Hot sauce is a type ofcondiment,seasoning, orsalsa made fromchili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties ofmass-produced hot sauce exist.
Humans have used chili peppers and other hot spices for thousands of years.[1] One of the first commercially available bottled hot sauces in the United States appeared in 1807 inMassachusetts.[2] However, few of the early brands from the 1800s survived to this day.Tabasco sauce, produced by theMcIlhenny Company, is the earliest recognizable brand in the United States hot sauce industry, appearing in 1868. As of 2010, it was the 13th best-selling seasoning in the United States[3] preceded byFrank's RedHot Sauce in 12th place, which claims to be the sauce first used to createbuffalo wings.[4]
Many recipes for hot sauces exist, but the only common ingredient is some variety ofchili pepper. Many hot sauces are made by using chili peppers as the base and can be as simple as adding salt and vinegar. Other sauces use some type of fruits or vegetables as the base and add the chili peppers to make them hot.[5] Manufacturers use many different processes from aging in containers to pureeing and cooking the ingredients to achieve a desired flavor. Because of their ratings on theScoville scale,spicier peppers such as theghost pepper,Scotch bonnet orhabanero pepper are sometimes used to make hotter sauces. Alternatively, other ingredients can be used to add extra heat, such as purecapsaicin extract ormustard oil. Other common sauce ingredients includevinegar andspices. Vinegar is used primarily as a natural preservative, but flavored vinegars can be used to alter the flavour.[6]
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Belizean hot sauces are usually extremely hot and use habaneros, carrots, and onions as primary ingredients.Marie Sharp's is a popular brand of hot sauce produced in the Stann Creek Valley.
Bermudian sherry peppers sauce is made from a base of Spanishsherry wine and hot peppers. The major producer on the island isOuterbridge Peppers.[7][8]
Hot pepper sauces, as they are most commonly known there, feature heavily inCaribbean cuisine. They are prepared from chilli peppers and vinegar, with fruits and vegetables added for extra flavor. The most common peppers used are habanero andScotch bonnet, the latter being the most common inJamaica. Both are very hot peppers, making for strong sauces. Over the years, each island developed its own distinctive recipes, and home-made sauces are still common.[citation needed]
Trinidad Scorpion is considered one of the hottest and most frutal families of strains, and is primarily cultivated and hybridized in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.
Bajan pepper sauce, a mustard and Scotch bonnet pepper based hot sauce.
Sauce Ti-malice, typically made with habanero, shallots, lime juice, garlic and sometimes tomatoes[9]
Sofrito—small piquins ("bird peppers") withannatto seeds, coriander leaves, onions, garlic, and tomatoes.Pique (/ˈpiːk/) sauce is a Puerto Rican hot sauce made bysteeping hot peppers in vinegar. Don Ricardo Original Pique Sauce, which is made with pineapple, is a Puerto Rican staple. Don Ricardo originated inUtuado (Spanish pronunciation: [uˈtwaðo]) a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as La Cordillera Central.
Scotch bonnets are the most popular peppers used in Jamaica.Pickapeppa sauce is a Jamaican sauce.
The most popular sauce is the Diaguitas brand[citation needed], made of pure red (very hot) or yellow (hot) Chilean peppers mixed only with water and salt. Other hot sauces are made fromputa madre,cacho de cabra,rocoto,oro andcristal peppers, mixed with various ingredients. Mild hot sauces include some "creamy style" (likeají crema), or apebre-style sauce, from many local producers, varying in hotness and quality.
Mexican cuisine more often includes chopped chili peppers, but when hot sauces are used, they are typically focused more on flavor than on intense heat.Chipotle peppers are a very popular ingredient of Mexican hot sauce. Vinegar is used sparingly or not at all in Mexican sauces, but some particular styles are high in vinegar content similar to the American Louisiana-style sauces. Some hot sauces may include using the seeds from the popularachiote plant for coloring or a slight flavor additive. The process ofadobos (marinade) has been used in the past as a preservative but now it is mainly used to enhance the flavor of the peppers and they rely more on the use ofvinegar. Mexican-style sauces are primarily produced in Mexico but they are also produced internationally. The Spanish term for sauce issalsa, and in English-speaking countries usually refers to the often tomato-based, hot sauces typical of Mexican cuisine, particularly those used as dips. There are many types of salsa which usually vary throughout Latin America.
These are some of the notable companies producing Mexican style hot sauce.
Traditional Panamanian hot sauce is usually made with "Aji Chombo",Scotch Bonnet peppers. Picante ChomboD'Elidas is a popular brand in Panama, with three major sauces. The yellow sauce, made with habanero and mustard, is the most distinctive. They also produce red and green varieties which are heavier on vinegar content and without mustard. Although the majority of Panamanian cuisine lacks in spice, D'Elidas is seen as an authentic Panamanian hot sauce usually serviced with Rice with Chicken or soups.
