Product Name: Matanzima
Style: Authentic African Hot Sauce
Manufacturer: Matanzima Foods
Country of Origin: USA
Website: http://www.matanzima.com/
Ingredients: Tomatoes, malt vinegar, vegetable oil, garlic, ginger, chillies, spices, sugar.
Label/Packaging: Large 12 ounce bottle with a green/red Zulu warrior shield and spear style label. Although basic you know it's an African sauce just by looking at the label.
Appearance/Aroma: The first thing I noticed was the chunky dark red almost Texas chili type of sauce with a bit of oil on top. The aroma was dark, rich, and full flavored, with a hint of sweet smokiness. I could pick up hints of paprika, cumin, roasted tomatoes, and dark smoked peppers.
Body of Review:
I was reading some info about new sauces on thehotpepper.com and noticed a post about a seller having his first sale. The sauce was authentic African hot sauce called Matanzima. I thought, wow, I wonder what’s in it? So I looked up the website and at first glance the bottle of sauce looked like a bottle of chili.
I was a bit intrigued about the dark color and odd texture. I thought to myself, this sauce must be pretty good. A couple of weeks later I received a bottle in the mail and the first thing I noticed was the chunky dark red almost Texas chili type of sauce in the generous sized 12 ounce bottle. The label was a bit basic, but the red and green colors along with the Zulu logo fit the theme perfectly. I was still a bit puzzled about the texture and the small amount of oil that settled on top of the bottle. Wayne did mention that the sauce might have settled and would have some oil on top, but a quick shake is all it needed to redistribute the oils throughout the sauce. So I turned the bottle over and allowed the oils to blend back into the sauce. As I screwed off the top the smell was amazing. Dark, rich, full flavored, with a hint of sweet smokiness. Albeit not a typical hot sauce, it had the smell of an award-winning slow cooked chili. I could pick up hints of paprika, cumin, roasted tomatoes, and dark smoked peppers.
I poured a spoon, and although the sauce was thick, it poured easily because of the oils in the sauce. It was similar to the texture of an oily sriracha. I really enjoyed the aroma and the first spoonful I tried caught me by surprise as it was fairly sweet. It had a nice pop of spices with a medium heat that followed on the back of your throat. The thickness of the sauce seemed to come from tiny chunks of tomatoes and tiny bits of something finely diced, either onion, ginger, or garlic. I'm not sure exactly what type of pepper was used, but it wasn't an overly powerful or aggressive pepper by any means. I would probably give the heat a rating of 5.5 on a heat scale of 10. Although the heat wasn't aggressive it was definitely in the sauce and had a tendency to sneak up on the back of your mouth and throat and just linger ever so slightly reminding you that you are in fact eating a hot sauce. The mix of sweet, smoky, spicy, and oily was definitely different, but they worked great together.
So I started to think about what would complement the sauce, and couldn't help but think mole! Mole (pronounced MO LEE) is a wonderful traditional Mexican sauce which can contain (but not limited to) peppers, cocoa, sugar, spices, various seeds, and raisins, all roasted and blended to a nice deep dark sauce. The sauce reminded me a bit of a mole, but with a more flavor rich profile. So I decided to go with it. I pan seared a few chicken thighs to give them a nice crispy skin. Then I created a broth of carrots, onion, garlic, and chicken bullion, and let the chicken stew in a crock pot for a few hours until the chicken almost fell off the bone. I poured a good amount of the Matanzima sauce on the finished chicken and it looked great. The chicken was a great pairing with the sauce, you can really taste the sweet smoky flavor, and the spices worked great with it. It was a lot thicker than a smooth mole sauce, but the sweetness in the Matanzima and the bold smoky spices really reminded me how much I didn’t care for typically bland mole. This was a big difference and the spices were a lot more pronounced. I couldn’t taste as much heat, but it still had a nice draw on the back of your throat. It would be nice to have a little more heat since the sauce has tons of flavor, and the extra heat wouldn’t be too overpowering at all, however my girlfriend really liked it just the way it is. She said she wouldn’t change a thing and she and I agree that it’s far beyond what a typical mole sauce brings to the table. One of the main reasons we both enjoyed the sauce is the addition of oils and how it sends you in a different direction most sauces don’t. It’s difficult to explain, but it seems the oils keep the zip on your tongue and throat while adding a different flavor profile. Since it’s not too hot, it’s not too aggressive and would probably work on a lot of various foods. I really enjoy how the sauce comes in a large 12 ounce bottle, because between me and my girlfriend, we probably went through a quarter of the bottle in one sitting.
This is a must-have sauce if you're looking for something different in your pantry. I can spend a day at Tom’s Farm going through their wall of hot sauces and not find anything like this. Now I can say I have tried a truly great authentic African hot sauce. All I need to do is find an authentic African restaurant to really appreciate the sauce on some authentic African food.
Heat Level: 5.5
Applications: Poultry, beef, game, fish. The sauce is somewhat of a chili paste type of sauce that would probably be good on just about any bold dish or it can be used as a side/condiment.
Appearance Score: 4
Aroma Score: 5
Taste Score: 4.5
Mouthfeel Score: 4.5
Heat Accuracy Score: 5
Overall Score: 4.6
Notes: Matanzima sauce does contain oil and at first glance it may be a bit much, but the flavor the oil brings is an extra treat. The only draw back is you must shake the sauce often when using it from the bottle.
