Butterfly Bakery of Vermont – Maple Wood Smoked Onion Habanero Hot Sauce
Bitter: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Sour/Tangy: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Heat: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Fruity, tangy, oniony, smoke
Texture: Medium with some small chunks and seeds
Recommended: Yes
Ingredients: Honey Field Farm red habanero, Artesano organic white vinegar, maple wood smoked Full Moon Farm onions, salt
Butterfly Bakery of Vermont says that their Maple Wood Smoked Onion Hot Sauce is one of their most popular and best selling sauces. Apparently so much so that it has spawned two variants – a milder version made with carmen peppers in place of the original’s red jalapenos, and this version which replaced those red jalapenos with red habaneros. Having thoroughly enjoyed the original version I felt it was time to check out this hotter variant.
The ingredients for Maple Wood Smoked Onion Habanero Hot Sauce are very similar to the original jalapeno version with the exception of substituting Vermont-grown red habaneros for the jalapenos and interestingly potentially a different vinegar. This habanero version specifies Artesano organic white vinegar made from a specialty producer in northeastern Vermont while the jalapeno and carmen pepper versions of this sauce state just white vinegar on their website. Butterfly Bakery of Vermont is big on their relationships with local farms. The habaneros in this sauce come from Honey Field Farm, a 35 acre organic craft farm in Norwich, VT that dedicates two acres to growing over 50 kinds of chile peppers. Full Moon Farm is a Vermont Certified Organic farm in Hinesburg, VT and is the source for the onions in this sauce. While the jalapeno version of this sauce is smooth in texture this habanero version has more texture and some visible seeds and pepper bits inside. Both are of medium thickness and the fruity aroma of the habaneros blends with the gentle maple smoke on the nose.
I was lucky enough to have an extra bottle of the original jalapeno based Maple Wood Smoked Onion Hot Sauce on hand to compare directly with Maple Wood Smoked Onion Habanero Hot Sauce. I was a big fan of the original and while the habanero version is very similar in many ways there are also some key differences. Surprisingly I didn’t notice much or any uptick in heat. Perhaps Butterfly Baker of Vermont is able to source very spicy jalapenos or their habaneros are on the milder side but they seemed very close in heat level. The habanero version of the sauce is much more fruity as expected from the red habaneros and also has a bit more tang. In comparison the jalapeno version of the sauce is earthier and has more of an earthy sweetness as opposed to the fruity sweetness of the habanero sauce. The onions and smoke are more prominent in the jalapeno version of the sauce. The stronger flavors of the habaneros take center stage with the onions and the smoke relegated to a back seat in this sauce, but their flavor is still present. It’s not a case of one being better than the other as both are delicious sauces, just with a different angle. The original jalapeno is sweet, earthy, gently smoky with big onion flavor, a slight bitter note on the back, and with more umami than you’d expect. The habanero version is brighter and fruitier with more tang and while the smoke and onions aren’t as prominent they do provide a great counterpoint to the brighter habanero flavor. I do prefer the more natural and rustic texture of the habanero version to the very smooth seedless jalapeno version.
As with the original jalapeno version of this sauce it’s amazingly flexible. Habaneros and onions go with almost any savory food and I loved this on pizza, on turkey sandwiches and tuna melts, on wings, and on some grilled salmon. The gentle smoke, bright fruity habanero flavor, and onion richness make this a chameleon sauce that’s as happy with super rich foods like fettuccini al fredo where it adds acid and brightness or already bright foods like pizza where the smoke and onions add depth.
I’m happy to recommend Butterfly Bakery of Vermont Maple Smoked Onion Habanero Hot Sauce. If you’ve tried the original and enjoyed it this one is a great variation on it that’s different enough to read as a new sauce while also providing the foundation of what works so well in the jalapeno version. Of course this sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.
