Bitter: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Sour/Tangy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Bright, vinegar, fruity
Recommended: Yes
Texture: Thin and smooth
Ingredients: Vinegar, red pepper, cayenne and spices.
Espinaler is a Spanish company with a history dating back all of the way to 1896. Beginning as a small tavern in Barcelona the company has grown to produce and distribute some of the best preserved seafood, chips, vermouths, and olives in Spain. Their Salsas Espinaler were developed in the 1950s and designed to pair well with the conservas, high quality preserved tinner seafood, that were served at their tavern. The company has several versions of the sauce, a basic Salsa Espinaler which has virtually no heat, this one which is their standard ‘hot’ version, an organic version, and one featuring habanero peppers. When I ordered this from Amazon the habanero was unavailable but I was excited to give this one a try.
The ingredients list is simple in this sauce but doesn’t go into a lot of detail about many of them. The first ingredient is vinegar but it’s not listed as to which type. Based on the flavor of this sauce it doesn’t appear to be basic distilled white vinegar, and in fact it has hints of almost a malt vinegar. According to their website they use only “the finest selection of vinegars” in the sauce and being Spain I know that sherry vinegar is quite popular as are other wine vinegars, so it’s likely one of those. The next ingredient of “red peppers” again doesn’t go into the type. In Spain the most common variety are Piquillo, a sweet pepper with an extremely mild heat level. Cayenne pepper comes next and is what separates this “hot appetizer sauce” from their basic sauce. The final ingredient of “spices” also doesn’t disclose much but I can taste black pepper in the sauce and I believe there’s some paprika as well, another popular Spanish ingredient for color and some subtle smokiness. Salsa Espinaler is very thin and smooth in texture, similar to Tabasco sauce. The aroma is tangy but more complex than that of typical Louisiana style hot sauces.
Salsa Espinaler is super tangy on the first taste with a pronounced vinegar flavor. The vinegar flavor isn’t harsh and reminds me more of Tabasco’s Family Reserve which uses white wine vinegar rather than the distilled vinegar used in the original, though I do also pick up a flavor that reminds me of malt vinegar used in fish and chips. The heat level is low but there is a pleasant chile flavor in this sauce. The cayenne peppers bring just the tiniest little sting of heat and the other peppers used have a lot of fruity flavor notes. Something about the peppers and vinegar used give this sauce a pleasant sweetness in the the background even though this sauce contains no sugar. There’s also just a hint of smoky flavor that adds to the complexity. Despite the ingredients and peppers used indicating that this will taste like a traditional Louisiana style sauce, and the flavor is adjacent to that, it’s different enough that I wouldn’t put it into that category. There’s a tiny little tingle of heat but overall this one of the mildest hot sauces that I’ve tried.
Espinaler calls this an “appetizer sauce” and by that they mean it’s designed to go well with preserved tinned seafood that’s popular in Spain and Portugal. I happened to have a box of various tinned seafood that I’d ordered from Ekone and I felt this was the perfect time to open some up. Salsa Espinaler was the perfect accompaniment to both the smoked oysters and smoked mussels – adding brightness and acidity with the sweet fruity pepper flavor being an amazing counterpoint to the savory smoky bivalves. This sauce isn’t limited to canned seafood however (though it’s also great on an open face tuna melt). I loved this with a smoked turkey panini as well as with a black bean and rice burrito. In general this sauce works very well with anything that needs a nice hit of acidity and pepper flavor without a ton of spice. It does have a special affinity with seafood, but it’s not limited to it.
Salsa Espinaler Hot Appetizer Sauce gets my recommendation. It’s delicious for its intended purpose and flexible enough to be used in a variety of places if you’re not a canned seafood enthusiast. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.
by MagnusAlbusPater
1 Comment
Bitter: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Sour/Tangy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Bright, vinegar, fruity
Recommended: Yes
Texture: Thin and smooth
Ingredients: Vinegar, red pepper, cayenne and spices.
Espinaler is a Spanish company with a history dating back all of the way to 1896. Beginning as a small tavern in Barcelona the company has grown to produce and distribute some of the best preserved seafood, chips, vermouths, and olives in Spain. Their Salsas Espinaler were developed in the 1950s and designed to pair well with the conservas, high quality preserved tinner seafood, that were served at their tavern. The company has several versions of the sauce, a basic Salsa Espinaler which has virtually no heat, this one which is their standard ‘hot’ version, an organic version, and one featuring habanero peppers. When I ordered this from Amazon the habanero was unavailable but I was excited to give this one a try.
The ingredients list is simple in this sauce but doesn’t go into a lot of detail about many of them. The first ingredient is vinegar but it’s not listed as to which type. Based on the flavor of this sauce it doesn’t appear to be basic distilled white vinegar, and in fact it has hints of almost a malt vinegar. According to their website they use only “the finest selection of vinegars” in the sauce and being Spain I know that sherry vinegar is quite popular as are other wine vinegars, so it’s likely one of those. The next ingredient of “red peppers” again doesn’t go into the type. In Spain the most common variety are Piquillo, a sweet pepper with an extremely mild heat level. Cayenne pepper comes next and is what separates this “hot appetizer sauce” from their basic sauce. The final ingredient of “spices” also doesn’t disclose much but I can taste black pepper in the sauce and I believe there’s some paprika as well, another popular Spanish ingredient for color and some subtle smokiness. Salsa Espinaler is very thin and smooth in texture, similar to Tabasco sauce. The aroma is tangy but more complex than that of typical Louisiana style hot sauces.
Salsa Espinaler is super tangy on the first taste with a pronounced vinegar flavor. The vinegar flavor isn’t harsh and reminds me more of Tabasco’s Family Reserve which uses white wine vinegar rather than the distilled vinegar used in the original, though I do also pick up a flavor that reminds me of malt vinegar used in fish and chips. The heat level is low but there is a pleasant chile flavor in this sauce. The cayenne peppers bring just the tiniest little sting of heat and the other peppers used have a lot of fruity flavor notes. Something about the peppers and vinegar used give this sauce a pleasant sweetness in the the background even though this sauce contains no sugar. There’s also just a hint of smoky flavor that adds to the complexity. Despite the ingredients and peppers used indicating that this will taste like a traditional Louisiana style sauce, and the flavor is adjacent to that, it’s different enough that I wouldn’t put it into that category. There’s a tiny little tingle of heat but overall this one of the mildest hot sauces that I’ve tried.
Espinaler calls this an “appetizer sauce” and by that they mean it’s designed to go well with preserved tinned seafood that’s popular in Spain and Portugal. I happened to have a box of various tinned seafood that I’d ordered from Ekone and I felt this was the perfect time to open some up. Salsa Espinaler was the perfect accompaniment to both the smoked oysters and smoked mussels – adding brightness and acidity with the sweet fruity pepper flavor being an amazing counterpoint to the savory smoky bivalves. This sauce isn’t limited to canned seafood however (though it’s also great on an open face tuna melt). I loved this with a smoked turkey panini as well as with a black bean and rice burrito. In general this sauce works very well with anything that needs a nice hit of acidity and pepper flavor without a ton of spice. It does have a special affinity with seafood, but it’s not limited to it.
Salsa Espinaler Hot Appetizer Sauce gets my recommendation. It’s delicious for its intended purpose and flexible enough to be used in a variety of places if you’re not a canned seafood enthusiast. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.