Same Sauce, Different Mashes
The Impetus
I ordered a few different types of pepper mash from LA Pepper exchange, and want to test them out. I had to leave out the Cayenne unfortunately because they sent the wrong kind, but I have Red Jalapeno and Red Serrano to test.
The Approach
These are going to be a simple sauce - Aged Pepper Mash (salt included), lime juice, single garlic clove, vinegar, and in the case of Red Serrano, a bit of water to thin it out (Red Serrano is a thick mash for some reason). I combined the ingredients in a food processor, strained them into a pot, and heated them on the stove. Simple. This is mainly going to be done just so I can get a sense of what differentiates the peppers.
The Results
So I didn’t think there was going to be a noticeable difference in flavor. Boy was I wrong. The Jalapeno sauce has a much more very fruity, floral flavor, while the Red Serrano is a bit more earthy and smokey. The consistency of each is perfect, but the color… the Red Serrano is almost the exact color of ketchup - DEEP red, where the Red Jalapeno is slightly more ‘burnt sienna’. I’ll have to wait until they’re out of the fridge tomorrow to give a better description.
Final Thoughts
I didn’t think there was going to be such a huge difference in flavor just using two slightly different peppers. When you slice Jalapenos and Serranos open and taste them fresh, while they’re still green, there’s very little difference. However after they’ve fully ripened and undergone lactic acid fermentation, the difference is almost night and day. We’ll see if either of these mashes are good enough to make it into the first round of Pablo’s brand. If neither on their own seem to stand out enough, I’ll likely be trying a mash blend to add complexity and depth of flavor.
