Stonehouse 27 Sauces

 

Stonehouse 27 Cooking Sauces

When I first learned about Stonehouse 27 sauces (the label reads: “exotic indian without the effort”), I was all about trying them.

Six jars arrived to my house from the fine folks at Stonehouse 27, and since I was gifted this free sample from the company I had no idea that each jar sported a hefty price tag of about $6.50 USD per jar. I thought the price seemed a tad steep, and I was really hoping these sauces would live up to the cost.

From the looks of the jars, each with their own unique color and flavorings, I was excited to try them out. Plus, the colorful labels caught my eye! Sadly, I realized that two of the sauces were made with cows’ milk, so those never got taste-tested.

The vegan flavors include Tamarind and Garlic (mild), Tomato and Chilies (medium), Cilantro and Coconut (mild), and Dates and Tamarind (hot and sweet). It started off on a positive note when I instinctively flipped the jars around to read the labels and noticed that the vegan sauces contained nothing weird or scary:

Cilantro and Coconut Ingredients: Onions, Coconut Milk, Diced Tomatoes, Cilantro, Spices, GMO free Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Garlic, Green chili, Apple Juice Concentrate, Pure Agave Nectar, Water, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Ginger, Mint, and Turmeric.

The first sauce I tried was the Cilantro and Coconut, a mild flavor that I served to my kids for lunch one day. I mixed up a quinoa pilaf and decided to see how the sauce could enhance it. Upon opening the jar I noticed a pleasant fragrance, but the flavor seemed bland. I immediately realized that these sauces weren’t intended for use “out of the jar” but needed some doctoring up to make them shine. So, I dutifully added some salt (check back up in the ingredients… no salt! great for modifying to your own tastes), and I also ended up throwing in some extra spices and some nooch for good measure.

The kids thought that the flavor was pretty good, but not similar to the Indian sauces we were used to from restaurants. I have to admit, I found it to be pretty bland. But, I was pleased with the convenience of simply pouring sauce from a jar to finish off our meal, since that’s a rare occurrence in our house.

For dinner, I thought I’d try the sauces out on my husband. Plus I was dying to see if there was a huge difference between the first sauce and the others. I planned to use the Tamarind and Garlic with some sautéed veggies, soycurls and basmati rice, but last minute ended up having to combine it with the Tomato and Chilies sauce just to have enough to cover a little less than 4 servings of veggies and soycurls. The flavors of the two jars merged well and together ended up tasting very similar to the flavor we had tried earlier. Again, a little embellishment was in order… this time I added some fresh herbs, garlic, salt, and a few chopped tomatoes. My husband’s reaction wasn’t quite as positive as the kids’ reactions at lunch time. He felt they still weren’t very flavorful even with my doctorin’.

A few days later I ended up using the Dates and Tamarind on a socca pizza. It was good… and this flavor was my favorite of the four. Compared to its “mild” counterparts, it was much more flavorful. It packed a little heat and was the perfect amount and consistency to slather on a personal sized pizza. And there was even some left over for crust dippin’!

All in all, I’m glad I tried the sauces, but I’ll be sticking to my regular homemade “Indian inspired” sauces for dinnertime…even if they’re not authentic whatsoever. ;)  But, these are great sauces to have around if you don’t mind the price tag, and are itchin’ for something convenient and not made simply for topping pasta.

pros:

  • easy and convenient
  • available in 4 vegan flavors
  • small natural ingredient list

cons:

  • kinda pricey
  • only serves about 2 people
  • not perfect “straight from the jar”… you need to know a thing or two about cooking if you want good results from this stuff

 

Reviewed by Allyson Kramer

 

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