grease, and added a slice of provolone cheese, some fresh bread and a healthy dose of CaJohn’s Cayenne Puree to make a sandwich.

Surprisingly, the flavor was overwhelmed by taste of the bacon. It was there, but faint – and I was looking for an all out cayenne blitz. Undeterred, I found that Cajohn’s Cayenne Puree is best used as what I call a “sauce in hand” – eat with your right, and keep the bottle in your left. Add a healthy dollop between each bite. Using this technique, the flavor flourished. It is a sauce that begs to be used in quantity. The lack of seasonings was truly a treat for my taste buds – something unique and tasty, a dash of minimalism that was quite refreshing (not to mention delicious!)
Conclusion
For lovers of the unadulterated flavor of peppers, for those who prize flavor and freshness, who wish their taste buds to run free through a pristine river of cayenne bliss, CaJohn’s Select Cayenne Puree is for you. It’s certainly for me.

Final Rating: 9.2 out of 10

CaJohns Fiery Foods
2040 Oakland Park Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43224
Toll Free: 888-703-FIRE
Phone: (614)-418-0808
Fax: (614)-418-0800