Ferm Foundations – Serrano Mustard Micro-Batch Hot Sauce

I’ve mentioned before that Serrano peppers are one of my favorites from a flavor aspect, and I also adore mustard, so when I saw that this sauce combined two of my favorite things I knew it was one that I had to try.

Made by Ferm Foundations in Manchester, PA this sauce combines simple all-natural ingredients to great effect. The mustard seeds are left whole and pickled a bit by the fermentation and vinegar content, so not only do they add a great texture, they add little pops of wonderful whole-grain mustard flavor.

The sauce is very mustard forward, they take the lead and dominate the flavor profile, and though the serrano peppers play a backing role, they add their characteristic heat and grassiness to this sauce. The fermentation process adds a tiny bit of fizz and funk to make it more complex and interesting, and there’s that vinegar tang which I personally adore in sauces.

I found this sauce paired very well anywhere mustard would go – on hot dogs, on sandwiches, mixed into cheese dip, eaten straight out of the bottle with a spoon, etc. I also found it to be an extremely tasty chicken wing sauce, with the bright mustardy flavor mixing extremely well with some butter and crispy air-fried chicken.

Ferm Foundations seems to rotate their sauce line fairly frequently and makes small batches, so I’d recommend picking a bottle up at your earliest convenience before it’s gone if you’re a mustard and serrano lover like I am.

Ingredients: Distilled Vinegar, Serrano Peppers, Yellow Bell Pepper, Garlic, Black Mustard Seed, Yellow Mustard Seed, Salt

Heat Level: 3/10. There’s that characteristic serrano quick bite of heat but it passes quickly, plus a little bit of that mustard burn.