The snarkier corners of the web had a field day when it came to light that artisanal sriracha was being made in (where else?) Brooklyn, and now Jojo’s Sriracha has some competition: Ft. Greene Farms has launched with the spicy stuff in its burgeoning product line.
Nate Meshberg, a veteran of acclaimed chef Michael White’s kitchens, is currently making condiments and pickled products out of an incubator kitchen in Long Island City. Within a year, he hopes to be making his pickled mustard seeds and pepper relish out of a permanent facility near his home in Fort Greene, and selling them in local stores.
So far, as he’s started approaching retailers about stocking the jars, he’s gotten a better response from “Brooklynesque” towns like Northampton, Mass. and Burlington, Vermont (“cities that have a Brooklyn vibe but aren’t inundated with Brooklyn product”) than from his home borough, where he says retailers already have “tons of Brooklyn stuff on their shelves.”
Even if his small batches are, as of now, mostly available online, Meshberg thinks he can give Jojo’s a run for its money – and money is the operative word. While Jojo’s sells for $14 for 6.4 ounces, Ft. Greene Farms sriracha is priced at $9 for 8 ounces. And it “comes in a beautiful glass jar with a gorgeous label on it,” Meshberg points out.
Of course, those iconic plastic bottles of “rooster sauce” are way cheaper than that, but Meshberg is confident tasters of his sriracha will find it more complex than its “pretty one note” industrial competitor. For one thing, he says, it has a slightly sweeter flavor thanks to roasted (rather than fermented) Fresno chilis (rather than the popular habaneros) and caramelized shallots. The sauce also contains lime juice, rice wine vinegar, and organic sea salt.
Either way, between this and the sriracha mayo at Empire Mayonnaise, it’s safe to say Brooklyn-made sriracha is so hot right now.