They are being nice to me to get things started, I think. #1 is Spicy Sweet Berry Sauce from Robert Rothschild Farm. It’s based on Raspberries, which is a good start- who doesn’t like Raspberries? It’s also all natural, which I like because my wife is crazy (seriously, she’s crazy- but I love her) about all natural, organic, etc, etc. So, I won’t get any flack for eating this- like I do when she finds a ravaged “Ho-Ho” wrapper hidden under the seat of my truck. It’s also Gluten Free, which, I guess, if you want to be free from Gluten, is a good thing. The bottle says the underlying pepper is Habanero, so I’m kind of wondering how this is going to work out. I’m having a flashback to Pete handing me a sauce and saying “It’s just applesauce.” It wasn’t “just applesauce” and I’m pretty sure I was chemically burned from the heat. I do have a sweet tooth (enter “Ho-Ho’s”) and love me some berries, so I do have high hopes.

Opened up the bottle and it reminds me of a sweet berry sauce- now that I write that it seems it would be pretty self evident from the name. What I mean is the kind of berry sauce you would pour over an ice cream sundae. I actually like to make my own berry sauces for desserts, so I can smell the sweetness that comes from adding sugar to the berries. That’s a good thing. Although berries are naturally sweet, adding sugar takes some of the earthiness away and makes them amazing in sauces. It also thickens up the juices which gives it more of a saucy consistency instead of watery. But, I digress.

There’s a slight tang to the smell, but no indications of serious heat or peppers. It’s a decently thick sauce and it’s obvious they used real raspberries and not a flavoring or overly processed fruit, as evidenced by the seeds and berry “pulp.”

First try is right on a spoon. Just a little dab on the tongue just in case there’s a habanero ninja hiding in there waiting to slap me. There isn’t, but I can definitely taste a hint of the pepper. Alright, digging in with a spoonful.

Wow, I really like this stuff. It is sweet, but not so much so that a few tastes and you feel like you’ve eaten a bag full of gummy bears. There’s just the right amount of sweetness to keep wanting more. The habanero is poking it’s head out, at least it would be if habanero’s had heads, but there’s no real burn. In fact, it creates a really interesting balance with the sweetness. I would say this is somewhere between a 1 and 2 on the heat level- let’s call it 1.5. There is a tiny kick from the habanero peppers, but as a comparison, red pepper flakes are hotter and the sweet berries quickly cool that down.

As I’ve been writing, I grabbed some tortilla chips, Ritz type crackers, and some weird organic grain things that are shaped deceptively like crackers. It’s really good on all three, believe it or not. The salt in the chips and Ritz really adds even more complexity to the sauce. I’m not sure what’s on these organic things, but flavor is not one of them, so they are just acting as a vehicle for the Spicy Sweet Berry Sauce to get to my mouth. Good news there is that I can now eat them and my wife will be happy. My favorite though, is by far the Ritz. There’s a buttery taste to the Ritz (probably from loads of butter I’m guessing) that is fantastic with this sauce. The consistency of the crackers really makes this too.

I need a shovel. Forget the crackers.

Okay, grabbing some cream cheese to mix this with- why? Why not. Same deal- great stuff. I have little kids and even they are eating this up mixed with the cream cheese. There’s really nothing more than an ever so slight snap from the pepper heat. Oh, here’s my wife- she just gave us some raw veggies. Isn’t that a surprise. Yep, it’s really good on those too. Last one- ever have a cream cheese and jelly sandwich? If you have, you know how good they are and you are already there with me. Yes, to answer your question, this makes a mean CC&J sandwich. I know, it’s not really jelly, but who cares- it’s good!

The bottom line: 1.5 on heat, 9 on flavor. Great sauce, but get more than one, we went through a whole bottle in about 20 minutes- Hey Pete, send more! Can’t wait to see what’s next.