The Sweet & Spicy sauce company was founded on the talents of Pamela Turner (Girdwood, AK). Though she's been making her Umami sauce and vinaigrette dressing for years, she's relatively new to the retail and distribution business. Her Sweet & Spicy company officially opened in April 2010.

Pamela's signature product is her Alaskan Umami sauce. Her one of a kind sweet and savory sauce comes in mild, hot and extra hot varieties. The Umami sauce is dark, rich and ultra thick. It's so thick that the word "sauce" hardly seems the appropriate descriptor.

Pamela's Alaskan Umami sauce is incredibly unique. If you are unfamiliar with the term "umami," check out Wikipedia for a quick crash course. Pamela's sauce blends sweet, savory and spicy flavors for a product that can't be easily be categorized. She originally developed the recipe for chicken wings, but has since found dozens of uses for this versatile product.

Alaskan Umami sauce is made from simple, all natural ingredients and qualifies as vegan. The sweet aroma is highlighted by garlic and sesame. Given its sweet smell, the flavor was a bit more savory than I had expected. The garlic, brown sugar and sesame elements give the sauce somewhat of an Asian profile.

I used the "hot" Alaskan Umami sauce on baked salmon. The sauce seemed like a natural fit for the salmon. The Umami sauce took the salmon's flavor to a whole new level. Pamela literally has dozens of suggested uses for her Umami Sauce. She loves it as a dip, finishing glaze or even a BBQ sauce. My recommendation would be as a cooking sauce or additive. Use it to jazz up meatloaf, burgers or casseroles. Try it in stir fry. Whether you like it extra hot or mild, there are a lot of options for this sauce.

Learn more about Alaskan Umami Sauce and the Sweet & Spicy company by clicking on the title of this review. See how Alaskan Umami Sauce rates on our "Product Reviews" page.