Quick answer: Ron Levi rated it 6 out of 10 overall. The flavor scored 10/10 (more green pepper than jalapeño, a little sweet) and it was perfect in meatball soup, but the heat was only about 2/10, and the packaging (rusty cap, weak label) scored 1/10.
Hey HSB’rs Catching up on the many items I have to review is a task that I am enjoying. There is nothing better to a Chile-head than having an array of fiery foods to sample and share with you guys. Today I tasted Burning Asphalt Hot Sauce Jalapeno.
Initial Impression: I’m a little confused by this product. I’m not really sure if I’m supposed to eat it or pour it on myself and go into a Ricky Bobby; I’m on fire psychotic episode. Hang on while I strip down to my underwear and run around with hot sauce on me because the bottle says: racing is dangerous, but safer than burning asphalt [tag]hot sauce[/tag]. Help me Lord! Help me Buddha! Help me graphic artist? Break out the Adobe Illustrator ’cause someone need help.
Ingredients: Jalapeno Peppers, water, green peppers, ground mustard seed, vinegar, sugar, modified food starch, fruit juice for color, salt, sodium benzoate, spices.
When I first started reading the ingredients I was pretty happy, peppers were the first ingredient and that is always a good thing. There was an ingredient however, I always avoid; sodium benzoate. I’ll not go into detail of why I would want to avoid preservatives in food. You can do your own research on this ingredient and make your own decision.
Appearance: When I took off the wine capsule; I hate when packers do that! I saw something that both surprised and disturbed me. The surprise part came in the form of a metal cap. I have not seen a metal cap on a hot sauce before. The disturbing part came in the form of the rust on the metal cap. The doctor said I need more iron, not iron oxide! Apart from the rusty cap and the homemade appearance of the label the product in the bottle looks great. It was nice and thick yet still pourable and has some nice chunks in it, giving it good stick to your food qualities. Beside, there was no rust inside the cap!
Aroma: Bright and fruity. This is what I pick up when I take a huge snoot full of the delicious vapors coming from this bottle, mostly the smell of sweet green peppers with a hint of [tag]jalapeno[/tag]. I feel like I’m getting some garlic and onion as well, but those are not listed in the ingredients. Perhaps they are in dry spice form, I’m just guessing? In any event a very pleasing aroma; it made my mouth water!
Taste: Straight from the bottle, I tried a small drop. The label says it’s a 6/10 so approached with a little caution. Hey, this stuff tastes great! I move to a full teaspoon. I could eat this stuff alone, maybe a nice jalapeno soup? Well, I gotta tell you, this sauce has great flavor, it is however more of a green pepper sauce than a jalapeno sauce. It is a little sweet and perhaps could stand to have the sugar taken out. I find myself chugging it right out of the bottle during this review, so I guess I like it! As far as the heat level goes it’s a 3/10 at the most. It barely warms the tongue. It’s gonna be hard to find a dish that wont burry this sauce.
The Food Test: What food will actually make a hot sauce seem hotter than it really is? Soup and I just happened to have made a nice big pot of meatball soup. This soup has sort of a southwestern flair to it so the jalapeno sauce should be the perfect accompaniment. As I suspected, this jalapeno sauce turned out to be a perfect match for my soup. The hot broth brought up the heat of the sauce enough to make it stand out, and the flavor profile of the sauce worked perfectly in the soup; giving it a spicy Latin flair.
Conclusion: Burning Asphalt Jalapeno Hot Sauce may be more dangerous than racing. But it’s like that because of the preservatives and rusty metal cap, not the heat. The flavor rocks the house down and I would be happy drinking this stuff right out of the bottle. It goes perfectly with soup and I have consumed over half the bottle in one tasting/meal. If it had a little more heat it could stand up to more challenging dishes and I would be a loyal customer. Errr, once the rusty thing gets taken care of!
Packaging 1/10 ““ Weak label, Rusty Cap
Aroma 9/10 ““ Bright & Fruity
Appearance 9/10 ““ Thick, Chunky
Taste 10/10 ““ I Drank it Straight
Heat 2/10 ““ Not Jalapeno Hot.
Overall 6/10
Jeffrey Furash
Burning Asphalt Sauces, LLC
P.O. Box 500
Forestville, NY 14062-0500
1-877-9SAUCES (972-8237)
www.BurningAsphalt.com
Frequently asked questions
How hot is Burning Asphalt Jalapeño sauce?
The label says 6/10, but Ron Levi found it barely warmed the tongue and scored the heat 2 out of 10.
What food did it go best with?
A southwestern-style meatball soup. The hot broth brought out the heat and the flavor gave the soup a spicy Latin flair.
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Written by Ron Levi
3 responses to “Review: Burning Asphalt Jalapeno Hot Sauce”
Nice review again! Although the pics that have now been burned in my head are just not right. I think I have a whole section for the HSB of burned images that will give me nightmares for the rest of my life somewhere in there. LOL
Anyway, meatball soup huh? Is that like the Italian wedding soup or is this something completely different? I would love the recipe, that is if you don’t mind sharing!
Rusty cap!!! I give you credit for even proceeding with the review, which by the way was a great one. Perhaps I’ll try this sauce someday when they get their hygenics figured out!!
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I can’t say I”m too moved to try tis just yet, something about iron oxide just isnt sitting right. Too bad though, it sounds great. Give me good ole plastic anyday!