Continuing on with the 4 Hot Pepper Sauce Reviews, now let’s try Crystal Hot Sauce, also a Louisiana product like Tabasco, which lists its ingredients as:
Aged Red Cayenne Peppers,
Distilled Vinegar
Salt
Crystal has a very similar appearance to Tabasco in the bottle, somewhat redder and a little more opaque – hey it does say right on the label that Cayenne Pepper is the major ingredient, and it is the only sauce to list Pepper 1st.
The nose says Vinegar sourness and Aged Pepper right away along with a Pepper Pungency and a little Briny finish. Again pleasant, with a little more (not hot) Pepper assertiveness than Tabasco.
And the tongue registers a strong lemony sourness with a pronounced Aged Pepper flavor, and almost no Pepper Heat at all, then a quick finish with not much lingering on. I am surprised. And a little sorry. I loved the robust Cayenne Pepper flavor but, gee, no heat and no finish. Sigh. The flavor is gone in a flash.
This is definitely the Hot Sauce for people who don’t like Hot Sauces. I mean this in a nice way -- there is a good flavor. This sauce will affect the acidity of foods with a big addition of lemon-vinegar flavor and will add a some Aged Pepper flavor, and a little saltiness. Love that brief, but deep Aged Pepper flavor.
Where did the heat go?
Next up in the 4 Hot Pepper Sauce Review series is Trappey's Red Devil.
Yours in Heat and Flavor,
~Ted
Previous post in this series: Tabasco Review
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this is the perfect hot sauce for fried seafood, like a fried shrimp po-boy, you can smother it in Crystal without it taking away from the flavor of the food itself, Crystal is about adding taste not heat
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