Let me admit something right up front. Get it out of the way first and then move on. I have some definite food prejudices. You put words like “all” and “natural” together when describing something I’m supposed to eat and my, sometimes misguided, food prejudices are sure to come out.
I know foods today don’t have to taste bad to be healthy, but I’ve got too many years of foul tasting “healthy” stuff disturbing my taste buds to let it just go. (And if you’re being honest you have to admit I’m right)
But as I’ve gotten a little older I like to think I’m getting a little smarter too about what I’m eating. Products that are ”all natural” and have no preservatives or corn syrup no longer gets an immediate dismissal. And Melanie’s Big Acres sauces fit the bill.
Melanie’s is based in San Carlos, California and according to their website they are “all natural, preservative free line of sauces and marinades offers an exciting mix of unique flavors to help you prepare healthy gourmet meals every day of the week. Life is short so we created these sauces to help you spend more time with your family and friends while offering them healthy and tasty options!
“Our sauces are high quality, convenient and versatile and great tasting too!
“Absolutely no preservatives, MSG or corn syrup. Only the finest all natural ingredients are selected to bring customers a superior product.”
With a description like that there was a time I would have just turned up my nose, dug in my heels and decided “this can’t be good” and moved on.
Who is Melanie?
Melanie Yunk, President of Melanie’s Fine Foods, is the creator of the award-winning Big Acres® Gourmet Sauces and distributor of gourmet goodies for kitchen & grill. A “foodie” her whole life, Melanie has always been obsessed with simple, healthy, gourmet food. During her previous career as an electronics engineer, she traveled worldwide and was privileged to sample many different ethnic dishes. She acquired a discriminating palate for a multitude of different tastes and a passion for experimentation.
After 13 years as an electronics engineer for Honeywell and Intel, and as an independent consultant in the semiconductor industry, she decided to combine her business and entrepreneurial skills with her obsession with great food. Melanie’s move to the food business has enabled her to live her dream every day. Melanie is a California native. She lives with her husband Kent in San Carlos, California.
The first of the sauces to reach my smoker was the Mango Peach Chile sauce. I normally try and do my first review of a product on pork spare ribs. By keeping the meat consistent I can better compare sauces. I wasn’t planning on pork ribs but did have a nice pork loin getting ready to hit the Weber Smoky Mountain so after a nice sear over high heat and a couple of hours of smoking I glazed the pork loin with the Mango Peach Chile sauce.
The reason this sauce intrigued me was it’s combination of Mango and Peach. These are two of my favorite fruits. Toss in some chilies and I figured I’d have a good chance of at least liking it a little. As you can see, from the picture above, there was no cutting corners on the fruit. A lot a “fruit” sauces only have a hint of the actual fruit, but Melanie’s uses chunks that you can actually see. This made for a nice glaze on the pork.
The sauce had a nice sweet fruit taste on the front of the tongue and complimented the pork quite nicely. Because they don’t use corn syrup the sweetness wasn’t the normal stick to the roof of your mouth kind of sugar flavor. Instead it was mild and although you knew it was sweet it you didn’t find yourself thinking about the sweetness. It was just there. I can only figure this is due to the use of agave syrup (nectar) in the sauce.
Agave Syrup:
Agave nectar is said by one supplier to be 1.4 to 1.6 times sweeter than sugar. Agave nectar is often substituted for sugar or honey in recipes. Vegans in particular commonly use agave nectar to replace honey in recipes. It is also used as a sweetener for cold beverages such as iced tea because it can dissolve quickly.
Agave nectars are sold in light, amber, dark, and raw varieties. Light agave nectar has a mild, almost neutral flavor, and is therefore sometimes used in delicate tasting foods and drinks. Amber agave nectar has a medium-intensity caramel flavor, and is therefore used in foods and drinks with stronger flavors. Dark agave nectar has stronger caramel notes, and imparts a distinct flavor to dishes, such as some desserts, poultry, meat, and seafood dishes. Both amber and dark agave nectar are sometimes used “straight out of the bottle” as a topping for pancakes and waffles. Raw agave nectar also has a mild, neutral taste. It is produced at temperatures below 118 °F (48 °C) to protect the natural enzymes, so this variety is an appropriate sweetener for raw foodists. --Courtesy Wikipedia
The use of Serrano chilies and red bell peppers also gives the sauce a little kick. And just as the sweetness is not over powering neither is the heat. Just enough to compliment the sweetness and the meat.
The Mango Peach Chili sauce is going to be good on fish and will get used on the next round of salmon grilling we do.
If the Mango Peach Chili is any indication of how good the other products might be I can’t wait to try the others. You can purchase the sauces direct from Melanie’s Big Acres at www. bigacres.com.
