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October 12, 2024
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Linking Northern and Central NJ, Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester and CT

Bringing Heat: The New Burning Bush (Hot Sauce)

Bergenfield—Nathan Kruman, a Teaneck native, did a brisk busi­ness during the height of pre-Shab­bat shopping last week at Grand & Essex, as he debuted an exciting new hot sauce for the kosher mar­ketplace. Combining traditional hot spices with “ancient herbs from the Middle East,” Burning Bush hot sauce uses a combination of unex­pected tastes and scents that seek to “turn up the volume of underly­ing flavors in a wide variety of foods and beverages while subtly remind­ing you that it’s there, with a pleas­ing amount of warmth,” Kruman told JLBC.

The name for the hot sauce, Burning Bush, was born when Kru­man’s friend, co-founder and now business partner Neil Wernick, be­came fascinated by the stories of the ancient spice route that he heard in 2005, while participating in the Hazon Israel Bike Ride from Jeru­salem to Eilat. Wernick then attend­ed Hazon’s 2008 Jewish Food Con­ference in Monterey, CA, and then began producing sour pickles using old Eastern European recipes.

“On a visit to Philadelphia, af­ter sampling a particularly wonder­ful batch of pickles, I shared a dream with Neil to produce a kosher-for- Passover hot sauce named Burn­ing Bush,” said Kruman. The shared venture, ENTU, LLC, took off, even though the product isn’t kosher for Passover (yet)! “We realized that if we were to produce Burning Bush, we were committed to creating an exceptional flavor that would be worthy of its name, unique among sauces, and resulting in remarkable culinary experiences,” said Kruman.

Kruman said that Burning Bush can be combined at any stage of food preparation or used as a con­diment to bring out unexpected flavor nuances. He said it pairs well with grilled meats, fish, or vegeta­bles, and improves soups, sauces, and dips. “Among our personal fa­vorites are roasted vegetables, len­til and mushroom barley soups, grilled lamb, egg dishes, French fries, hamburgers, hummus, and salsas,” he added.

“We have always enjoyed in­teresting cuisines and mindful food experiences. Neil’s fascina­tion with world spices and sea­sonings took him down a path of fermentation, pickling, sweet, hot peppers, and multicultur­al spice blends. And my love of cooking—and eating—led us to this new rewarding and pro­fessional relationship,” Kruman said.

Burning Bush’s hot sauce is pro­duced in a family-run, Star-K certi­fied plant in New England, where they are able to work with their reci­pe. They also “let us have a big hand in production,” so that the pair can be there to taste and tweak each run, Kruman said.

Kruman said they are grate­ful to be working with Star-K Ko­sher for their hechsher. “I found working with the Baltimore and the NY/NJ offices, and particular­ly, Rabbi Shmuel Heinemann and his exceptional staff, to be an ed­ucational and positive experi­ence. They have all been exceed­ingly helpful at every step and we look forward to doing more with them,” he added.

Burning Bush is now being sold in six stores in three states, with a few more in the works. Locally, the product is available at Best Glatt, Glatt Express, and Grand & Essex. It is also now in the Riverdale Kosher Market, at Pomegranate in Brook­lyn, and at the Creekside Coop in Elkins Park, PA, where Wernick is based.

In addition to the tasting demo at Grand & Essex last week, FillerUp Wines also hosted an evening tasting, where Kruman mixed Burning Bush not only with cholent, but also with sin­gle malts and bourbon. “Tru­ly unique experiences,” Kruman added.

Kruman also said that more products are in development by the company, and also, that Burning Bush is in conversation with restaurants in Bergen Coun­ty, Manhattan, and Philadelphia about serving Burning Bush as a table condiment and using it as a cooking ingredient. “In fact, one chef in Philadelphia already brines lamb shoulder for two days with Burning Bush and a few special ingredients, before slow cooking it for six hours,” he said.

Fans and potential fans are invited to go to the website at http://burningbushhotsauce. com, or follow Burning Bush on Facebook and Twitter to find out the latest stores carrying Burning Bush, or where to attend a tast­ing.

By Elizabeth Kratz

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