http://drosengarten.com
Late last year, I was contacted by an agency spreading the word about a new line of chili pepper extracts created by farmer in Virgina named Bob Henry. Henry Family Farms is located in Virgina's Shenandoah Valley where chili peppers have been grown by Bob and his father for over 30 years. The peppers are harvested within 24 hours and are used to create a pure chili sauce. This is where the Varietal Chili Pepper Extracts are born. Some samples were sent my way and when they arrived, I couldn't wait to give them a try.
In my chilihead days, I have never been a big fan of pepper extracts. They tend to be very bitter and can easily make a dish taste pretty bad. Some hot wing establishments, for example, like to add extracts to their wing sauce which ruins the traditional Buffalo-style flavor we all love. For quick, intense heat, I have since adapted to pepper purees which fall along in the sauce category but without a lot of added flavor. I was skeptical about these new extracts but I soon became aware that these were discovered and sold by David Rosengarten; the journalist and host of "Taste" on Food Network. His work in the culinary field speaks for itself so I was then confident that these extracts would be a great addition to my experiences. After coming home from a work trip out of town, I saw the box waiting for me on our breakfast bar.
I opened the box and took a quick peak. I found two 5 oz bottles, one being a naga jolokia and the other a yellow fatali habanero. I noticed that the labels on the bottles appeared to be printed by an inkjet printer and applied rather loosely. Having made sauce in past and printing labels out myself, it reminded me of my own bottling line I had going in my kitchen. I refused to judge the extracts at this stage because, just like my homemade sauces, you cannot judge a book by its cover. I snapped a few pics and took a taste of each extract, starting with the jolokia. To my surprise, I found this extract to be a lot sweeter than bitter. The heat kicked in almost instantly and so did my love for it. I then tried the habanero and found it to have a much bitter taste than its partner. The bitterness subsided and the sweetness from the habanero left a nice, pleasant aftertaste. Into my pantry they went from there and I set a goal to try each in some dishes in the near future.
The first opportunity came in a Japanese miso soup that I made for us one night. In a pot with 2-3 servings-worth of soup, I added 2-3 teaspoons of the jolokia extract. This really set this soup off with a nice punch that had zero bitterness. I built up a good sweat and found myself going for seconds. Out of all the times I have had miso soup, none have had this much flavor. The extract gave it a very nice kick without the addition of other ingredients most hot sauces would have given. I was very satisfied with this experience and began planning the next. That opportunity came this week in a 15 bean soup made with a leftover Christmas ham bone. In a large crockpot of soup, I added a tablespoon of the habanero extract after the ham bone was removed. I let it simmer for another hour then made a nice bowl for dinner. I didn't find a lot of heat in this soup as much as I did the miso with the jolokia but it did give it a nice, sweet flavor. Some bitterness was present, however, but I still considered it some of the best bean soup I have ever had. I am sure the extract added flavors to help achieve that status (as well as the awesome ham I smoked).
I definitely recommend Henry Family Farm's Varietal Chile Extracts and they can be purchased on the link above. However, I do advise getting a 3 pack at $32 because at $22 an individual bottle, they are simply priced too high. This is due to the limited supply from the small batch made last year so I would hope to see prices come down eventually if the product takes off. Hopefully the word keeps getting around about these to help make that happen!