Style: Authentic African Hot Sauce
Manufacturer: Matanzima Foods
Country of Origin: USA
Website: http://www.matanzima.com/
Ingredients: Tomatoes, malt vinegar, vegetable oil, garlic, ginger, chillies, spices, sugar.
Label/Packaging: Large 12 ounce bottle with a green/red Zulu warrior shield and spear style label. Although basic you know it's an African sauce just by looking at the label.
Appearance/Aroma: The first thing I noticed was the chunky dark red almost Texas chili type of sauce with a bit of oil on top. The aroma was dark, rich, and full flavored, with a hint of sweet smokiness. I could pick up hints of paprika, cumin, roasted tomatoes, and dark smoked peppers.
Body of Review:
I was reading some info about new sauces on thehotpepper.com and noticed a post about a seller having his first sale. The sauce was authentic African hot sauce called Matanzima. I thought, wow, I wonder what’s in it? So I looked up the website and at first glance the bottle of sauce looked like a bottle of chili.
I was a bit intrigued about the dark color and odd texture. I thought to myself, this sauce must be pretty good. A couple of weeks later I received a bottle in the mail and the first thing I noticed was the chunky dark red almost Texas chili type of sauce in the generous sized 12 ounce bottle. The label was a bit basic, but the red and green colors along with the Zulu logo fit the theme perfectly. I was still a bit puzzled about the texture and the small amount of oil that settled on top of the bottle. Wayne did mention that the sauce might have settled and would have some oil on top, but a quick shake is all it needed to redistribute the oils throughout the sauce. So I turned the bottle over and allowed the oils to blend back into the sauce. As I screwed off the top the smell was amazing. Dark, rich, full flavored, with a hint of sweet smokiness. Albeit not a typical hot sauce, it had the smell of an award-winning slow cooked chili. I could pick up hints of paprika, cumin, roasted tomatoes, and dark smoked peppers.
I poured a spoon, and although the sauce was thick, it poured easily because of the oils in the sauce. It was similar to the texture of an oily sriracha. I really enjoyed the aroma and the first spoonful I tried caught me by surprise as it was fairly sweet. It had a nice pop of spices with a medium heat that followed on the back of your throat. The thickness of the sauce seemed to come from tiny chunks of tomatoes and tiny bits of something finely diced, either onion, ginger, or garlic. I'm not sure exactly what type of pepper was used, but it wasn't an overly powerful or aggressive pepper by any means. I would probably give the heat a rating of 5.5 on a heat scale of 10. Although the heat wasn't aggressive it was definitely in the sauce and had a tendency to sneak up on the back of your mouth and throat and just linger ever so slightly reminding you that you are in fact eating a hot sauce. The mix of sweet, smoky, spicy, and oily was definitely different, but they worked great together.
So I started to think about what would complement the sauce, and couldn't help but think mole! Mole (pronounced MO LEE) is a wonderful traditional Mexican sauce which can contain (but not limited to) peppers, cocoa, sugar, spices, various seeds, and raisins, all roasted and blended to a nice deep dark sauce. The sauce reminded me a bit of a mole, but with a more flavor rich profile. So I decided to go with it. I pan seared a few chicken thighs to give them a nice crispy skin. Then I created a broth of carrots, onion, garlic, and chicken bullion, and let the chicken stew in a crock pot for a few hours until the chicken almost fell off the bone. I poured a good amount of the Matanzima sauce on the finished chicken and it looked great. The chicken was a great pairing with the sauce, you can really taste the sweet smoky flavor, and the spices worked great with it. It was a lot thicker than a smooth mole sauce, but the sweetness in the Matanzima and the bold smoky spices really reminded me how much I didn’t care for typically bland mole. This was a big difference and the spices were a lot more pronounced. I couldn’t taste as much heat, but it still had a nice draw on the back of your throat. It would be nice to have a little more heat since the sauce has tons of flavor, and the extra heat wouldn’t be too overpowering at all, however my girlfriend really liked it just the way it is. She said she wouldn’t change a thing and she and I agree that it’s far beyond what a typical mole sauce brings to the table. One of the main reasons we both enjoyed the sauce is the addition of oils and how it sends you in a different direction most sauces don’t. It’s difficult to explain, but it seems the oils keep the zip on your tongue and throat while adding a different flavor profile. Since it’s not too hot, it’s not too aggressive and would probably work on a lot of various foods. I really enjoy how the sauce comes in a large 12 ounce bottle, because between me and my girlfriend, we probably went through a quarter of the bottle in one sitting.
This is a must-have sauce if you're looking for something different in your pantry. I can spend a day at Tom’s Farm going through their wall of hot sauces and not find anything like this. Now I can say I have tried a truly great authentic African hot sauce. All I need to do is find an authentic African restaurant to really appreciate the sauce on some authentic African food.
Heat Level: 5.5
Applications: Poultry, beef, game, fish. The sauce is somewhat of a chili paste type of sauce that would probably be good on just about any bold dish or it can be used as a side/condiment.
Appearance Score: 4
Aroma Score: 5
Taste Score: 4.5
Mouthfeel Score: 4.5
Heat Accuracy Score: 5
Overall Score: 4.6
Notes: Matanzima sauce does contain oil and at first glance it may be a bit much, but the flavor the oil brings is an extra treat. The only draw back is you must shake the sauce often when using it from the bottle.
