Just Trading Scotland

Swazi Fire Chilli Sauce

Swazi Fire Chilli Sauce

Back in November last year I reviewed a lovely product that was made by the ladies of the “Eswatini Kitchen” and brought to these shores by a company known as “Just trading Scotland”, it was a “Kumquat Atchar” and most unlike any fruit based chutney/pickle I had tasted before, so now I come to one of their other products which is a cooking sauce by the looks of it, but to get its full merit and give it a fair review I will be trying it straight from the jar!!

If you want to learn more about the “Eswatini Kitchen” and “Just Trading Scotland” then head on over to www.eswatinikitchen.co.sz and www.justtradingscotland.co.uk respectively.

Ingredients: chillies (70%), onions, garlic, sunflower oil, vinegar and spices.

(Review jar generously supplied by www.justtradingscotland.co.uk)

This lil jar of heat is known as “Swazi Fire Chilli Sauce” and i’ll go into why I think it deserves that name in a little while. The jar itself is a standard, round 300g size jar, not big but not small, the label is similar in design to the “Kumquat atchar” I had reviewed being that it is a cream coloured label with green and red writing, albeit with the addition of a little flame dude stood atop a nice red chilli!

The sauce inside is a marbled red and brown, with lots of big pieces of chilli in and a hefty amount of seeds too, upon twisting off the jar lid I noted the strong smell of chilli and garlic, no other smells were noticeable but then sometimes, simple is the best recipe for success! A little of the sunflower oil was sitting on top of the mixture and has taken on the nice red colour of the chilli inside, alot of people are turned off sauce that has a bit of oil in it, but I can tell you now that you really don’t notice the oil when you taste it and I can only imagine how good this oil would be to cook in once you add onions and such to it in a pan.

I dipped my spoon in and got a nice dollop of the sauce on my spoon, placing it into my mouth and twisting it over and over with my tongue I started to realise two things!

  1. This sauce has a very simple but outstanding flavour, the garlic and onions work brilliantly with the chilli and make this a perfect addition to ANY recipe that asks for fresh chilli. I would use a teaspoon of this sauce in place of a fresh chilli in your recipe’s, not only will you get the amazing fused flavours into the meal you are making but it will also bring a nice kick to it!
  2. This stuff is surprisingly hot! I swallowed the sauce and nall round my lips and the corners of my mouth were burning, no hiccups were incurred but I certainly got a damp forehead and could still feel the heat ten mins later, though it had died down alot by then!

The only thing I did’nt like about this sauce was the slightly bitter aftertaste it left, but then again I am trying this stuff neat, whereas it should blatantly be used in curries, chilli’s and the like, as cooking this sauce will take out the bitterness which no doubt comes from the raw chilli present in it. If you are looking for something to put in your spicy chilli related dishes then this is an ideal replacement for fresh chillies, all the better if you are the type of person who loves using fresh chilli over dried, but finds they only use some chilli and then throw the rest away because they are uneeded then this stuff is for you! Head on over to http://www.justtradingscotland.co.uk/pages/Retailers and look down their list for someone near you, then go out and buy a jar of this, use it in your next spicy dish and then I dare you to come back and tell me it was bland, I DARE YA!!

The rrp according to the website is about £2.75 a jar and for whats in it, I think thats a fair price, and obviously when you buy a jar you’ll be helping out many families over in swaziland!

Until next time chilefanz, the sauce is strong in this one!

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A summary of articles from the Chile foundry during November 2009, click the links to see the full stories.

Lizzi’s Chilli and Apricot Blondies – My Daughter Lizzi is a very good cook, she has a light hand with baking, I asked her to come up with a recipe for today, she said “I will make you something special!” and she did!

Eswatini Swazi Kitchen - kumquat Atchar

Eswatini Swazi Kitchen - kumquat Atchar

Eswatini Swazi Kitchen – Kumquat Atchar – The product I am reviewing today comes from a company known as “Just trading Scotland” who sell fair trade products here in the uk on behalf of people from Africa, asia and latin america, one of the groups that they represent is known as “Eswatini Swazi Kitchen” and its that particular group that have made the product I am reviewing today.

