Dark Heart Chili Sauce

Spicy, sweet, tangy, — the BEST pesto/​chili sauce on the planet! Plus, they’re good peeps ;) dark heart is chili sauce with heart!

I recently had the opportunity to try all 8 of Dark Heart’s regular flavors (they make some limited editions) and I became an instant addict. This ain’t my mommas chili sauce, that’s for sure.
Without going into detailed descriptions of each flavor (they do a better job than I could, check out the website), the important things to know about Dark Heart Chili Sauce are:
5) No vinegar to interfere with the deep, roasty toasty flavor of chilis bathed in nut oils and a kaleidoscope of perfectly matched additions like pecans, or walnut butter, or dates and rose water.
4) Not all flavors are spicy-​hot, in fact they have at least one (Libre) that is not hot at all and packed with amazingly rich chili flavor.
3) They may very well have a flavor to enhance virtually every food from ice cream to pasta.
2) Every batch is handmade.
1) You can begin your Dark Heart addiction at the Kensington Farmer’s Market, at Heat Hot Sauce Shop in Berkeley, or online. Possibly other places, check the website for the latest details.
You really shouldn’t go another day without it.

We ordered two containers of The Abyss and they were GONE in 3 days! It’s great stuff. The combination of flavors of the nut oils with the hot peppers is awesome! The only downside is that there wasn’t enough… lol!

Dark Heart is unequaled! True genius. With its unique flavors I actually forgot the tired issue of hotness and my tastebuds were more interested in the flavor that it holds. Recently used it on Mary’s crackers with crème freche; also braised tofu with it; added it to vanilla ice cream. Good in beer! So many variations so little time! So appreciate the care in their choice of type of chili and that it is organic.
Betty

Ever thought of chili sauce with dessert? Try either chilis erotique, le diable cacao, or praline picante on graham crackers with peanut butter. My new favorite. Yowzah!

Hands down, the best ‘hot sauce/​chili sauce’ I have ever had. The Abyss is definitely my favorite, although I loved the Pecan Praline… whatever that was… The problem is that now I eat about a half pound more cheese a week — hover in the kitchen… cut a few little slices of smoked gouda, break out the Abyss… it’s more satisfying than a dessert treat — and totally addictive — 5 stars, hands down!

Love the Libre flavor. Perfect for lightweights like me. Barely spicy and absolutely delicious on anything. Served it to guests with cheese. Keep the cracker or bread simple to allow the subtle tastes in the Libre to really melt in your mouth. Yes — a hot sauce that’s subtle and delicious! Looking forward to trying the other flavors.
By the way, it kept in my fridge for over a month with no noticeable effect on flavor.

Love, love, love… did i say LOVE this sauce/paste/dip…it is so lovely served with a cheese plate and accompanies so many wonderful cheeses. The owner is super sweet and helpful. A perfect product from a perfect small local company.

Dark Heart Chili Sauce is beyond addicting. My husband and I polished off a whole jar within a few hours. Can’t wait to buy some more. This time we will stock up!

Oh Dark Heart… what have you done to me?! I used to be a regular girl, just eating regular food, but now… but NOW… I cannot help myself. I need it on everything. I put it tamales, cheese, chocolate, macaroni, eggs, toast… anything. I am going to need to go to rehab. No. No. NO!!!
Instead, the company I work for has become the first retail store to carry Dark Heart. It has delighted practically everyone without nut allergies. (Venissimo Cheese San Diego plug in here)
Come, drink the Dark Heart Kool Aid. Do it. And never look back.

