Jalapeño Cream Sauce

History & Origin

Jalapeño cream sauce is one of the most versatile and beloved condiments in Tex-Mex cooking, a sauce that combines the characteristic heat of jalapeño chile with the smoothness of sour cream to create something completely different from its individual ingredients. The jalapeño is the most consumed chile in Mexico and probably the most recognised in the world: its name comes from Xalapa (also spelled Jalapa), the capital of Veracruz state, though today it is grown throughout Mexico, especially in Chihuahua and Veracruz. In Tex-Mex cuisine, the jalapeño has played a starring role since the first Mexican food stalls in Texas at the end of the nineteenth century. Tejano cooks use it fresh, pickled, in adobo and dried (becoming chipotle when smoked). Jalapeño cream sauce was born from the need to create a sauce that tempered the chile's heat without losing its fresh, herbaceous flavour. Roasting the jalapeños directly over a flame or on a very hot comal achieves a deeper, lightly smoked flavour, while the sour cream provides a silky texture and a lactic acidity that balances the heat. Garlic and cilantro complete the aromatic profile of the sauce. Today jalapeño cream sauce is used as a taco sauce, salad dressing, nacho dip, meat marinade and burrito condiment in Tex-Mex restaurants worldwide. Its vivid green colour and balanced flavour make it a sauce that wins over even those who are not particularly fond of spicy food.