What is Atchar? – Atchar is a spicey chutney found in Indian and South African food, It is often made from mangoes and peppers, but can also include vegetables such as Carrots, onions and cabbage. It is served as a condiment with curry.

Dr. Burnorium’s Hot Sauce Emporium – Dr. Burnorium’s Hot Sauce Emporium is a retailer based at the St Nicholas Market in Bristol, they have an excellent online store. If you are near Bristol visit them and let us know what you think?

Manda African Chilli Sauce – Review – Wow! another sauce that contains all natural ingredients, I seem to be getting alot of these lately, not that i’m complaining mind you, nothing better than an all natural fresh tasting hotsauce! “Manda African Chilli Sauce (extra hot)” comes in a bottle that is more similar to non-mainstream hotsauce’s than the supermarket brands it shares a shelf with in ASDA.

The Hot Pepper Awards

The Hot Pepper Awards

ChilliPepperPete – The Hot Pepper Awards 2009 – ChilliPepperPete has been winning awards again. This time at “The Hot Pepper Awards 2009″ they won both 2nd and 3rd place in the Extreme Products section for Dragons Blood Batch 12 and Satan’s Shit.

Lingham’s Ginger Garlic Chilli Sauce – It is odd but this is the first time I have tasted a Lingham’s sauce, I have seen them about for years, but always passed them by, expecting it to a cheap, sweet concoction, with little depth of flavour, maybe I have become a sauce snob!

ChilliPepperPete’s – Chicken Xacuti (Shakuti) – This recipe comes from ChilliPepperPete, it is a traditional Goan Recipe. Goa is located along India’s west coast along the Arabian Sea and was part of Pete’s travels around India. Chicken Xacuti (pronounced Shakuti) has been described and Chicken in coconut gravy.

Blairs's Death Rain Crisps

Blairs's Death Rain Crisps

Blair’s Death Rain – New UK Flavours – I love crisps (US Translation Chips) a few years ago we make our own Hot-Juan Brand Crisps so I know how hard it is to make a new flavour and to get it consistant, I have always loved Blair’s Death Rain Habanero crisp, every packet is hot and crunchy, and his other flavours Chipotle and Cajun are also excellent, each with there own unique flavour.

Christmas Rumours – Santa’s Shit – We hear rumours that ChilliPepperPete is making a Christmas special – Santa’s Shit, we will let you know more as soon as we taste it!

ChilliPepperPete’s – Vindalho Recipe – One of my favourites has always been the Vindalho. And then I had it in Goa 20 odd years ago cooked by our landlady and it was a totally different experience. I got her to write down her recipe and I am copying it from a tatty Indian school book full of recipes. I will move on to other countries from now but as I said earlier I have had a Goan food fixation for 20 years. We are now selling Goan curry blends in the shop that are made in Goa and are excellent. – “Pete Seymour AKA ChilliPepperPete”

Chilli Variety - Krakatoa F1

Chilli Variety - Krakatoa F1

Chilli Variety??–??Krakatoa F1 – A medium sized upright plant of the Capsicum annuum Species.

Lowcost Home Smoked Chillies – Using the ProQ Smoke Generator – Hot smoke or cold smoke, that is the question. The simple answer is that both have a place in the food chain, but when it comes to chillies, my hat is definitely in the cold camp.

Christmas Hamper – The Chilli Pepper Company – The Chilli Pepper Company has launched a range of Christmas gift hampers, with something for everybody.

Pain is good – Batch #114 Jamaican Pineapple Salsa – I did not expect to like this salsa, I don’t normally go for anything with pineapple in it, I even pick it off pizza if I have to, but this was an exception, I even enjoyed finding the tidbits of pineapple.

Hot-Headz – Mad Dog college challenge – A First Aid co-ordinator from the Samuel Whitbread Community College, Beds. telephoned Hot-Headz! on Wednesday (11/11/09) to seek assurance that pupils would be OK after a student took a bottle of Mad Dog 357 Collector’s Edition to college and challenged his peers to try some.

Volcano Chilli – Lincoln Central Market – Volcano Chilli is a new venture for Chris and Rosie Jagger and he has started it in Lincoln’s Central Market just a few weeks ago.