I hesitate to call Dark Heart a chili sauce, because the whole reason I love this stuff is because it’s beyond chili sauce. It has a complexity and depth of flavor that is so unique that I would never associate it with the sauces that my husband showers on his Mexican and Asian food. You can certainly put Dark Heart on your Mexican and Asian dishes– I love it on Thai food– but Dark Heart is also spectacular when you add it to a cracker and a nice piece of cheese. It’s positively addictive when you add a bit of fruit condiment to that nibble (my favorite is Parmesan, Dark Heart and cranberry sauce on a cracker). You can mix it with butter to make a really tasty gourmet spread. You can toss it with a good olive oil in some pasta. I keep thinking of tossing it with olive oil, mushrooms spaghetti squash– the nuttiness would go well in that type of dish. My husband has been known to eat the spiciest version straight out of the jar with a bag of chips, but the heat concentration in that snack would send some folks to the emergency room. Did I mention that the original version is HOT. It’s HOT!!! Luckily for me the less spicy versions have the same deep flavor.

Unilocal rating stars should actually be little chilies — five chilies for Dark Heart Chili Sauce!

I love «The Abyss», Dark Heart’s hotter than hot chili sauce. I use it on cooked salmon, slathered on mixed with strawberry jam. Indescribably delicious. Also, I love to stuff pasilla peppers with extra sharp cheddar cheese, Italian bacon, and The Abyss, then sauté them. wonderful! Today, upon coming home from work, I sliced some sourdough bread, slathered on The Abyss, layered on fresh basil leaves, and wrapped it all in a slice of prosciutto! I washed it down with Yellow Tail Chardonnay. I’ve also used it in omelettes, and as a condiment in a bowl with a tiny spoon with a roasted, stuffed pork loin. This stuff is probably a miracle cure for every disease on earth.

First of all, a little bit about myself: I am a chili-​addict mexican foodie who appreciates fabulous fresh and local goodness, and I have to say this is the most exciting thing I have tried in a long while. I know this ‘sauce’ has french names but the flavors somehow really bring me right back home– the inventor must be channeling something from an old and complex culinary tradition while adding the total touch of ‘hipness’ inherent in the bay area food culture. So good!!!

How to you take hot sauce to the next level? Dark Heart has figured out how. Who knew the toastiness of nuts would merge so well with the heat of capsaicin. This produces a complex roastiness and savory, vinuous complexity for me that no hot sauce has done before. It doesn’t need to fall back on acids as hot sauces too often do. This places it in a truly different hot sauce category that is seriously next-​level.
From the lower heat Libre to the «hurt so good» Abyss, so far it’s been enhancing everything I’ve put it on. Lately I’ve gotten into the fabulous addiction of coming home from work, bee-​lining to the kitchen and making toast with peanut butter and carefully, meticulously slathering Abyss on top. The toastiness of the peanut butter integrates with the heat of the sauce and the fats of the peanut butter carry it well throughout your mouth, your brain and your soul.
The «afterburn» of this sauce is superb– it puts a halo on my head!
Track this stuff down and experience Hot Sauce 2.0

We LOVE Dark Heart Chili Sauce — we put it on everything! It is the best way to warm your soul on a cold day. Be adventurous and try all of the flavors. I am a HUGE fan of the Goat Cheese spread — the right amount of spice, sweetness and nuttiness! I got my dad all four levels of spice for his Christmas present, he loved them too!

First of all, my palette’s sensitivity is generally that of a baby bird; i cant handle much heat. But Dark Heart is concocted with a spectrum of heat tones, and there’s something for everyone (even ninnies like me). I’ve graduated up to the almond spread, which i now literally put on everything; I’m brushing my teeth with this s**t. Srsly though, I’ve added it to stews, put it on crackers, with brie, on my eggs; its nutty, oily, nummy with everything! And the heat is like getting a back rub from Jennifer Lawrence; slow build, nice intensity, and you want more of it.
Do yourself a favor and head down to the Kensington Farmers Market some Sunday and dive on in, slap some Dark Heart on some cheese and change your life forever.
This ain’t no fools gold.

I have more or less given up eating food of any sort without Dark Heart on it. The straight oil is the dog’s bollocks.

These sauces are amazing — you’ll find yourself eating them out of the jar. The almond flavored one is great on just about everything.

I love this stuff! I tried it at a pop-​up event in Oakland a few months ago. Really delicious, spicy, nutty chili sauces. There’s some serious hot stuff, which I don’t go for on a regular basis, so it’s good the guy has a whole range of spice.