I was excited when I saw I had Mom’s Apples & Cinnamon Sauce to review. I have one bottle in the collection, but as some of you collector know, you need to buy two bottles of sauce, one to try and one display!
I have looked at this bottle and thought …Wow, this is really different, I want to try it! If I were looking at sauces at the store or on line and saw this, I would probably be hesitant to buy it at first without havig heard anything about it. It is one of those risky type sauces which you could love or hate and maybe doesn’t have a lot of multi purpose appeal.
The bottle had a 2005 scovie award sticker on it, so that is a good sign! I looked it up and it won 1st place – Hot Sauce – Fruit. It has a picture of, I assume Denzel’s Mom on the bottle and says “Just like Ma used to make, and if she didn’t she probably should have”
Ingredients: Vinegar, Roasted apples, onions, brown sugar, habanero peppers, cinnamon.
I opened the bottle and smelled it, no surprises smelled like apples and a hint of cinnamon. Actually it smelled just like apple pie.
Poured Mom’s Apples & Cinnamon Habanero Hot Sauce on the plate and surprise! It looked like applesauce with a few red bits mixed in. It was thick but was still pourable with a little shake of the bottle.
Straight taste test – first taste was apples, then a hint of cinnamon then a little heat, it wasn’t as sweet as applesauce and I could taste onion on the lingering flavor in my mouth.
I was thinking this would be perfect with roast pork and I happened to have a roast pork tenderloin I just cooked last night, so I slathered it up and gave it go.
If you like applesauce on your pork and you are a ChileHead this is the sauce for you! It didn’t overpower the flavor of the meat, added a nice apple taste and a just a touch of the heat we love. A great compliment to the food as opposed to taking over the dish. I can’t really think of much else I would put this on, maybe chicken or it could be used on Ice cream or make a cranberry apple cobbler with it.
Appearance – 8/10 good packaging, looks like applesauce
Taste – 7/10 – it is what it is, Spicy applesauce
Heat – 3/10 a mild spice, not overpowering, doesn’t last long
Overall – 7/10 – unique, straightforward, good on pork
Denzel’s Gourmet Foods Ltd.
Box 398
Enderby, BC
V0E 1V0
Written by ChileHeadEd
Nick Lindauer founded Hot Sauce Blog in 2004, making it one of the internet's very first hot sauce review sites. After 20+ years of tasting, reviewing, and attending every major fiery foods event in the country, he's back behind the keyboard covering the hot sauce world he helped build.
4 responses to “Review: Denzel’s Mom’s Apples & Cinnamon Habanero Hot Sauce”
“Roasted Granny Smith apples with cinnamon and habanero peppers make this a good choice for pork dishes. As with most fruit based sauces, this one is good on stir fries and on rice. I like to use it as a finishing sauce for pork roasts or chops. By the way, “Mom” is really Sandra, she use to work for me at my music store.” That little nugget of info is from Denzel’s website.
We carry all of Denzel’s product at Droolin’ Devil and they have a loyal following. A lot of transplanted BC residents come to the store and are pleasantly surprised when they see it on the shelves.
I’m hoping Denzel has some new products in the works, it’s been awhile since he’s put out anything new.
Considering he lives in one of the most fertile areas of Canada, he always has great ingredients close at hand.
He’s another great Canadian sauce maker and a bit of a nut job which goes hand in hand with the sauce biz. 🙂
Great review Ed, very accurate and fair.
The real question is how is it as a pancakes topping, or added to an apple pie. =P
[Comment ID #71837 Quote]
Daniel,
I think it’s great on pancakes and ice cream, but I’m not a normal person culinarily speaking. You won’t be disappointed using it in that fashion.
Good call on the apple pie idea. If I baked, which I do not, I would highly suggest giving it a try as an ingredient in a apple turnover or in a pie. That’s one hell of an idea.
Why don’t you get out your pastry chef hat and bake one up and then post the recipe/review on HSB??
Really enjoyed your review. The photo’s got my stomach growling…looks tasty. Before seeing this review I probably would never think about buying a bottle of it. Now I think I will. Thanks for the review.