I’m going to be rather bold and say this is my favourite scotch bonnet-based hot sauce ever. Continue reading to find out why! High River Sauces Cheeba Gold Hot Sauce is an incredible take on the traditional mustard-based Barbados-style hot sauce. Made with scotch bonnet and fatalii peppers, sweet peach, and curry, it indeed has, as the label says, a zesty tropical flavour! The flavour profile is more complex than you may think! It is sweet, savoury, tangy, and lightly earthy. It also has a very pleasant sweet curry aroma which has blown away my friends each time I let them have a scent of it. Once they try it of course, they get HOOKED! I also love its chunky consistency; you can taste the crunch of the seeds every once in awhile.
As with all products by High River Sauces, only all-natural ingredients are used, with no artificial colours or preservatives. If you’re interested to learn more about some of the other products by this company we carry here at Chilly Chiles, check out my past reviews of Rogue Hot Sauce and Foo Foo Mama Choo Hot Sauce!
Peaches add a fresh, fruity sweetness which is complemented by the sweet flavour and heat of the yellow scotch bonnet pepper. Onions provide a tad of sweetness as well, and a nice, thicker texture. Distilled vinegar is of course there to preserve the sauce and adds a mild tang which is actually barely noticeable. Fatalii peppers bring some extra heat and a fruity, citrus flavour. This makes for a perfect match with the other ingredients. Water ensures the liquid consistency of the sauce and that it does not taste too acidic from the vinegar. Brown sugar adds some more sweetness while the mustard adds a subtle amount of that distinct taste many of us love. The garlic adds a light zing while the lemon juice complements the citrusy flavour of the fatalii pepper. Curry powder is a key ingredient. Its warm heat and earthy flavour are very much present in this product. I love it! Salt and black pepper ensure that the sauce is well-seasoned and is not bland! Cumin contributes to the Barbados flavour with its nutty and spicy taste. The cilantro, though I couldn’t really detect it when tasting it, I’m sure has its purpose! “Family secret spices” is a very interesting ingredient to list on a bottle. It really makes the consumer quite curious about the mystery behind the flavours in the sauce. Though I will say for the most part all the flavours you find in the ingredients list can be detected upon tasting. I imagine that these spices would be closely related to those previously mentioned.
In terms of heat, I would give this one a 4 out of 10. I would have probably given it a 5 but due to the sheer sweetness of it, the heat of the peppers is brought down a notch. Barbados-style hot sauces, which pretty much always use scotch bonnet peppers, usually get into a medium-heat ranking from me given that I have a rather elevated tolerance level for spicy food. I would highly recommend this sauce to anyone who is a fan of curry and a sweet heat. The mustardy taste, though a bit less pronounced than the curry, is also something that many people enjoy tasting in a product like this one. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to those who are content with their mild-heat-level sauces, but at the same time we all like a good burn don’t we? I’ll be bold again and say ANYONE who likes the ingredients in this sauce should give it a try. It really is a fantastic product.
You can use Cheeba Gold in many ways in your day-to-day cooking and eating! Add it in your tacos, burgers, casseroles, mac n cheese, fish cakes, soups, stews, chicken salad, pulled pork, marinades, and more! It’s also delicious on chicken wings, sandwiches (any kind really), Caribbean shrimp pasta, and Jamaican patties to name a few. Try it with all kinds or rice dishes too: rice and beans, rice and peas, vegetable rice, and fried rice. As you can see this product can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways. Because of its pleasant sweetness and curry flavour, it makes for a nice addition to all kinds of cuisines whether Indian, Caribbean, or Mexican! It can also nicely match the flavours of your favourite comfort foods!
Come by one of our store locations and give High River Sauces Cheeba Gold Hot Sauce a try! You won’t regret it!
As always, Keep it spicy!
Alexis