Dipping Sauce

From your response, the hot stuff and strawberries are the favorites so far. Because of this response, I will throw out another spicy tasting bunch of ideas. I am sure that some of you have no idea what I am talking about when you read the title. A dipping sauce is something that you put into a small cup or container and dunk your fried mushrooms, chicken nuggets, fish sticks or what ever into. The sauce adds flavor, spicy taste, and a sweetness that makes it all work.

Family photo of our sauces. Check out the labels

We made our first dipping sauce out of strawberries. The reason we started with Strawberry was because we had SO VERY MUCH juice from the 55 gallon drums of strawberries from the winery. After we had just about emptied our container, the winery called and ask us to come back down. When we got there they told me that they wanted us to take at least two more drums. He said that they were beginning to thaw faster than he could use them and it would be a shame if all the berries went bad. He talked me into taking two more drums. On the way back to the store Mary Lynn and I tried to figure out how we could possibly use 110 gallons of strawberries. We had exhausted our ideas with the first 55 gallons. We decided to use one of the two drums for juice only. As the berries thawed they gave off the best looking juice you could imagine. I stopped and bought a plastic siphon hose, like you use to get gas out of a tank. We got our neighbors to use their front-loader and get the drums into our store. I got to work with the hose and drained gallon after gallon of juice from the barrels. We found that once the juice was out we could scoop the thawed fruit to use.

This is the reason the we had juice to experiment with and make some things really different. I am not sure where Mary Lynn got the recipe or the idea for a dipping sauce. We experimented to make the recipe. Then we let our neighbors and family taste. That is how the first dipping sauce came to be. I really love the sauces because they can work in so many situations. They can be a topping for a meat or mixed with veggies when cooking. They can be with an appetizers or if you really want to get strange, a dessert topping. Don't laugh, spicy with sweet is a combination that has been around since people started eating. Remember when you ate something that was too hot, someone would give you milk or something sweet.

We decided to give it a shot at a show. We picked a large show so that many people would have a chance to voice their opinion. I was very surprised when we sold out of our first supply. I told our customers that I didn't have anything other than a cracker to sample it on. Most just squeezed the plastic bottle and put it on their finger. I told them to imagine that they were eating one of their favorite appetizers. I believe that our customers all have good imaginations, other wise they would not have tried it. They had to imagine that the guy doing all the loud talking knew what he was talking about. That is a stretch for anyone's imagination. I asked them to think that their finger was a chicken nugget, or something like that. Most said that they would like it on a Jalapeno' Popper. Some said they would like it on mushrooms. We got all sorts of answers about what they would eat it on. The dipping sauces are a type of fruit syrup, but plenty more than that. So I will leave it up to you to figure out what to try these on. I would like to ask a favor of you. Please let me know which one you tried and what you tried it on. Don't be shy, this is just among us friends.

To serve at a party put into a plastic squeeze bottle, but make sure the opening will not get clogged up. You can set the little cups or containers next to it. This will keep the sauce from being dribbled on your table-cloth. It will also keep people from double-dipping.

You can play with the numbers to make less for your first attempt. Afterwards make the full recipe because the longer you keep it, the better it is.

We have always made up names for our products to make people laugh or at least stop and look again. So you try one of our Dipping Sauces. I also hope that you will continue to imagine that the guy doing all the typing knows what he is talking about. If you do, keep tuned in for further stories of taste and fun. Let's get started with the first sauce that got this whole group going:

FIERY BERRY DIPPING SAUCE
3 1/2 cups strawberry juice (we covered how to get juice from the berries in earlier blogs)
10 cups cane sugar
2 cups apple juice
1/4 cup finely chopped Habanero Peppers (no seeds or membrane)
1/4 cup finely chopped Jalapeno' Pepper (no seeds or white membrane)
1 pack of pectin
Combine all ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, then simmer 30 - 45 minutes. Make sure to stir frequently to avoid sticking. You can either strain the pepper pieces out for a clear liquid sauce or purée after it's cooled to blend everything. Reheat if you blend it. Put in 8 ounce jars and process. To serve just carefully pour into serving cups or squeeze bottle. Dip your favorites. Enjoy the taste. If you don't want as much heat use Bell Peppers in place of the Habanero Peppers. Remember that when you are working with peppers, use disposable gloves to protect yourself.

So after this first recipe you see what a dipping sauce is. I have only given you recipes with one juice. If you use multi juices, try not to let one over power the other. Make it a good mix, something that when you eat, you will be able to taste both fruits. So buckle up, here is the next recipe.

