Pickapeppa sauce

Ingredients

The bottle

• 1 bottleof Pickapeppa sauce

To serve with

• a block of cream cheese
• crackers
• grilled meat
• fried fish

For a homemade approximation

• 400 gripe mango, chopped
• 150 mlcane vinegar
• 100 gdark brown sugar
• 3 tbsptamarind paste
• 1onion, chopped
• 3garlic cloves
• 1scotch bonnet, chopped
• 1 tspground ginger
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1/2 tspground cloves
• 1/2 tspground black pepper
• 1 tspsalt

Note

• the bottled sauce is oak-aged for about a year and cannot be reproduced at home

Directions

1. Set a block of cream cheese on a plate. Pour the sauce generously over the whole block. Serve crackers alongside for scooping. The contrast of cold rich cheese and sharp spiced sauce is the whole appeal.
2. Brush it onto grilled meat in the last minutes of cooking. Adding it too early means the sugar burns. Stir a spoonful into a stew or gravy for depth. Serve it alongside fried fish or fried plantain. Use ripe mango, which should be soft and fragrant. An underripe mango gives a thin sour sauce.
3. Chop it roughly, discarding the stone and skin. Preparing the aromatics takes a moment. Chop the onion and garlic roughly. Wear gloves and keep your hands from your eyes. Chop it finely, keeping or discarding the seeds as you prefer. Put the mango, vinegar, sugar and tamarind in a heavy pan.
4. Add the onion, garlic and chopped chilli. Add all the ground spices and the salt. Bring it to a simmer over a medium heat. Lower the heat and simmer it for twenty-five minutes.
5. Stir it regularly so the sugar does not catch. Stand back a little, since vinegar fumes are sharp. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool slightly. Blend it until completely smooth. Push it through a fine sieve if you want it perfectly smooth. Add sugar if the vinegar dominates.
6. Add vinegar if it is too sweet. It should taste sharper than seems right, since it mellows as it sits. Let it sit for at least two weeks before using it. It keeps for several months in the fridge because of the vinegar.
7. Pour it over cream cheese with crackers. Brush it onto grilled meat at the end. Serve it at the table beside fried fish.

Technique

• The bottled sauce is oak-aged for about a year and cannot be reproduced at home.
• Brush it on grilled meat only at the end, since the sugar burns.
• The homemade version needs two weeks of resting and still will not match the bottle.

Substitutions

• A bottle of Pickapeppa, which is what most people should use.
• Any fruity Caribbean sauce in the same role.

Variations

• Poured over a block of cream cheese with crackers.
• Brushed onto grilled meat as a glaze.
• Stirred into a stew for depth.

History

Made at Shooters Hill in Manchester parish since 1921 and aged in oak barrels for about a year before bottling.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pickapeppa sauce?

Pickapeppa sauce is a sauce & condiment from Jamaica: sweet-spicy mango and tamarind sauce poured over cheese and meat. Made at Shooters Hill in Manchester parish since 1921 and aged in oak barrels for about a year before bottling.

How long does Pickapeppa sauce take to make?

Pickapeppa sauce takes 20 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes notes on using a bottle, and an approximation. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Pickapeppa sauce?

Yes, within limits. A bottle of Pickapeppa, which is what most people should use. Any fruity Caribbean sauce in the same role.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pickapeppa sauce?

Set a block of cream cheese on a plate. Pour the sauce generously over the whole block. Serve crackers alongside for scooping. The contrast of cold rich cheese and sharp spiced sauce is the whole appeal.