Feeling the burn (Branston Relish Hot Chilli & Jalapeno)

Member Name: yackers1

Product:	Branston Relish Hot Chilli & Jalapeno
Date:	01/08/09 (131 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hot and spicy, great consistency, versatile

Disadvantages: Can be a bit overpowering if you use too much

Whilst at a BBQ a couple of months back (remember that lovely hot spell we had in early June? What's going on with the weather now?!?) that I was first introduced to Branstons chilli and jalapeno relish. Being a bit of a spicy food fanatic, and much to my friend's amusement, I squirted a whole load of this thick, red relish on and proceeded to tuck in and then......wallop. My cheeks turned red, my eyes started watering and my mouth was on fire, but I loved it and just had to get some.

****Ingredients****

As you'd expect this relish is packed full of different ingredients, most of which are quite powerful on their own. Tomatoes make up 20% of this relish with diced tomatoes in juice making up 12% and tomato paste making up 8%, which I found quite surprising.

What surprises me even more is the relatively low amounts of chilli and jalapeno, at 1.0% and 0.4% respectively. I appreciate that these are powerful ingredients but even with such low amounts the spiciness can be taste bud destroying.

Other key ingredients include sugar (I must stress that this relish is exceptionally sweet), mustard seeds, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, onion and spirit vinegar.

Some spicy relishes and sauces try to pack too many spicy ingredients in to achieve the kick and the result is quite often disappointing. Whilst they are hot and spicy (objective achieved) they don't always taste that good and the flavours just don't compliment each other. This is not the case with this relish.

****Nutritional information****

A 100g squirt provides:
i) 124kcal
ii) 1.6g of protein
iii) 27.8g of carbohydrates
iv) 24.4g of which are sugars
v) 0.7g of fat

The carbohydrate content is absolutely massive and I am amazed how it can be so high. This definitely is not a condiment for those following the Atkins, or any other low/nil carbohydrate diets. The sugar content is also worrying and I think this is the highest sugar content of a condiment I have ever seen. I appreciate that all these processed sauces and relishes are high in sugar, it is a given, but this amount is a bit too high in my opinion.

****What's it like?****

This relish can only be bought in a clear plastic squeezy bottle, which is great because it is easy to get out (I absolutely hate those old-fashioned glass bottles which required a lot of shaking), but not so good in that it can be volatile and the contents will all of a suddenly explode out of the container.

The first thing I noticed about this relish is the subtle sweet smell. With all those powerful ingredients I thought it would give off a strong scent, but it doesn't. Most spicy foods have that 'hot' smell and as soon as it fills your nostrils you know there's going to be a bit of heat, but I didn't find that the case with this relish.

This relish has a very thick consistency, which I am a particular fan of, since there is nothing worse than covering a burger or a sausage in a thin and watery sauce that runs off and soaks in to the bun resulting in soggy bread. A thicker relish is also a bit safer since the chances of any excess splurging out and covering your shirt greatly reduces. There are loads of 'bits' in this relish and it is easy to identify the mustard seeds and onion but the chilli peppers and jalapenos are a bit more difficult to identify (probably due to the fact that the ingredients state 'red chilli puree' and 'jalapeno pepper puree') but there are definitely small green bits present. These 'bits' also gives this relish a bit more body than other relishes and sauces.

Being a fiery bright red colour, the chilli and jalapeno relish looks like it could pack a punch, and boy it certainly does. I like my food very spicy (it's got to be a vindaloo with extra chillies every time) and I'd like to think that my taste buds are adaptable to spicy things, however if I pile this relish on a burger then it is a bit too much for me. I find a small quantity of this relish will set my taste buds racing, however too much and it totally kills them. There is a fine line between just enough and too much, and if you get the latter then its game over as the rest of the food is ruined, which is a bit of a shame. I find a splodge the size of a walnut evenly spread on a burger bap to leave a nice thin coating all round is ideal. If you like things less spicy then reduce the size of the initial splodge accordingly, and if you are not a fan of spicy things then I would strongly recommend you stay away from this relish as it is clearly not for you.

****What to do with it****

Predominantly marketed as a relish for burgers and sausages, but then I find this is the case with all relishes, this product is much more versatile than that and it is useful for a variety of different hot and cold dishes.

I think it is a great substitute for butter or margarine in a cheese sandwich, just to give it that little kick. Another favourite of mine is lightly toasting some bread and smearing on a quantity of relish (once again, the walnut sized splodge is ideal) before covering in a healthy amount of grated cheese and finally placing under the grill until the cheese bubbles and starts to burn, hence creating a kind of pizza dish but with that little extra. A word of warning though, when the relish is hot is does tend to be a bit more sticky and may cause burning, of both the heat and the spice varieties.

Whilst this relish is versatile, its taste doesn't compliment every dish. For example, I tried it on fish and chips but it just didn't work. The relish was too spicy, the consistency was just too thick and it just wasn't right.

****Price and availability****

Being produced by Branston, this relish is available from most food retails outlets, from the small corner shops to the large national supermarket chains, although I am advised by a friend that it is not available from Aldi or Lidl, so it's a good job that I do my grocery shopping at Tescos.
The normal price for this relish is £1.69 although there was a recent offer whereby Tesco were knocking them out at 2 for £2, but so I ensured that I stocked up.

****Conclusion****

This is one spicy condiment that you should treat with a little care. Don't let the small amounts of chilli and jalapenos (as stated on the ingredients list) fool you as these really do give a spicy kick, which can be very overpowering at times, especially if you add too much, or don't spread it out thinly enough. Too much is likely to obliterate your taste buds and you won't appreciate the food at all, and none wants that, but used in the right quantities I think it is a perfect condiment for a variety of dishes.

Summary: A very hot relish for spicy food lovers. If you don't like heat this is definitely not for you.