nice and spicy (Branston Relish Hot Chilli & Jalapeno)

Member Name: mjc121

Product:	Branston Relish Hot Chilli & Jalapeno
Date:	26/08/09 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good kick of chilli without being too hot

Disadvantages: no mild, medium and hot option

I'm a bit of a spicy food fanatic at times and a friend of mine and I are always trying to out do each other in how hot we can make our chillies and curries. So far he has the hottest chilli title where as I have produced the hottest curry so far (cayenne pepper is wonderful stuff) but at times I just want something with a bit of a kick which doesn't leave me sweating like mad.

Some so called chilli sauces are so feek and weable (sorry one of my dad's sayings - it sort of stuck with me) that they really aren't worth bothering. Still I was wondering round my local Sainsburys and after seeing the rather daft advert for these I decided to give this one a go. At £1.60 it was slightly more than I like to pay for a sauce/relish but if it was good it would be worth it. Also Branston and Crosse and Blackwell are names which I have been familiar with for years and are names I generally trust.

The squeezable plastic bottle is ergonomically designed and holds 380g of the product. The flip-top cap has a good closing snap to it so you know that it is tightly closed. The inner seal that needs removing is fairly easy to pull off and in doing so the product does not go everywhere as some bottles of sauce tend to do.

The relish is red in colour and it looks like a good relish should do as it is quite chunky. The initial smell is that of tomato and onion with the smell of the chilli coming through towards the end. The taste of it is a good combination of the tomato base and the onion with a good taste of the chilli. The kick from the hotter jalapeno pepper comes through and gives a good amount of heat without it being too overpowering. There is also a good balance of sweetness to the acidic vinegar with neither of these taking over the overall flavour of the relish. The texture is also good, the blend of the smooth tomato base and the chunkier onions works well. The chunkiness of the relish means that the plastic bottle does need a bit of a squeeze to get it on your plate and it comes out in what I can only describe as 'dollops' I usually find that one or two of these is enough for a main course. Whilst this does have a good kick to it the relish isn't so hot that it makes you gasp for water etc. For me I would call this medium on the heat scale. Perhaps in future they will bring out a hotter one with scotch bonnet peppers in it.

This relish is a good accompaniment to meats and it is very good on a good quality burger. I have also found that this goes well with a mature cheddar cheese where the sharpness of the cheese is complimented very well by the chilli kick and slight sweetness of the relish. I have at times put the last bit left in a bottle into my chillies to use it up as well as to add a bit of flavour to the dish. I have also used it as part of a marinade for chicken and lamb where it has also worked well.


Nutritional info (per 100g)

Energy - 124 kcal
Protein - 1.6g
Carbs - 27.8g (sugars 24.4g)
Fat - 0.7g (saturates nil)
Fibre - 0.7g
Salt - 1.3g

This at first glance does look fairly high in salt but you do only use a fairly small amount so it isn't too bad. Also whilst the sugars do look rather high some of this will be the natural sugars in the tomato and onions etc.

For me this is one of the better chilli sauces/relishes on the market and I have bought it on a number of occasions. The product is suitable for vegetarians and the only allergy advice on the bottle is that it contains mustard.

After opening the inner seal the bottle needs to be kept in the fridge and it is supposed to be used within 6 weeks of opening, well that's not a problem as I normally get through it in two weeks.

Summary: a good relish with a bit of a kick