A sharp, tangy and spicy bbq sauce recipe to use up that seasonal glut of loquats.

So what do you do when life gives you loquats? Give a wry smile and make some sauce. I was pretty amused to find loquats in my mailbox last week, but also really happy to try cooking with something new. The salsa was definitely a success but barely made a dent in the pile of loquats I had, so I turned my hand to sauce.

This barbecue sauce follows a fairly traditional sauce recipe - lots of fruit, vinegar and sugar, and a few spices. The flavour is very sharp and tangy, fruity, a little bit spicy and pretty delicious. So far I've used it in a tofu marinade, and in the typical way alongside (vegetarian) sausages. I can't comment on what type of meats it would suit but I'm sure it would do the job just fine.

This is a pretty vinegary tasting sauce, which suits my taste. If you like your sauces a bit mellower I'd recommend adding an extra half a cup of brown sugar. You could also change the flavour profile by swapping out the malt vinegar and using cider or wine vinegar instead.

If I had room, I wouldn't mind a loquat tree. They're quite attractive, almost tropical looking trees and the fruit has a unique flavour which I really rather like. My suburban backyard is planted to the max with trees though, so looks like I'll just have to rely on random mailbox deliveries to get my loquat fix. Long may they last.

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