Scorch

Scorch

South Devon Chilli Farm New Online Community, Forum and Blog – The South Devon Chilli Farm has been redeveloping its web site and has added a new Community, Forum and a Blog .

The Chilli Pepper Company – Witches Brew Review – The bottle itself is typical of the CPC range and comes with a high gloss label on the front, complete with title and a strange grey looking witch stirring a cauldron! I do enjoy seeing Ged’s new labels when they come out as they are always fun to see, the sauce inside this bottle is a lovely red colour with flecks of black, bits of pepper flesh and the occasional seed floating about in the liquid!

ChilliPepperPete’s?—?Mole Poblano – Mole Poblano is a festive meal hailing from Oaxaca in Mexico. Oaxacan food is the consistently the best quisine in Mexico. Mexicans use a lot of mild chillis up to the jalapeno/chipotle heat but outside of the yucatan its unusual to find anything hotter. The chillis are used for flavour as well as heat and this recipe could be many hundreds of years old and in one form or another has come down from pre conquistdador times. Its very involved but can be cheated with our ready potted mole poblano which is a simplified version of this recipe. Its a great leftover turkey recipe for boxing day. – “Pete Seymour AKA ChilliPepperPete”

Cocaine and Capsaicin – a lethal mix? – A report in the New Scientist reports that Scientists may have found a link between some deaths from Pepper Sprays and Cocaine addiction.

South Devon Chilli Farm – Mild Habanero Chilli Chutney – On opening the jar there is a very pleasant fruity smell, which is not let down by the flavours from the apples and sultanas, I am very pleased to see the use of cider vinegar in this kind of high quality, it lets the flavours develop, without it needing to be matured.

Cajohns Gourmet – Scorch Review – The sauce comes from “Cajohns Gourmet” and as you might remember I reviewed their “Vicious viper” back in june and was’nt impressed mainly because the product had ALOT of heat but a not so nice flavour to it, so due to this I am a little apprehensive of this current sauce, but nonetheless lets continue!

South Devon Chilli Farm – Rapeseed Chilli Oil – The South Devon Chilli Farm has been working with The Seed Co, they have taken there cold pressed Rapeseed oil and steeped it with a blend of hot and fruity dried chilles for a month or two.

Chilli Variety???–???Yellow Bhut Jolokia – Most of our readers will already know the Bhut Jolokia is the current Guinness Book of World Records record holder as the world hottest chilli with a Scoville heat rating of 1,001,304 SHU’s, but not many will have heard of the Yellow Bhut Jolokia.

The Cornish Chilli Company – Manufacturers of Chilli Sauces using as many local ingredients as possible, they have an interesting range of products including an unusual dessert sauce.

Nitro Naga?—?Naga Jolokia Chilli Jam

Nitro Naga?—?Naga Jolokia Chilli Jam

Nitro Naga – Naga Jolokia Chilli Jam Review – This jam comes form the one and only “Chillichutneyman” a lovely gentleman by the name of Bryn, and someone i have chatted with a few times before, the “Nitro Naga” range being one he makes for Karl and co at www.scorchio.co.uk, and as such this jam is’nt like any other, it contains my FAVOURITE chilli which also happens to be the hottest chilli in the world to date, so without any more jabbering on, lets begin!

Hot-Headz Goes Christmas Crackers! – Order over £30.00 worth of products before December 20th 2009 and receive a superb quality Hot Sauce Gift Pack worth £12.99 absolutely Free!

Chilli Variety????–????Chocolate Bhut Jolokia – The Chocolate Bhut Jolokia is a variant of the Bhut Jolokia, Frontal Agritech have selected the chocolate bhut in successive generations to give a pure variety. The chilli has a pungency level similar to the red Bhut Jolokia.

Ol' Clooties Sauce

Ol' Clooties Sauce

The Chilli Garden – Ol’ Clooties Sauce Review – There are not many sauces that look this colour, with the light behind it, it is almost luminescent orange, this is not achieved with artificial colours but is all natural made with Scotch Bonnet and Caribbean Red Habanero’s chillies grown by The Chilli garden in Hampshire.

Bargin time save £1.96 on Cajohns Vicious Viper – We have just noticed that Hot-Headz has a special offer on Vicious Viper, a sauce that Darth Naga reviewed back in early July. The sauce is normally £6.95, but is on offer at only £4.99 saving £1.96 per bottle.

