Top 8 chilli sauces tested
A dessertspoon in a dull stew, at the end of a stir fry, added to soups, will liven them up, while many pepper-flavoured sauces are good for dips.
Add to minced beef or lamb to make burgers, allowing two teaspoons per 400g.
Try chilli sauce over simple hard-boiled eggs and spread with butter to add a lift to sandwiches.
While we can read chilli amounts on labels, they don’t always tell us how hot the sauce is — we hope this survey will help you to choose what suits you.
With sugar worth avoiding for health reasons, even when labelled ‘sweet’ a lot of it can be avoided.
However, watch other sources such as glucose-fructose syrup which has far more sweetness than sugar and is cloying in taste.
It’s a question of being discerning — a dessertspoonful added to a stir-fry for four is acceptable.
Salt levels in some samples were high and I have noted them here. Most of the time, additives were quite low.
There are some sulphites which occur naturally in vinegar, but not a worrying amount, unless for those with sensitivities who perhaps should not consume vinegar in any form.
Labels on these sauces were clear, except for one small bottle where print needed to be magnified to be read properly.
In a squeezy bottle, this is a blend of tomato ketchup with lime juice, Japaleno pepper extract, chilli extract, onion and garlic powders. The sieved tomato avoids thickeners and there are no other preservatives used.
Tasters liked the natural tomato flavour given an extra kick. A moderate 18.8% sugar and 1.6% salt is relatively low. Good to add to mince for pasta and to burgers for a lift. Chilli for novices.
8
This quite solid jelly has sugars at a high 57.64%, which includes the natural sugars in the 35% peppers. Eight per cent hot peppers and 2% ginger give a subtle heat.
Salt is negligible and the lowest of the samples. Gluten-free, there is no thickener except pectin which is used instead as a gelling agent. Use on the side with cold meats, but also on bread or crackers with a blob of cream cheese or ricotta.
7.5
This had the biggest, proper chilli kick of all samples and the balance was pretty good, with a gentle softening with a high 40% sugar, which is not over-sweet.
20% garlic is surprising as there is no heavy garlic flavour. At 5% it has a fairly high salt content, but the taste is not salty. There are lots of dry seeds, so this is better cooked a bit.
From Mr Bell Foods, English Market, Cork.
7.25
Quite a chilli bite here from just 2.5% chillies and extra dried chilli, softened by a high enough 29.4% sugars.
The garlic, though chopped into large enough bits, is not so evident in the flavour. The ginger provides heat, but little flavour. The texture is quite gloopy from a lot of cornflour thickener.
6.5
A high 20% chilli has little kick. Glucose-fructose syrup gives it an undesirable type of sweetness and 43.2% sugars. 6% ground garlic is not noticeable, with a fairly high 3.3% salt which is not obvious.
Modified tapioca starch as a thickener means it can be labelled gluten-free, but tasters didn’t like the gloopy texture. Fine to add to cooked dishes.
5
This one reminded tasters of Tabasco and it comes in a similar style bottle. With the same light, runny texture with a little carob bean gum used to thicken it very slightly, it is gluten-free.
Most ingredients are organic: red peppers, carrots, sea salt and chilli at 6.6% which result in a sauce that could do with more depth of flavour. Sugars at 7.7% are low.
Not suitable for dipping or as a thickener. Best used as a seasoning.
6.75
A pulpy mixture, with lots of dry seeds and chopped chilli (19%), there is quite a kick to this one. At 49.1% sugars are high, and it tastes quite sweet. The garlic listed is barely discernible.
E415 is xanthan gum and is derived from corn, wheat or soy and could be a problem for people with intolerances to those foodstuffs.Too clunky for dipping, it is best added to stews, stir-fries and soups. From SuperValu and other suppliers.
6.75
The sugar syrup used here is very sweet and also jammy in texture. Dry chilli seeds are a bit chewy, but there are nicely plump bits of chilli flesh too. The result is nicely peppery kick.
Xanthan gum is the stabiliser which makes for a good dipping sauce for spring rolls and samosas, but watch for intolerances to corn, wheat or soy.
6.75
