Lemon

Hot Juan’s – Lemon ‘n Lime Fire Chutney

by Hot Juan on December 6, 2011 · 0 comments

in Recipes

I wrote this recipe down originally for a book, published many years ago “The Hot Book of Chillies“. I am not sure I have ever made it the same way twice, but a few weeks ago I came across a jar from the batch I made back then, and wow does it taste good. I cannot recommend you keep yours so long, this jar dates back to 2005, but it just shows how well things mature.

Lemon 'n Lime Fire Chutney

Yield: About 1.5L (3 Pints of Chutney)

Ingredients

  • 6 Limes
  • 2 Large Lemons
  • 500 g Onions
  • 50 g Salt
  • 500 g Sugar
  • 700 ml Vinegar
  • 2 tsp Mustard Seeds
  • 2 tsp Paprika
  • 2 tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1 tsp Ground Turmeric
  • 10 Hot Thai Chillies (finely chopped)
  • 200 g Raisins

Cooking Directions

  1. Place the Limes and Lemons in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then leave to stand until cool enough to handle.
  2. Cut the fruit into halves and squeeze the juice into a bowl, removing the seeds.
  3. Chop the remaining skin and pulp onto small pieces with scissors or a sharp knife, mix in the onions ans sprinkle with salt.
  4. In a latge pan bring the vinegar and sugar to the boil and simmer until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the chopped lime, lemon and onion mixture as well as all the dry spices, raisins and chillies, mix well and simmer for 2-3 hours stirring frequently until the mixture has reduced by about 50%.
  5. Pour into sterilized jars and seal while still hot.
  6. Your chutney will be ready to eat within 3-4 weeks.

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Trees Can’t Dance – Sweet Chilli Sauce

by Hot Juan on November 15, 2011 · 1 comment

in Product Reviews

Trees Cant's Dance Sweet Chilli Sauce

Trees Cant's Dance Sweet Chilli Sauce

Unusually this sauce had been opened before it got to us for photography, and the reason for that is simple, this bottle was the sample bottle  used by the judges at the National Chilli Awards in Brighton this year and this sauce won the “Best Chilli Jam / Sweet Chilli Sauce” category.

We I know before I start that my fellow chilli-headz think this a dam good sauce, and I did taste it at the event a number of times, but how we are back in the office and does this sauce really live up to winning first place.

On opening the bottle, the richness of the sauce hits you, this does not smell like overly sweet sugar sauce with a bit of chilli in it, I can smell the peppers, lemons, limes and garlic, it is sweet smelling but not sickly sweet smelling.

The taste is again rich with the sweet peppers, it is sweet, it is meant to be  it is a sweet chilli sauce, but it is the flavours I am enjoying, and is is still sticky enough, ideal for dipping those spring rolls or Thai fish cakes in, but there is far more to it that just sweet heat.

Ingredients: Sweet Red Peppers (43%), Sugar, Vinegar, Water, Ginger (1%), Lime Juice (<1%), Habanero Chilli (<1%), Lemon Juice, Fennel Seeds, Lemon Zest, Cumin Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Garlic (<1%), Salt.

The more I eat of this sauce the more I can identify the ingredients, they are working so well in this recipe it is hard not miss some of the subtleties they bring to the sauce, but they are all there.

“The Best Sweet Chilli Sauce I have Tasted?“

Is this the best Sweet Chilli Sauce I have tasted (my own recipe excluded, well that is still a work in progress)? I have to say probably yes I don’t think I have tested a better one and certainly this one wipes the floor with that cheap nasty sauce I am so often offered at restaurants.

The sauce is nut free and gluten free and costs a just £3.00 for a 270g bottle, you can order this on-line at www.treescantdance.co.uk

Flavour
(8.5/10)
Heat
(3.5/10)
Packaging
(8/10)
Value
(8/10)
Overall
(8/10)

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Nando’s Hot Peri-Peri Cashews Nuts

by Hot Juan on October 6, 2011 · 0 comments

in Product Reviews

Nando's Peri-Peri Cashews

Nando's Peri-Peri Cashews

In the past I have been completely won over by Nando’s Crisps, they have been much hotter that almost anything commonly (in supermarkets) available, So there cashews have a lot to live up to. I am hoping to be-able to taste the cashew nut, while still enjoying the heat. In a crisp the potato flavour is less important, we are just after crunch and to use it to carry flavour (any maybe a dip).