Top 10 UK Chilli Web Sites — November 2009 (New #1 Site) – We have a new Number 1 site. Scorchio who have been buring up our chart are now the number 1 chilli web site in the UK, knocking Chillis Galore from the top spot for the first time.

Mr Vikki Hot Coriander Sauce Review – Ahh i’ve just had a long weekend off and now its tuesday and back to work, the sauce i’m reviewing today comes from a new favourite sauce maker here at the Chilefoundry, a little northern chap by the name of Adam Marks, I am of course talking about “Mr Vikki” and the amazing sauces, chutneys and pickles he produces.

School Chilli Challenage for Children In Need – Todmorden School held a seven-a-side chilli eating contest, seven members of staff and seven six formers muched chilles to see who could eat the most. The Final winner was teacher Mike Smith who ate 11 chillies.

TABASCO® brand Habanero Sauce – The aroma from the bottle is one more of fresh fruits, namely mango as opposed to habanero, the smell is deceiving though and you’ll realise that the moment you try this one, the McIlhenny’s mean business.

UK Chilli Market On Twitter – Apart from us who else should you be following on twitter..

Hot Headz & Scorchio Top 10 Products – November 2009 – Each month we look at the best selling products from some of the UK largest retailers, this gives us and you an idea of what is selling well (So what we need to review)

Creamy Chicken Curry (Milk and Dairy free) – My wife is lactose intolerant and therefore has a problem with many Indian menu’s as they use ghee and yoghurt in a lot of their recipes. So I created this recipe to create a creamy mild curry we can both enjoy.

Free P&P for your Christmas orders from ChilliPepperPete – Orders place on-line between the 1st and the 15th of December will get free P&P from ChilliPepperPete as part of there Christmas promotions

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Fiery Foods UK National Chilli awards winner – “Best Import Product

Eswatini Swazi Kitchen - kumquat Atchar

Eswatini Swazi Kitchen - kumquat Atchar

Its a monday night, work is all done for another day and i’m doing my best to relax..and what better way to relax than with a nice review of something hot and spicy, best thing for these cold nights if you ask me!

The product I am reviewing today comes from a company known as “Just trading Scotland” who sell fair trade products here in the uk on behalf of people from Africa, asia and latin america, one of the groups that they represent is known as “Eswatini Swazi Kitchen” and its that particular group that have made the product I am reviewing today.

Eswatini was set up in 1991 by a catholic priest , Father Larry McDonnell and an Anglican Nun Sister Judith Dean O.B.E. to create jobs in Swaziland for certain communities and to generate funds for “Manzini Youth Care” a non-government organization caring for children affected by HIV and AIDS. Eswatini has grown considerably over the years and currently exports its quality products to 14 different international destinations including the US and UK.

It is also worth noting that the product i have here has also won a National Chilli award at the Fiery Foods UK festival, it won first place in the “Best import product” category!

Ingredients: Kumquat fruit (65%), Sunflower oil, Vinegar, Spices, Chillies, Salt and Garlic.

Okay, as you can see from the list of ingredients this is a very simple and straightforward product, there is no preservatives or additives so its 100% natural, the jar itself is a simple one with a white lid and the label is a beige sort of colour, with red and green writing on that stands out quite well, giving the product a very unique and homemade look as opposed to the usual mas market uber colourful approach!

The pickle (?) inside has a gorgeous orange hue to it, with flecks of red and brown throughout, sunflower oil being high on the list of ingredients my first thoughts were that this would be a little greasy, you have to imagine that its been a couple of months since the FFUK festival so i could’nt remember how this tasted, all i knew was that it won an award for good reason and I was about to relive that reason!

I twisted off the lid and held it up to my nose, allowing my olfactory senses to do the driving for a brief moment, a very fruity and uplifting smell entered my nostrils, not dissimilar to lime pickle but with something different in there..obviously this being a review i decided to allow my tastebuds to get their own opinion on this intriguing paste. I dipped in my tasting spoon and took out a nice heaped amount, placing it between my lips I let it sit on my tongue before moving it around inside my mouth to be able to fully appreciate and perhaps decipher the ingredients.

