Company: Sharwood’s
Rsp: £1.55 (10p from each jar goes to The Soldiers’ Charity)
Competition: Patak’s
The sell: With each jar containing one Bhut Jolokia chilli – claimed to be 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce – this is targeted at consumers looking for a “hot hit”


The consumer
The sauce tasted authentic and was surprisingly hot considering there is only one pepper per jar. It is hotter than any mainstream curry sauce and will be too hot for some. The price is reasonable, with 10p from each jar sold going to charity, and the packaging is instantly recognisable. I would buy the sauce if I was looking for something that didn’t require any additional ingredients to make up for the lack of heat found in other products. Three stars (out of five)
Nick Strutt, business support analyst, Hove

The expert
This product really is what it says on the jar. The sauce has an excellent flavour, and the “hot hit” promised really is hot. The label suggests you should keep some yoghurt handy if it defeats you, and I found this to work really well without taking anything away from the flavour. This is a great product supporting a great cause. Five stars
Clifford Frazher, trading controller, Nisa-today’s

The Grocer
I have loved curry since I was a child and Pakistani friends tell me I have unusual tolerance of hot chilli. This sauce I found extraordinarily hot, hotter than my favourite curry, the phall (the hottest you can get in takeaway). I could not eat a plateful and was clenching my fists while consuming.

I can’t see it lasting in UK retail, given that Brits like their curry mild. The vivid scarlet colour and flavour are not particularly authentic, with a sweetness and gloopiness that is very ‘Sharwood’s Chinese’. Two stars
Kit Davies, chief sub-editor

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