At first taste, these are no let down when it comes to Nando’s signature flavour, they are hot enough with a good Lemon background, very similar to the sauces, Nando’s fan will not be disappointed.

The cashews are good and crunchy and you do get some of the cashew flavour, cashews are far less oily than peanuts and it is the oil that passes the peanut flavour, so I am impressed that you can still taste the cashews.

Ingredients: Cashews (92.5%), Salt, Maltodextrin, Sugar, Spices (Cayenne Pepper, Paprika Powder, African Bird’s Eye Chilli – Peri Peri Chilli), Herbs, Onion Powder, Arabic Gum, Garlic Powder, Acidity regulators (Citric Acid, Sodium Acetate), Natural Lemon Flavour (Lemon Juice, Citric Acid, Malic Acid), Inactive Yeast (Contains Soya), Vegetable Oils, Lemon Oil, Anticaking Agent (Silicon Dioxide), Spice Extracts (Paprika, Capsicum), Natural Flavouring.

Looking at the nuts, you can see they have been well coated, and processed mostly as whole nuts, there are very few broken pieces and very little of the coating has dropped off.

At just £1.69 for 90g from www.tesco.com and all other good supermarkets, they are good value for money, you can easy pay a £1.00 for a plain snack pack of cashews.

I would probably stick to the crisps as my favourite Nando’s snack, as I do like to do a bit of dipping, and you don’t mush on a cashew..

Flavour
(9/10)
Heat
(6/10)
Packaging
(8/10)
Value
(8/10)
Overall
(8.5/10)

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Project Spice – Habanero Hornet – a sauce with a sting in the tail

by Hot Juan on August 10, 2011 · 0 comments

in Product Reviews

Unfortunately our bottle got shaken before we got to photograph it, so please imagine that that yellow Habanero sauce has been poured over some chilli flakes that have been originally deposited at the bottom of the bottle, the effect was stunning, but it seemed impossible not to shake by anyone who saw it.

Project Spice - Habanero Hornet

Project Spice - Habanero Hornet

Having the dried chillies at the bottom of the bottle (if you don’t shake it) has the effect of making the sauce hotter and hotter the more you use it, this being the sting in the tail mentioned on the label and this sauce defiantly has the sting of the wasp about it (More about that later), it is not at the extreme extract heat level, but it is enough  to make most grown men….

On opening the bottle the sauce smells fruity with a strong hint of Lemons and Habaneros, the sauce is a great yellow colour from the peppers, Saffron and Turmeric, with a nice thick consistency.

First taste is a bit of a WwwooowwW moment, as it does not smell like it would be that hot. It starts my lips tingling almost straight away,an effect I tend to get from sauces with Lemon in them. After the  first burst of heat my mouth starts to acclimatize things start to cool down a bit and the flavours start to come through. I really love the light touch of White Wine Vinegar, its it there but not overwhelming,  and it works well with the lemon giving it a clean finish with no unpleasant after tastes.

Ingredients: Roasted Peppers, Habanero Chilli, Chipotles de Naga, Dried Chilli, Onion, White Wine Vinegar, Lemon, Saffron, Turmeric, Garlic, Ginger, Sugar & Salt.

Bottle kindly supplied by www.projectspice.co.uk

This sauce would go so well with some BBQ roast chicken, I’m kind of reminded of Nando’s sauce, but with a much better hit of heat, a kind of Nando’s extra extra extra EXTRA hot.. what about buying a bottle and taking it with you? Maybe we can get Nando’s to adopt this as a special! I will be taking mine and letting them try it

At £3.95 for a 125ml bottle this sauce is a one you should have on your list of must try sauces, but put a big label on it don’t shake me so you can see the unique arty look and try an ever increasing heat.

Flavour
(9/10)
Heat
(7.5/10)
Packaging
(6.5/10)
Value
(8/10)
Overall
(8/10)

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