In the United States, commercially produced chili sauces are assigned various grades per their quality.[10] These grades include U.S. Grade A (also known as U.S. Fancy), U.S. Grade C (also known as U.S. Standard) and Substandard.[10] Criteria infood grading for chili sauces in the U.S. includes coloration, consistency, character, absence of defects and flavor.[10]
The varieties of peppers that are used often arecayenne,chipotle,habanero andjalapeño. Some hot sauces, notablyTabasco sauce, are aged in wooden casks similar to the preparation of wine and fermented vinegar. Other ingredients, including fruits and vegetables such as raspberries, mangoes, carrots, and chayote squash are sometimes used to add flavor, mellow the heat of the chilis, and thicken the sauce's consistency. Artisan hot sauces are manufactured by smaller producers and private labels in the United States. Their products are produced in smaller quantities in a variety of flavors. Many sauces have a theme to catch consumers attention. A very mild chili sauce is produced byHeinz and other manufacturers, and is frequently found in cookbooks in the U.S. This style chili sauce is based on tomatoes, green and/or red bell peppers, and spices; and contains little chili pepper. This sauce is more akin to tomatoketchup andcocktail sauce than predominantly chili pepper-based sauces.[11]
A type ofsriracha sauce manufactured in California byHuy Fong Foods has become increasingly popular in the United States in contemporary times.[12]
Tapatío hot sauce is popular among Mexican-American communities and the broader US population. It is based on a style of sauce found inJalisco.[13]
Louisiana-style hot sauce contains red chili peppers (tabasco and/or cayenne are the most popular), vinegar and salt. Occasionallyxanthan gum or other thickeners are used.
New Mexico chile sauces differ from others in that they contain no vinegar. Almost every traditional New Mexican dish is served with red or green chile sauce, the towns ofHatch,Chimayo, theAlbuquerque area, and others inNew Mexico are well known for their peppers. The sauce is often added to meats, eggs, vegetables, breads, and some dishes are, in fact, mostly chile sauce with a modest addition of pork, beef, or beans.
The availability of a wide variety of hot sauces is a relatively recent event in most of Australia. Before 2000, there was little more choice than the flagship brand of Tabasco Cayenne sauce predominantly used in restaurants and sold in supermarkets. Other options included the more specialised thick, medium to hot Asian sauces.[citation needed] Although today, two of the most popular picks are the Buffalo and Sriracha hot sauces. There's also very faithful, locally produced versions of Habanero and Trinidad Scorpion ranges available.
Two of the hottest chilies in the world, theNaga Viper andInfinity chili were developed in the United Kingdom[16][17] and are available as sauces which have been claimed to be the hottest natural chili sauces (without added pepper extract) available in the world.[18][failed verification] The Naga Viper and Infinity were considered the hottest two chili peppers in the world until the Naga Viper was unseated by theTrinidad Moruga Scorpion in late 2011.[citation needed]
The heat, or burning sensation, experienced when consuming hot sauce is caused bycapsaicin and related capsaicinoids. The burning sensation is caused by the capsaicin activation of the TRPV1 heat and ligand-gatedion channel in peripheralneurons.[19] Themechanism of action is then a chemicalinteraction with theneurological system. Although the "burning" sensation does not correspond to a realstimulus, repeated and prolonged use of hot spices may harm the peripheral heat-sensingneurons; this mechanism may explain why frequent spice users become less sensitive to both spices and heat.
Foods containingcapsaicin, like hot sauces, can have different effects on each individual. Those with stomach issues can experience worse symptoms than just the “burning” sensation. People withirritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can have gas, diarrhea, or stomach pains after ingesting hot sauces.[20]
The seemingly subjective perceived heat of hot sauces can be measured by theScoville scale. The Scoville scale number indicates how many times something must be diluted with an equal volume ofwater until people can no longer feel any sensation from the capsaicin. The hottest hot sauce scientifically possible is one rated at 16 million Scoville units, which is pure capsaicin. An example of a hot sauce marketed as achieving this level of heat is Blair's 16 Million Reserve, marketed byBlair's Sauces and Snacks. By comparison,Tabasco sauce is rated between 2,500 and 5,000 Scoville units (batches vary) - with one of the mildest commercially available sauces, Cackalacky Classic Sauce Company's Spice Sauce, weighing in at less than 1000 Scoville units on the standard heat scale.
A general way to estimate the heat of a sauce is to look at the ingredients list. Sauces tend to vary in heat based on the kind of peppers used, and the further down the list, the less the amount of pepper.
Capsaicinoids are the chemicals responsible for the "hot" taste of chili peppers. They are fat-soluble and therefore water will be of no assistance when countering the burn. The most effective way to relieve the burning sensation is withdairy products, such as milk and yogurt. A protein calledcasein occurs in dairy products which binds to the capsaicin, effectively making it less available to "burn" the mouth, and the milk fat helps keep it in suspension. Rice is also useful for mitigating the effect, especially when it is included with a mouthful of the hot food. These foods are typically included in the cuisine of cultures that specialise in the use of chilis. Mechanical stimulation of the mouth by chewing food will also partially mask the pain sensation.[25]
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