I was pretty tickled to receive my box of hot sauces from the Suffern Bros. at All American Hot Sauce to begin my gastronomic tour of their hot sauces. It wasn’t hard to talk me into this at all. You mean I get to try more hot sauces and support a good cause? Well, sign me right up! Looking at the bottle, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to open it first or perhaps say the Pledge of Allegiance. Big bold printing on an American-flag background label, with a hotness rating that claims this to be 7/10 chiles for heat. Judging by the ingredients, I sorta doubted that:

Ingredients: seasoned rice wine vinegar, chilies, carrot, salt, sugar, sodium bisulfate

OK, Suffern Bros., you had me until that last ingredient. Pure and simple, but with a totally unnecessary preservative. In all likelihood, it’s really sodium bisulfite (not bisulfate), which is commonly added to prevent oxidation and deter microbial growth. Dudes! This stuff is vinegar based and likely has a pH around 3-4…nothing is gonna grow in it. Ditch the the additives and go all-natural. What could be more All-American than that?

Speaking of All American, what do you think of as being truly All American? Perhaps hot dogs?

Maybe apple pie?

How ’bout baseball?

For now, let it be this hot sauce. I liked the simplicity of this sauce. For all intents and purposes, it’s a basic hot sauce with chilies and vinegar, with a smattering of salt. Much like a Louisiana-style sauce, but not the same. Highly vinegary, it goes well with acidic foods (i.e. tomato-based) where the tartness of the vinegar doesn’t overwhelm the taste. I particularly liked it in soups and chili, but was also good with Cajun dishes like gumbo and jambalaya. I was fortunate enough to have this bottle with me when I stopped in Lexington, KY at my favorite cajun eatery, Gumbo Ya Ya.I had lots of choices there for sauces, but this one was the best on my food that day.

Also, it’s not nearly 7 chiles out of 10 hot either…perhaps more like 5/10. It’s middle-of-the-road for heat to be sure.

Overall recommendation: Not a sauce that reinvents the wheel by any stretch, and actually a rather mundane “introductory” hot sauce that you can certainly find use for in your cooking and on your prepared dishes. Strong with vinegar, your mileage with this sauce may vary…so choose your uses wisely. Enjoy!