HOT'LANTA DIPPING SAUCE
10 ounces peach purée, canned are OK if you drain them good. Fresh is the best.
The best of the fresh is free stone peaches for this sauce. The peach pulls away from the pit. Cling peaches are the type that where the meat of the peach clings to the pit. Early peaches are usually the cling type. The freestone coming in later in the year. In Georgia our peaches started about the middle of May. We don't get the "Freestone" type till early July. These are usually the bigger, juiciest peaches. I guess I am like the salesman who when asked "Do you have anything better?". I have to say only the next one you are going to eat. Both types of peaches are good, but I like the later season peaches because they are the sweet and juicier. Living in Metro Atlanta, this had to be called Hot'Lanta. That is the name we call our state capital during the summer. We get so many beautiful days all year-long but it is hot as H*#$* just a few days in the summer. Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

1/4 cup Jalapeno' Peppers (Red, seeded & finely chopped)
1 quart peach juice (Bottled Peach Nectar or made from fresh peaches that you sugar and let set and then drain the juice)
2 1/2 cups light corn syrup
5 cups sugar (if you use the sugared peach juice cut down on the sugar. If you use 2 cups sugar to get your juice, then only add 3 cups more)
Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a full boil, then cut the heat and simmer. Simmer 30 - 45 minutes (till the sauce starts to thicken), stirring often. Put in 8 ounce jars and process.

MANGO TANGO DIPPING SAUCE
6 cans Mango Nectar
1 cup Mangoes, peeled & finely chopped
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup Red & Green Jalapeno Peppers seeded & finely chopped
1/2 cup Red & Green Bell Peppers seeded & finely chopped
10 cups sugar
2 cups water
Combine all ingredients, bring to a boil. Then simmer till thick. Put into 8 ounce canning jars and process. Red & green peppers make for a more colorful sauce.
Awesome with little chunks of ham as an appetizer, or you can pour over a Pork Roast or Ham during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Leave the cover or foil off for this final part of cooking.

SWEET SMOKE DIPPING SAUCE
12 ounces Raspberry Jam, seedless
8 ounces light corn syrup
1/2 pint Pear Juice
3 - 6 Chipolte Peppers, very finely chopped (number depends on size, bigger peppers use less)
Make Sure that you remove the seeds and membrane from the peppers. Combine, bring to boil, simmer till it thickens. Put into 8 ounce jars and process. This was a sneaky favorite because of the taste of the peppers. Chipolte Peppers are dried and smoked Jalapeno' Peppers. When you dry a pepper you concentrate the flavor. It really makes it intense. The heat can also surprise you, so go ahead cautiously.
Most thought this would go with Sausage Balls, definitely Jalapeno' Poppers and Chicken Nuggets. In fact this sauce had the most uses of all the sauces according to our customers.

DRAGON'S BREATH DIPPING SAUCE
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pineapple, you can use
crushed if you don't have fresh pineapple
2 cans pineapple juice
1/4 cup Jalapeno' Peppers finely chopped
1/4 cup Habanero Peppers very finely chopped
8 cups sugar
1 pack pectin (helps to thicken)
Make Sure that you remove the seeds and membrane from the peppers. Combine all ingredients, bring to boil then simmer 30 - 45 minutes till thick. Put in 8 ounce jars and process.

To make this sauce a little different, add 1/4 cup coconut flakes at start then purée the cooled liquid. Reheat the final sauce. Gives it a different taste. So maybe make the sauce and divide it in half and use coconut in one of the portions. Use a little less coconut if only half a recipe. This sauce went over so well that we have had to make it in cases for family members.

HONEY MUSTARD DIPPING SAUCE
1 regular size jar of prepared mustard (regular yellow mustard)
1 jar Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey, use Wild Flower Honey in place of Clover Honey, if you can.
Rinse each mustard jar with a little white vinegar to get all the mustard out. Add the vinegar rinse and mix with all the other ingredients until blended well. If you like a little more bite to your mustard add a little prepared horseradish then blend. You can store in any good jar that you can keep in the fridge. Great on any type of pork snacks and on wings or nuggets.

HOT HONEY MUSTARD DIPPING SAUCE
Make Honey Mustard as above, but add
1 tablespoon cayenne powder (or to taste)
1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon cummin
1/4 cup Texas Pete Hot Sauce (Do not use Tabasco Sauce, it has salt and that changes the taste).

Combine as above and enjoy.

You could used Blueberry or Blackberry or other great things that have a juice as strong as the fruit. Try different peppers to go with each juice. Not everything works with all peppers. Some peppers the heat would cancel the fruit taste. In the case of a mild pepper, the juice might dominate. So you see our problem.

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