goodness gracious, great balls of fire

For me, the epitome of the marvelous spicy-sweet combination is probably pepper jelly. Homemade is obviously best, but a close second is the batch I recently sampled from The East India Company.

The aspect of it that most stood out to me was the subtle hint of ginger--it was unexpected, and it was decidedly welcome. There's a definite kick from the peppers, too--it doesn't mess around! The flame is properly balanced by the sweetness, however, making for an exciting and satisfying eating experience.

There are many fitting places to make use of a tasty and unusual condiment like this pepper (or, as those Brits call it, chilli) jelly. It's thrilling in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, it livens up a baked brie appetizer, and it makes a nice component of a meatball sauce. I might even be tempted to put the spicy jelly on some pancakes, literally making them hot cakes. (That reminds me of a one-liner I recently saw: Signs that things aren't going so well: You can't even sell hotcakes. Ha.) My favorite way to partake of it, however, is slathered atop a buttery biscuit. Eat it. Can't beat it.

I encourage all of you to check out The East India Company--they have a huge range of products, from tea to chocolates to chutney. Hey, if you have to deal with pounds, the money type is better than the weight type, right?