As we get closer to the #HotNJ competition for the best Jersey-made hot sauces, I was delighted to try another local artisan – the Krazy Flav sauces. Created by Holmdel-based Jeremy Adams, these sauces put flavor before heat, which is exactly how I like it. I always prefer to feel some flavor, not just tasting buds-numbing heat.
So let me start with an overview of the Krazy Flav hot sauces I tried. All these sauces are pairing a hot pepper with a fruit, infusing a flavor strong enough that you feel it above the heat.
Mango Erruption: Has crushed red peppers and mango. As a mild sauce, it has enough of a bite, and it still feels spicy. Too many artisan mild sauces have a flavor so strong that you don’t feel the heat anymore.- Digestive Turmoil: Made with habanero and pineapple, this sauce definitely has a scary name. I should said it didn’t live up to its name (which is good, in this case), but it’s a great sauce. It is very hot, but you can still taste the fruit. My favorite of this batch.
- Apparition: Another scary name, given by its main ingredient, the ghost pepper (paired with mandarin oranges). It’s a very hot one, and you can feel the heatness even stronger due to a diminished fruit flavor. I liked it, even if not as much as the previous one.
We chatted with Jeremy, the created of Krazy Flav, and we started by asking how did he get into mixing his own hot sauces:
“I have always loved spicy food and I would make sauces for friend’s BBQs or for catering events. People suggested that I should bottle and sell my sauces, so I tried it and people loved it. My sauces are different because it is flavor first, then heat. For the sweetness factor, every sauce is infused with fruit.”
Jeremy Adams is a mainly local-sourced producer. “In the summer I grow 10 different types of hot peppers for my sauces. I also grow and make ghost pepper pickles that have been a hit. In the off season I get my peppers from various local market and sometimes online sources.”
Finally we asked Jeremy about his plans for the future: “I’ve been making hot sauce for friends and family for over two years and I am looking to open a company within the next year,. After graduating Brookdale Community College with a degree in Culinary Arts in May, I will have more time to focus on opening a company, networking, entering competitions, and looking for investors. I have a total of ten recipes, but I plan to open with four flavors to start.”
To sum it up, as a whole this was among my favorite batches I’ve tasted so far. Once it becomes an established company, I’m sure it will do great. You can find more information about Krazy Flav and ordering these sauces on their Facebook page.
If you’re looking to rent a house at the shore, check out ShoreVacations.com, Jersey Shore’s biggest vacation rentals resource. It lists hundreds of rental homes and condos from Sandy Hook all the way down to Cape May (including Belmar, Point Pleasant, Seaside Heights, Ocean City, Long Beach Island, Atlantic City or the Wildwoods). It’s a one-stop website for planning your Jersey Shore vacation, featuring beach information, weather updates and more! And of course, it has a full list of all the Jersey Shore events this year.
Jersey Shore Vacations 
0 comments on “Krazy Flav Hot Sauce Review: Putting Flavor Above Heat”