A wonderful fruity, spicy flavour was making its way around my senses, the kumquat was immediately obvious as was the chilli, I was pleasently surprised by the non-greasy texture of the product too, the kumquat created an altogether different sensation to anything else I had tasted and I certainly would’nt have ever thought that kumquats and chillies go together so well. The heat was mild but warming and complimented the fruity zing of the main ingredient, the garlic was more of a savoury afterthought but one that worked well as a parting gift to your mouth!

Just Trading Scotland

Just Trading Scotland

I remembered fondly then how we came about giving this particular pickle the award, I smiled and had another spoonful while I tried to find a price for this item, ALAS!! i could not find one at all..in fact the only way I could find an indication of where to purchase this product was to head over to http://www.justtradingscotland.co.uk/pages/Retailers and look down the list their, they also have the retailers on a handy map of britain, so i’m sure you’re bound to find someone near to you that sells the “Eswatini” range!

This sort of thing would go well with white meat i feel, things like pork and chicken would take full advantage of the flavours on offer, as would most vegetables tbh..and I think it would go VERY well with my personal favourite, CHEESE!!

Get thee to your nearest purveyour of fair trade products as listed on their site and grab a jar of this before they sell out, as i can guarentee with this sort of flavour, as soon as people start to notice it, it will sell fast!! Until next time chileheadz, may the sauce be with you!!!

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Right, it’s Monday night, the night after the Brighton “Right, it’s Monday night, the night after the Brighton “Fiery Foods UK Festival” and i have to say I’m still knackered!! It’s been a great weekend and I’ve really enjoyed myself, so i decided to take a slight detour from my usual reviewing style and instead write up a little piece about the festival and how well I believe it went!

Day One – Saturday 19th September

The Naga's

The Naga's

The whole thing started off with myself and Mrs Naga arriving on site around 9am, grabbing our parking permits, parking the Nagamobile and then hot-footing (get it? hahaha…ha…no? okay fine!) it back to the festival arena, first people we met were Miranda and ChilliPepperPete himself, Miranda couldn’t stay long as she had lots to do but we stayed and chatted with Pete for a bit before having a look around and watching everyone set up for the festival!

It wasn’t long before we had met all the usual friendly faces and a few new ones too, we had been introduced to all the Seymour clan (ChilliPepperPete) who were lovely and we had a proper good laugh with Rose and Aaron Seymour as we talked about the upcoming highlights of the day. Myself and Mrs Naga then decided to make ourselves scarce and popped off to grab something to eat and have a sit down while we waited for the day to begin, Gerald Fowler from the chilli pepper company came to sit and chat with us after he had proudly presented me with his latest creation (more on that in another article!), not long after that the gates opened and….nothing!

Disaster had struck, the AA had put out the signs for the FFUK festival that were a year old!! they displayed the dates and times as “11am till 6pm 20th and 21st of Sept” so not only were the dates wrong, but the time advertised was an hour later!!

SO with things off to a slow start people started to get a little worried, but as with anything chilli related, things soon started heating up!!

A little later that day i was asked to do the task i had come all this way for, be one of the panel of judges for the “National Chilli Awards” alongside Karl from Scorchio and Dany Lamote, the head chef from “Hotel California”! After a little while of sampling the many products, poor Dany had to go and do a cookery demo nearby so me and Karl soldiered on joined by the ever lovely Mrs Naga.

The National Chilli Awards 2009 Judges at work

The National Chilli Awards 2009 Judges at work

After we had drawn our verdicts on the various categories there was no time to waste as the awards ceremony itself was about to begin, myself, Karl and Dany dutifully got up on stage to help present the various winners with their awards, and then within no time at all after a couple of comedians (which I unfortunately missed!!) it was on to the main event of the day…The Chilli eating competition!!!

The 10 contestants made their way onstage as Rob the compere called out their names; I had met one of the favourites earlier on in the day, a young guy by the name of “Guff” who had come to the festival with his male groupies who were cheering him on as he climbed onto the stage. I was enlisted to hand out the various chilli’s to the contestants, a job which i OBVIOUSLY enjoyed, grinning like a Cheshire cat as I was handing out the fruits of pain!

