An Amba Sauce For Yair - 2025
We made this sauce to honor Staff Sergeant Yair Ativan who died on June 28, 2024 fighting for Israel and fighting for us. May his name and the cause he gave everything for never be forgotten.
IN SHORT…
Our take on Amba, a green mango-based condiment that first emerged among Iraqi Jews living in Mumbai in the 19th century and then slowly made its way west. Today amba is the national condiment of Israel; it can be found at virtually every market stand where it is liberally applied to shawarma, falafels and all manner of street food.
For those who have never tried it, amba can be hard to make sense of as there is no sauce like it in the European or American repertoire. But the best amba advice we ever received was to think it of like mustard. Anywhere you would use mustard, use this. Literally. Hot dogs might not be popular in Israel, but this makes an exceptional topping for them. It is also great on pretzels, sandwiches, and in salad dressings. Moreover, because our amba is distinctly citrusy and a touch hotter than most Israeli versions, it can make for a quick standalone sauce.
This sauce was low-temperature pasteurized and preserved with calcium disodium EDTA (to maintain color and inhibit rancidity) and ascorbic acid (to prevent oxidation). While unquestionably shelf stable - it has a pH that is about the same as Tabasco’s - we would strongly recommend keeping it refrigerated to help preserve its flavor.
Common Allergens: Onions/Garlic, Soybeans, Wheat
This sauce is vegan.
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Green Mangoes, with small amounts of Lemon Cherry Tomatoes, Hot Peppers (Aji Mango, KS Lemon StarrBurst), Spring Water, Shallots, Yellow Carrots, Kosher Salt, White Soy Sauce*, Garlic, Fenugreek, Mustard Seeds, Persimmon Vinegar, Turmeric, Coriander, Cumin, Lemon Peel, Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Black Pepper, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Disodium EDTA
*Water, Wheat, Sea Salt, Fermented Alcohol, Soybeans
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In 2024 we struggled to find green mangoes - and never came close to finding what in India they would call “tender mangoes,” the really, really underripe fruit. This year we struck gold and were able to find both. These mangoes are really what our amba is all about, as they make up over seventy percent of the sauce; everything else amounts to accents on their flavor.
The yellow carrots we used came from Franklin Sustainable Farms, an Amish cooperative based in Franklin County, in southern Pennsylvania.
The Lemon Cherry tomatoes - a perfect variety for this sauce - came to us from Albright Farms in northern Baltimore County.
The hot peppers were grown in containers on Tim’s patio, a place Erin has affectionately named “Hot Sauce Farms.”
The Central PA Produce Co-Op - another Amish cooperative - grew the shallots we used.
The white soy sauce that gives our amba a uniquely savory, almost sherry-like note comes from Yakami Orchards in the Miyazaki prefecture of Japan.
Last, but certainly not least, the persimmon vinegar that gives this sauce its wicked acidity, came from Lindera Farms in Delaplane, Virginia.
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This sauce was made from three batches one started in mid-September, another in late-September and a final one begun on Halloween. All three fermented for an average of about fifty days at about 57°F. At that point the batches were combined and allowed to age and very slow ferment at 41°F until blending.
Very few blending table adjustments were made; just a little more salt, a little citric acid and a touch more mustard seed and fenugreek were added. The sauce was bottled and low-temperature pasteurized in mid-December. -
Brix: 15.5
pH: 2.79
