Bottom Line: Zaaschila Salsa Guacamole & Habanero is a tasty and spicy sauce that can prove quite versatile.
Heat Level: Hot
There are lots of hot sauces and salsas on the store shelves these days, and it’s usually hard to decide which new ones to give a try (I often grab whatever is on sale). I stumbled upon this particular sauce in Arlan’s in Hempstead, TX (a place where I have found several spicy treasures), and decided to give it a try because it was only a buck and a half. And that proved to be a good decision because now I plan on making this a regular in my hot sauce rotation.
Zaaschila makes several varieties of hot sauces and salsas, and the Guacamole & Habanero version is the one I have seen most often in stores around me. As the name suggests, it contains avocados and habanero chilis, and it reminds me of a thinner version of the green sauce often served in Mexican restaurants throughout Texas.
The sauce has a nice creaminess that is offset immediately be a tanginess and acidity. That delivers the initial bite before the heat sets in. The avocado taste is there in the background, but it seems more like a sour cream-based sauce (even though neither sour cream nor any sort of dairy is on the ingredient list). If you were to call this an avocado/habanero crema, I would not argue with you. I also detect the taste of onion as well as jalapeno as complementary flavors.
There is not a distinct taste of habanero (it is lower on the ingredient list than jalapeno), but I’m sure that chili is in there because this salsa does pack a punch! After that tang and acidity hit, the heat quickly follows with a noticeable burn. I would place it at the hot heat level, possibly higher. The average mortal may struggle with this one, but chiliheads should really enjoy it. And the sauce delivers good flavor with that heat.
This would certainly go well on tacos or with chips or on most Mexican food, but I would not limit it to that cuisine. It will definitely spice up eggs and any sort of meat or fish, going especially well with grilled foods. You can mix it with some mayo–or use it instead of mayo–if you want to kick up a sandwich or a po boy. There are plenty applications for this one, and the fact that it is a creamy sauce expands its use a bit further than your average hot sauce or salsa.
Zaaschila is based in Mexico and they have not developed a lot of fanfare here in the States that I am aware of. But after stumbling upon this sauce, I plan on checking out more of their products. And at less than a buck fifty at my local HEB and at Arlans, I will pick up pretty much any variety they have to see how it holds up to the tasty and spicy Guacamole & Habanero sauce. For a spicy Spicy Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato & Avocado Sandwich using the sauce, check out this recipe.
Tale of the Tape:
Ingredients: Water, Natural Avocado, Habanero Pepper, Tomatillo, Coriander, Onion, Iodized Salt, Modified Corn Starch, Acetic Acid, Condiments & Spices, Xanthan Gum, Artificial Colors: FD&C Yellow 5 and FD&C Blue 1, 0.1% of Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate (Preservatives).
Serving Size: 2 TBSP (30g)
Calories: 45
Fat: 2 (0g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 1g
Carbs: 5g
Sodium: 238mg