Pawpaw Jezebel Sauce

Jezebel sauce is one of those wonderfully old-fashioned Southern condiments built around contrast: sweet fruit, sharp mustard, fiery horseradish, and just enough acidity to bring everything together. Traditionally, recipes often rely on fruit preserves such as pineapple or apricot, but this version takes the sauce in a distinctly Ozarks direction by letting native pawpaw provide the fruit and sweetness.

Pawpaw’s naturally rich, almost custard-like texture makes an especially good base. Its tropical character may seem unexpected for a fruit growing wild in Missouri, but paired with mustard and horseradish, it becomes savory, tangy, sweet, and just a little hot.

I love serving this spooned generously over cream cheese with crackers as a simple appetizer. It’s also excellent alongside pork, ham, smoked meats, roasted game, or even as part of a cheese and charcuterie board.

Pawpaw Jezebel Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups ripe pawpaw pulp
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup prepared horseradish, drained
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2–3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• Pinch of salt

Method

Add the pawpaw pulp and honey to a small saucepan. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The goal is simply to concentrate the pawpaw slightly and incorporate the honey you don’t want to cook away the fresh character of the fruit.

Remove from the heat and stir in the horseradish, whole-grain mustard, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, black pepper, cayenne, and salt.

Taste and adjust. Depending on the sweetness and ripeness of your pawpaws, you may want another splash of vinegar or a little additional horseradish.

Transfer to a jar or covered container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. It’s even better after resting overnight, when the sweetness, acidity, mustard, and horseradish have had time to come together.

To Serve

For a classic presentation, place a block or log of softened cream cheese on a serving plate and generously spoon the chilled pawpaw Jezebel sauce over the top. Serve with crackers.

It’s a simple dish, but one that tells a great story: an old Southern sauce reimagined around one of the Ozarks’ most remarkable native fruits.