Pa Hill Hot Cajun Peanut Butter product reviews

This was quite an unexpected sight. Hot and Cajun are not words that I would ever associate with Peanut Butter. Nevertheless, I do enjoy hot things, and cajun flavour, so I was certainly intrigued by the idea of it. The product comes in Pa Hill's usual short and wide jars (just like the good ol' salsa jars) which is great because it makes it much easier to mix and to scrape the sides when it comes to emptying that jar out. Often an issue with peanut butter--at least with the more natural butters that tend to have the oils separate--is that the tall jar makes it difficult to mix the content of the whole jar, and you always end up with a dry, hard, lumpy bit at the bottom because the oil has been used up before you get to it. But this shorter jar removes that issue completely. And the recyclable nature of the glass jar and metal lid makes the product even more appealing.

But those factors are only small elements when it comes to peanut butter. Flavour is king, and I was incredibly surprised by the flavour of this product. It tasted so foreign but so familiar at the same time, that I struggled to get my head around it. The warmth and herbiness instantly made me think of pizzas and tacos, but it also reminded me of a little trick I used to do to make my roasted salted peanuts taste amazing (adding chilli powder and garlic salt). Having this product simply on toast, was surprisingly tasty, new, and nostalgic all at the same time. This isn't a crunchy peanut butter, and the smoothness is great for being able to control how much you want to use.

While the flavour is intriguing, the heat is rather mild. Thinly spread on a piece of toast, the heat is present on the back end, but it does accumulate and build, the more that you eat, and can actually create a surprising amount of heat if you like your peanut butter thick.

I was curious about other uses though, and I combined the peanut butter with some coconut milk and red curry paste to form a spicy Thai peanut satay sauce, which turned out brilliantly. Super tasty with some chicken and rice. The blend is well composed, and clearly would work well in marinades and sauces. I definitely like it!

I like peanut butter and I love spice so this was something I had to try and I'm very pleased that now I have. The packaging on the glass jar is very simplistic and leaves a lot of space to view the contents of the peanut butter which immediately glimmers out a vibrant orange hue from the cajun spices and you can see the many specks of herbs mixed throughout. I opened up the jar and took out half a teaspoon of the peanut butter and tried it. The consistency is a very fine crunchy mix of ground-up peanuts and herbs which was very welcoming and as for the spice flavour it isn't an instant heat but has a slow build-up to a nice warmth which I would say is far from anything hot. The main flavour that jumps out is the herbs which really adds character to the peanut butter flavour and isn't overwhelming but just right.

I made up two pieces of toast and added the peanut butter to it and found that when eating it with other food the heat from the spice was almost non-existant and just left a faint taste of cajun. That same night for dinner I added two tablespoons of the peanut butter to a satay chicken stirfry and it really gave it much more of a bold herby flavour but again the heat of the spice wasn't really noticeable. I noticed on the top of the lid a sticker that said the peanut butter can be used also for batter, gravy or dips so wanting to try it out with something a bit on the hotter side I made up a reduced cream soup using the Magi paprika soup mix and also added two teaspoons of the Pa Hill cajun peanut butter and the result was perfect, the herbs complemented the paprika flavour and the peanut flavour suited the dip well and the spice heat was up to my standard of leaving the lips tingling.

The Pa Hill cajun peanut butter is my new favourite spread for toast and also for adding to other dishes and I will need to try it out in a fish batter and see if I can use it in gravy for roast chicken. I look forward to trying this out in other applications and can consider myself as a fan of Pa Hill produce now. At $6 for a 290-gram jar, it is great value for its flavour and variety of meals it can be used in. I'm giving this product a 10 out of 10 across the board and absolutely love it.

Although this peanut butter is described as Hot Cajun, it is actually very mild - I would put it right at the lower end of the heat spectrum. In fact, I would describe it as spicy with a touch of chilli rather than just hot because you can really taste the peanuts and more than a hint of mixed herbs. As I always do, I tasted a little on its own and sniffed the contents before starting to use it in a dish, and I liked it immediately. It did not smell very strong, but the taste was full-bodied and very pleasant.

I used some as the basis for a lettuce salad Asian style. This is a sauce made of peanut butter, oyster sauce, Chinese vinegar, garlic and soy sauce. Once it is well mixed you pour it over a bowl of reconstituted black fungus, torn lettuce leaves and tofu cubes, and toss it till it is well mixed. I sometimes add extra ingredients like chopped radishes, sliced capsicum, cashew nuts, or chilli flakes. On this occasion there was no need to add any chilli as the Cajun spice in the peanut butter was enough to give it a bit of a kick. Because it keeps for a couple of days in the fridge, I made a reasonably big bowl.

I liked the way the peanut butter blended in and added that extra zing. I think it was better than just using plain peanut butter. We both liked it and went back for second helpings. My cousin, who was staying overnight with us, was intrigued - she had never tasted lettuce prepared like this before, but she was impressed by the whole process. She helped to prepare the sauce, having first tasted the peanut butter, and agreed that this was a great way to use it.

Since she left, we have had the peanut butter twice more. I mixed some with butter and then spread it on toast for breakfast, adding a poached egg on top. That was amazing; it was so flavoursome that no salt was needed, and it left a nice fresh taste in our mouths. I also added a tablespoonful to a banana smoothie. It completely altered the flavour, adding crunch and resulting in a very different taste experience. I have put peanut butter into smoothies in the past, but the Cajun spice enhanced the flavour as well. I was not sure whether to add sugar; in the end I left it out because I hoped it would not be needed, and I was glad. The peanuts already have a naturally sweet aftertaste and that was noticeable in the finished product.

I think the big advantage with this product is that it makes other additives redundant. I found I was using little or no sugar or salt with it because the flavours were already strong. My next project is to use it in a stuffing for roast chicken, but that will be next week when I have the time.