- Chicaoji
- Goji Berries
- Raw Cacao
- Chipotle Chiles
- Raw Agave Nectar
- Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
- Celtic Sea Salt
BIG News for Chicaoji: Refrigeration not required!
We now have USDA and WSDA approval to sell Chicaoji without refrigeration. We have known from practical experience that Chicaoji does just fine sitting on the counter but because Chicaoji is not pasteurized Washington State wanted the label to say “Keep Refrigerated” until an analysis by proper authorities. The analysis is complete and the word is you can keep you Chicaoji on the shelf and table!
This is really cool news yall. This means you can have a dispenser at your local deli, restaurant, or cafeteria in addition to your home stash. Let your deli manager know!
Mind you the texture changes a bit with the temperature because the cocoa butter (over 40%) naturally occurring in raw cacao gets stiffer in the cold. Also, the cocoa butter floats on top of the vinegar and water which is why you need to shake the bottle before pouring it. You may have noticed that Chicaoji is difficult to get out of the little bitties (1.7 oz bottles) because of this tendency to plug the neck of the bottle. Somehow people manage to get their Chicaoji out of the bottles. I think this small inconvenience is worth it to be able to carry the bitties onto an airplane in carry on luggage.
I am going to use up the labels with “Keep Refrigerated” until they are gone rather than waste them so you can disregard that instruction if your bottle says it. Labels without it are already printed and have begun to go out into the world.
I just had to get the word out about this.
Yeeeehawwww!!!
Chicaoji Chipotle Chile Sauce features
- Goji berries are a nourishing and delicious fruit very high in antioxidants.
- Cacao is the seed of the plant used to make chocolate.
- Chipotles are smoked jalapeño chilies; the only ingredient not technically “raw” because they are heated in the smoking process.
- Raw Apple Cider Vinegar with the “Mother of Vinegar”. The Mother refers to a complex of microorganisms that transform the sugars of the apple fruit into vinegar. The benefit of this living nourishment is the main reason I stuck with keeping Chicaoji raw.
- Agave Nectar provides sweetness. Agave nectar registers very low on the glycemic index.
- Celtic Sea Salt™ contains many essential trace minerals and has many benefits.
- Water from Lopez Island, WA.
Chicaoji’s ingredients are organic, gluten free, kosher, and raw (except chipotles). I selected them for their health benefits as well as flavor. The chile heat complements rather than dominates the other flavors.
I make Chicaoji in small batches here on Lopez Island where I developed the recipe with the help of friends and neighbors at the Vortex Juice Bar and Cafe. See Story of Chicaoji.
Try Chicaoji on any food. People tell me they put Chicaoji on everything
Choose from 4 sizes.
- 1.7 oz bottles make nice gifts, work well for bicycling, hiking, kayaking, and can be brought onto planes in carry-on luggage.
- 5 oz are your standard hot sauce size bottles, also nice for gifts.
- 12 oz are for those who find the 5 oz too small. “My friend (or relation) visited me and ate the whole 5 oz bottle” was a common complaint at the Lopez Saturday Market so I went for the 12 oz.
- 64 oz ”growlers” provide restaurants and the true enthusiasts who like to refill their smaller bottles at home.
Click HERE to order. I offer discounts for case purchases.
My goal is to provide at least one place in each community to purchase Chicaoji. Suggest Chicaoji to your local grocery manager.
Chicaoji labels wrinkle. I could get better labels somewhere off island but I like to support local businesses. My current labels are the best that Paper Scissors on the Rock, our Lopez Island office supply folks can produce at this time. I’m not too worried about wrinkled labels because the contents of the bottle are more important than the packaging. I reckon if I keep buying labels from Paper Scissors on the Rock it provides incentive for the owner to obtain a better label making machine which would in turn allow other businesses on Lopez Island obtain better labels on island. How we spend our money is one of the more significant ways we vote in this society. This small vote of mine helps support a neighbor. In any case, as I grow older, I realize wrinkles add character to the wrinkled. So be it.