Review: Mild to Wild Pepper & Herb’s Smoked Red Savina Habanero
Initial Thoughts: As the middle of the week comes along there are rumors that our 1st snowstorm of the season is developing. So far this year Long Island has had about a total of 1 inch of snow (if you add up the few dustings that we have had). I am looking forward to a whopping blockbuster of a snowstorm, but lately El-Nino has been stopping me from my winter pleasures. With all the global warming talk going on as of late, I decided that I need a meal to keep me warm during this cold spell we have been having. I decided I was in the mood for some chicken rice soup to increase my body temperature. Then the question arose, “What the heck am I going to put in it?” “Do I really want to do a review of Blair’s Jersey Death being used in such a way?” Not that it is a bad choice because a few drops really can increase the heat of the broth, but I was in the mood for some smokiness. But I also needed something to battle this arctic express that has been hitting me lately!
I remembered that in my early chilihead days I would use Dave’s Insanity Flakes to put into my soup, as well on pizza and some pasta dishes. I am reminiscing how those use to make me sweat a little bit. I then found my solution to solve my dilemma! I recently received Mild to Wild Pepper & Herb’s Red Savina Smoked Flakes from Jim Campbell. I remember trying his Red Savina Garlic Hot Sauce and Pure Arson Hot Sauce. I really enjoyed both of the sauces to great extent. To me they are in my top 5 of sauces (they are the same sauce, different label) and have great heat with real good natural flavor. I was eagerly excited to try Mild to Wild’s Red Savina Flakes. Jim is a huge supplier of Red Savina Mash to many of the top companies in the industry. He has won awards for many of his products. With this background information I knew that Mild to Wild’s Flakes had to be something in my collection. Would Jim be able to help rescue me from this cold weather we been having as of late?
Ingredients:100% Smoked Red Savina Habanero Flakes (As natural as you are going to get!)
Visual: Mild to Wild Pepper & Herb’s Smoked Red Savina comes in a plastic 3.5 oz spice cylinder. The cap is Red (good choice!) and the label is white. There is a picture of what seems to be a handsketched illustration of two red chili peppers with black stems crossing each other. I love the stems being black since it matches the black text placed on the white label background. Underneath the company name is Mild to Wild’s address with their phone number!! (black text) I love this personalized label! To me it says, “My product is good, call me to order it, I don’t need a super fancy logo label!” Underneath the red text title “Smoked Red Savina”, are the ingredients and the Heat Index being rated as 10 Very Hot! The label I described above is duplicated to cover both the back and front of the cylinder.
The flakes dumped out are really a beautiful sight! They are not large flakes as to what may be found in the grocery store or at your local pizzeria. They are a little more fine but they are just big enough to still be classified as flakes. I like this because it gives you the versatility of using it direct on soup, pizza, pasta, etc or to use it as a rub!! The color is really something amazing! I know I been talking about the winter, snow, and the arctic cold but this display of flakes really makes me think of the autumnal equinox! There is a beautiful blending of many different shades of red, brown, orange, and yellow! I am looking at the flakes and it is very hard to find two that are the exact same shape or size! I believe snowflakes have this characteristic as well! I am hoping to have some dreams tonight of these flakes falling down from the sky and coating my lawn and driveway. (lol)
Aroma: Opening the cap and putting my nose to the lid is something really special! There is such a great smokey odor to these flakes I really want to eat the suckers right now! The hell with the soup, I might just grab a spoon and go to town! If you breathe in deeply you can almost taste these flakes! What is great is that the pepper flavor of the red savina is still present. I am about to sneeze now! If you do too much breathing in of these flakes, your nose will start to run as mine is about to do any minute. I can also feel a little heat in my nose. These things are not some crappy red savina’s grown in Al Bundy’s backyard. These have to be the highest quality peppers that were used to create such a heavenly scent. The odor is addicting, and if you are like me you know that if anything is addicting, (fiery foods related), it is a great thing!
Application: I added these flakes into chicken rice soup. Like the true pyromaniac I am, I always know that more is better than less! If worse comes to worse I just get to sweat a little more. I used brown rice in the soup because I knew it would be a great combination with the smokey flavor of these red savina flakes. Wild Rice may be something I consider next time around. The aroma of the flakes doesn’t disappear when added to the soup. The color makes the broth a nice hearty rich red/orange color. What is nice is that these flakes don’t dissolve in the soup. I remember using Ass Kickin’ Spontaneous Combusion Powder an everything dissolved completely. I like to see the flakes floating around. It is much more of a turn on for my consumption!
I try the 1st spoonful and the flavor is absolutely amazing. The flavor is both smokey and yet fruity. This is not a product where you have to consume more before recognizing the taste. It hits you right away. The heat is there too. I used alot since my tolerance is growing daily. For many chiliheads or rookies, not much would be required and you would still be allowed to feel the heat from these flakes. I can’t imagine this on a chicken parmesean pizza!!
Final Thoughts: Overall this is an absolute must for any fan of the habanero, red savina, chili flakes, rubs, spices, seasonings, smokey flavor lover, etc. This is a great natural item that is the highest of quality. You are going to be able to use this in your soup, pizza, pasta dishes, tomato sauces, fish, poultry, fries, and anything else that you can think of. The taste is great and will add heat to your dish. This item is of such outstanding quality that I know you are going to want to try other products from Mild to Wild Pepper Company. I would have rated it a pure 10 across the board but had to give in slightly to the heat scoring it a 9/10. Please note my rating of 9/10 is not based on the fact that Jim could have laced these with extracts as compared to Dave’s Isanity Flakes. My rating is based on the recent recognition that the Bhut Jolokia, AKA “Naga Morich, Dorset Naga, and all the other species names) is the world’s hottest chili pepper.
Packaging 10/10
Aroma 10/10 (I would give it a 15 if allowed!!)
Taste 10/10
Appearance 10/10
Heat 9/10 (Only natural flakes hotter are Bhut Jolokia, A.K.A “Naga Morich”)
Overall 10 (This item gets the official Goonie, HEY YOU GUYS, sloth stamp of approval!!)
Side Notes: I would personally like to thank Jim Campbell and the Mild to Wild Staff for supplying me with these flakes. Mild to Wild really is a great company in terms of customer service as well as product reputation. I look forward to trying and reviewing more of their products in the future! 🙂
Mild to Wild Pepper & Herb Co
81 Martin Place
Franklin, IN 46131-1745