Cholula Hot Sauce Green Pepper

Rating: ★★

Being my second review, I wanted to put one on the books as ‘not a favorite.’ Cholula Hot Sauce (which I’ll be reviewing in the near future), is a common hot sauce in my possession. Cholula Hot Sauce Green Pepper, on the other hand, I do not care for as much.

Going through any food-related store, I’ll take a stroll down the isle with hot sauces. I’m especially curious about regional or locally made sauces I couldn’t find anywhere else. Cholula’s green pepper sauce can be found just about anywhere but it was one I had never tried until recently.

It is a blend of jalapeño and poblano peppers—one hot, one not. The flavor of the poblano peppers I’m not sure I really identify.

I think the first thing I notice is how sweet it is. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and I also generally do not like sweet and salty mixes. I’ll always lean toward savory over sweet and this hot sauce has more sweet tones to it than savory or sour. 

The green, I was hoping, would be a little hotter than the “classic red” Cholula. But this green sauce is in fact much milder. To be clear, I never use heat as an indicator of a quality hot sauce. If the intent isn’t to be hot then I can’t really say that it is bad. In this instance, the lack of heat simply doesn’t help its case.

The sweetness is what I’m not terribly keen on. It isn’t just a sweetness that one might taste with Tabasco Pepper Sauce but it is actually sugary sweet. Sugar is, in fact, the third ingredient in the sauce. In my opinion, that usually isn’t a good sign of most foods unless they are intentionally sweet, like candy.

The ingredients list is rather long and contains some questionable items. I think, as with most food, less is more is the best policy. Incidentally, I don’t know of another hot sauce where the sour flavors are not from vinegar. In fact, this hot sauce doesn’t have any vinegar in it but acetic acid—giving it sour flavor. Factually, vinegar has acetic acid in it but it is odd to me that the decision was made to us straight acetic acid rather than a vinegar with some flavor. Then again, vinegar is a primary ingredient in Tabasco Pepper Sauce but it is not identified as a specific type (i.e. red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, etc.) As a comparison, the sour ingredient in Cholula Hot Sauce Original is labeled as vinegar.

To be clear, I don’t dislike the hot sauce but I don’t like it enough to continue to use it. A few things, however, I think it would work well one would be a turkey burger with some cheddar cheese. It also would be a good addition to a hot dog. Being a Chicagoan, we frequently find sweet relish as a condiment and the sweetness of Cholula Hot Sauce Green Pepper, like relish, would be welcome on a hot dog.

Objectively, I can see how this would be a good “starter” hot sauce or for those who do not care for heat/vinegar as much as sweet.

It isn’t a bad hot sauce but simply not high on my list. It is just a bit too sweet for my liking but has its place in the world of hot sauces. If you’re curious about, a small bottle is recommended. It would be a good one to have on hand for friends and family who like a little kick, sweetness, and a touch of sour from a hot sauce.

Flavor: 2, Rather sweet and I’m missing the heat, poblano flavor. 

Versatility: 1, I can think of specific instances when I would use it but compared to many other hot sauces, it will remain a speciality. However, a favorite hot sauce of mine, Ed’s Red, is not terribly versatile but a great hot sauce. 

Uniqueness: 3, Harder to quantify. I don’t care for it much and it isn’t like any other hot sauce I’ve tried before or since. On one hand, that would make it unique. On the other hand, it isn’t a great hot sauce. 

Recommended on:

• Hot dogs
• Turkey burgers
• Tuna (ahi, yellow fin, etc.)
• French fries

Ingredients:

Jalapeño pepper
Water
Sugar
Salt
Poblano pepper
Acetic acid
Garlic powder
Jalapeño powder
Xanthan gum
Poblano pepper flavor
Sodium benzoate
Sodium metabisulfite