Microsaucerie Piko Peppers – Volkano Hot Sauce
Microsaucerie Piko Peppers out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada is a company I’ve had my eyes on for a little while but haven’t had a chance to try any of their sauces until recently. Piko Peppers tries to use as many locally sourced ingredients as possible in their sauces and uses only all natural ingredients, both things that in my experience go a long way towards making a great sauce. The cat on their label is named Kobo, the mascot of the company.
Volkano is Microsaucerie Piko Peppers’ newest sauce and at the moment an exclusive to Heatonist for the current season of Hot Ones where it sits in the number six position. I picked this up along with the numbers seven and nine sauces as part of the Hot Ones heat pack for this season. Volkano is a loving tribute to the habanero pepper featuring the pepper three ways – fermented, roasted, and dried and powdered. In addition the flavors of the habaneros are supported by garlic, roasted onion, vinegar, and lemon juice. This sauce has a pleasant medium-thin consistency that makes it easy to pour and an aroma of fresh habanero and onion.
On my first taste of Volkano what immediately hit me was a big wave of fresh habanero flavor. There’s the fruitiness, the vegetal flavor, and the typical habanero quick flash of heat. The blend of fermented, fresh roasted, and habanero powder somehow creates an amalgam that brings the flavor of fresh off of the plant habaneros. The roasted habaneros with a little bit of char and caramelization bring extra depth which is echoed with the roasted onions, and there’s the punch of fresh garlic adding a robust extra dimension. When I saw that cane sugar was listed as an ingredient I was somewhat concerned, but there’s no sweet flavor to this sauce at all other than the natural fruitiness of the habanero. Likewise I’m wary of powders used in sauces as they can often leave a gritty texture, but the amount of habanero powder used must be small enough and the quality of it high enough that I’d never know a powder was used in this sauce if I didn’t see it on the ingredients list. There’s a great tanginess to this sauce as well, a nice strong vinegar hit which when mixed with the lemon juice gives it a freshness and vibrancy.
In general I find habanero sauces, especially those without strong other flavors other than the typical onions and garlic, to be some of the most versatile sauces out there and this was no exception. Great with Mexican food, great with rice and beans, great on a sub, great on eggs, amazing on wings, this sauce pairs well with any type of western food. The more vinegar-forward nature of this sauce is also great for cutting through richer stews and chowders and adds a brightness plus heat and flavor to cream based dishes.
Microsaucerie Piko Peppers Volkano gets my strongest recommendation. It’s an absolutely delicious sauce with big fresh flavors and a very manageable level of heat. Their use of hand selected local peppers and a commitment to an all natural sauce pays big dividends. This may well be my favorite of the three sauces that came in the pack.
Ingredients: Water, distilled vinegar, roasted onions, red peppers, fermented Habanero puree (Habanero peppers, salt), roasted Habanero peppers, lemon juice, garlic, cane sugar, sea salt, ground Habanero pepper
Heat Level: 4/10. This is a bit spicier than the average basic habanero sauce with a quick onset of heat and a little bit of linger.