Within about 30 mins we had whittled the contestants down to three; another dropped out after the Dorset Naga was consumed…but then came the piece de resistance!! the CPP Spanish Naga (more on this chilli in a future post!), after both contestants had chewed down not one….not TWO, but THREE Spanish Naga’s, the only female entrant gracefully dropped out thereby handing the win to “The Guff” who amidst all his pain and anguish still had enough strength to stand up, collect his prize ( a ChilliPepperPete t-shirt, bottle of dragons blood, £50 cash and the chance to go to ChilliPepperPete’s kitchen and cook up his own sauce!!) and bow for applause and cheers from the crowd and his gang before hastily swallowing as much milk, sugar and beer as he could consume!!

The day continued for another couple of hours, at this point there were masses of people swarming round the stalls and buying lots of painful treats for themselves and loved ones, myself and Mrs Naga were invited out for a meal by Miranda and Pete, an invitation we did not turn down! As the day progressed and the afternoon turned to evening we sat down with some of the most interesting people I have ever met and talked hot sauce, chilli’s and Baja till we had all eaten our fill at a lovely Italian restaurant down in the Marina, after which we all said goodnight and headed back to our respective abodes to try and get a good night’s sleep to prepare for the 2nd and last day of the FFUK festival!

FFUK National Chilli Wards Categories and Winners:



Day Two – Sunday 20th September

I awoke a little later than I had planned but still I felt refreshed and ready for the day, after a hasty morning preparation, myself and Mrs Naga headed out of our B&B after handing in the keys and jumped in the car, speeding off to nearby Brighton for the final day of our fantastic weekend.
As we arrived we managed to get a parking spot onsite this time, which allowed us much easier access to the whole site, the requirements of me today were to just generally help where i could, assist with the chilli eating competition again and also speak to some stallholders and get more photo’s, i headed off to see Pete and Miranda, things seemed a lot calmer today and there were much higher spirits all round as the event had only just opened and already people were pouring in and queuing outside!

After a quick chat we headed off to get some breakfast from a nearby snack wagon, then we had a lovely chat with “Archibald Floss” the proprietor of “Mental Floss” and also one of the acts for today’s show, after much laughter Archibald headed off to prepare and we went to sit down and enjoy his show. The show was fantastic, proper old school Victoriana sort of sideshow stuff, I can’t explain it very well but it was awesome, and afterwards we chatted to him some more and then headed off to chat with Gerald from the chilli pepper company who duly informed us that his newest hot sauce “10 Minute burn” had been banned by the health and safety officials for being too hot!! I took this opportunity to grab a quick video interview with Ged about the whole experience!!

Dany Lamote Cooking demonstration at FFUK09

Dany Lamote Cooking demonstration at FFUK09

We headed to the main tent where we were treated to a cookery demonstration by the fantastic Dany Lamote, head chef at the Hotel California in Baja, Mexico. Dany cooked a beautiful catfish in cashew and breadcrumbs with a chipotle sauce accompanied by stuffed Jalapeno’s and to say the food was sublime would have been an understatement, people scrambled up to the main stage the moment Dany said “who would like to try some?” We managed to grab a portion and while Mrs Naga just had the Jalapeno’s I had some fish as well and it really was worth scrambling for!!

After that it was time once again for the chilli eating competition to commence, and after much applause and booing, lots of sweat and tears one man came out on top, an ex chilli eating champion named Andy! he looked very hot and bothered but was glad to accept the prize and smiled for the camera. I stood around for a bit and chatted with a few people who recognised me from my YouTube video’s and postings here on the ChileFoundry, they urged me to make more video’s and just generally talked about all things chilli.



It soon dawned on myself and Mrs Naga that it would soon be time to go, so I set about collecting review samples from various stallholders, making sure to grab one of each of the previous days “National Chilli Awards” winners before thanking Miranda and Pete for being amazing hosts for the weekend and saying goodbye to various people we knew before climbing into the Nagamobile loaded down with plenty of review material, starting the engine and then heading off into the sunset with some awesome memories of an amazing weekend!! Thanks again guys and girls for making my trip so enjoyable, I’m really looking forward to the next one!! May the sauce be with you!!

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