Crispy Kytti’s Cauldron – Hexed Vexed Mangos

Bitter: ✰✰✰✰✰

Salty: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Sour: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Sweet: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

Umami: ⭐⭐✰✰✰

Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰

Quick Flavor Notes: Sweet, sour, funky, salty

Texture: Medium thick and syrup-like

Recommended: Yes

Ingredients: Pepper mash (mango, apple, habanero, salt), red wine vinegar, lime juice, water, chamoy, maple syrup, cane sugar, Tajin, salt, spices

I have a bit of an issue with mango based hot sauces. It’s not that I don’t enjoy mangoes, I do, and even had a mango tree in the yard of a previous home. My issue is that, living in Florida, I’ve just become overexposed. Mango salsas creeping in to dishes everywhere, mango based hot sauces, mango drinks, at a certain point one becomes burnt out. I’ve also noticed that virtually every hot sauce company in the world makes a mango-habanero sauce. Perhaps the style is a hot seller and that’s why everyone does it, but it’s always struck me as lacking some creativity – why make the same sauce everyone else is making?

That brings me to Crispy Kytti’s Cauldron’s Hexed Vexed Mangos. It’s thankfully something different in the mango sauce game. The second sauce I’ve reviewed from the Iowa-based craft hot sauce startup this takes the standard mango-habanero base and creates a new spin on it with the addition of chamoy, a Mexican style sweet hot sauce often paired with fruit, and Tajin seasoning, a popular chile and lime seasoning salt also often used with fruit in Mexico. In fact, when the Mexican fruit guy comes by the office I always have mine topped with Taijn, chamoy, and lime juice, it’s a classic combination (and if your office doesn’t have a Mexican fruit guy or an empanada lady who come and sell their wares from the trunks of their cars, I’m sorry).

On the first taste Hexed Vexed Mangos reminded me somewhat of a Chinese sweet and sour sauce but with a tropical twist. When they’re good mangoes have a certain musky funkiness going on, and that comes through in this sauce. The use of red wine vinegar and lime juice give it great acidity to balance the sweetness from the mangoes, sugar, chamoy, and maple syrup without ever becoming harsh. The citrus and salty kick from the Tajin comes through too, especially after that initial wave of sweet and sour comes through, so you’re getting sweet and sour and sweet and salty at the same time with this sauce, both great flavor combinations. This sauce is still very sweet and has a smooth sticky syrup-like consistency but I found that with the balance of other flavors it could work well in both sweet and savory applications.

Crispy Kytti’s Cauldron suggests that this is a dessert sauce on the bottle, but I wanted to try this out first with some Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken in lieu of the normal neon red sauce. Hexed Vexed Mangos does a great job keeping that sweet and sour sauce vibe and the addition of the mango funk was a welcome change of pace. The sauce is also a great companion to pork (finding an entire pork loin for $1.85/lbs vs pork chops for $5.99/lbs seemed like a great deal, but I have a lot of pork to eat). With the chamoy and Tajin elements I tossed some sliced apples, peaches, and nectarines in it and the sour and salty notes went very well with the fruit. In the end I did have to try it as a dessert sauce, and Hexed Vexed Mangos is absolutely amazing as a vanilla ice cream topping.

I’m happy to recommend Crispy Kytti’s Cauldron Hexed Vexed Mangos. Even though I’m not usually a big sweet sauce or fruit sauce fan this one won me over with its unique flavor profile and quality ingredients. If you like sweet, sour, salty, and funky I highly recommend checking it out.