So I was on this website Thrillest.com and I was inspired to make a list of all the hot sauces I love. Now I saw about 50 different lists of top tens based on spice, texture, taste, heat and overall awesomeness which I am assuming means you would put it on just about anything your eating. So I wrote out my list, adjusting it as I saw fit. There were hot sauces that I hadn’t tasted that appeared on every list. So these are my recommended top 7, an amalgamation of hot sauces I have had and the ones I need to try immediately. My boyfriend, the ever delicious Red, loves hot sauce like he loves to breath and happily, I think he would approve. 🙂 Here I will give you a flavor profile of each sauce (to the best of my ability) and interesting little tidbits of information I have come across about them.
Capsain is the substance in peppers that give them their heat. In order to measure exactly how hot a pepper really is, we categorize them in scoville units. It was a man name Wilbur Scoville in 1912 who developed this taste test. To give you an idea of the level of hotness in different peppers and what that means exactly, bell peppers ( which are not hot at all) range from 0- 100 scoville units and Habanero peppers ( which are extremely hot ) range from 200,00 – 300,00 scoville units and pure Capsain ranks a crazy 15,000,000 scoville units ( which probably would scorch your tongue)
In the name of research, I may or may not get an ulcer after I publish this, seeing that I most definitely will go out into the world and taste all the hot sauces that I haven’t and just see what all the fuss is about. I love spicy food but my idea of spicy is a rice size piece of wasabi on my eel avocado roll when it’s sushi night, so this is going to very interesting as my tolerance is fairly low. And for all you wonderful crazies out there who really want to go hard I came across a Hot sauce of the month club. 🙂 Which made me both smile and cringe.
Give the gift that gives you ulcers! Your Welcome!
1.Huy Fong Siracha- Los Angeles, California, founded 1980
This sauce is made from sun ripened chillies with no artificial colors or additives. This is one of Huy Fong’s most popular hot sauces. Recommended for soups, sauces, pizza, hamburgers and more its flavor profile is spicy yet sweet enough to enjoy on most food items. The name of the company originated from the boat vessel that carried the founder of the company over to America when he emigrated from his native Vietnam. And in the event you need to stock up that zombie apocalyptic bunker you’ve been building since the early 2000’s, no need to fear 12 pack cases are available for sale. This is a super tasty kind-of-hot hot sauce that is extremely versatile. You can put it on your food to zest it up or throw it in the eyes of a zombie if you are ever in fact attacked by zombies.
2.Cholula- Chapala, Mexico (available in the US for 20 years)
Despite the many different hot sauce products they have their original is the one that I love the best. Made with a combination of piquin, arbol and red peppers plus other spices, its pretty much my go to when I want a little kick to my eggs or blood mary’s. It is truly and extremely a flavorful hot sauce. The recipe for the original is over 100 years old and has remained the same to this day. And to all my celiac sufferers out there it is also gluten-free so go wild!
3.Franks Red Hot- Springfield, Missouri, founded 1920
This is the hot sauce that is probably most synonymous with hot wings and rightfully so. However this one can almost certainly be put on absolutely anything. By anything I mean like even popcorn, which isn’t my thing but still somehow works. It’s a cayenne pepper sauce that is made from a blend of aged cayenne peppers, vinegar and garlic. The recipe dates back to 1896 and was formulated by the owner and his pepper farming business partner. Apparently Franks Red Hot was the secret ingredient in the original Buffalo wings that were created in Buffalo NY in 1964 at the Anchor Bar and Grill.
4.Louisiana Hot Sauce Original- New Iberia, Louisiana, founded 1928
This is another cayenne pepper inspired Cajun wonder. The only one Certified as a Cajun hot sauce their peppers are aged for at least a year making for a sauce that’s not too hot, not too mild but just right in the flavor/hot department. So Goldie locks would be satisfied to know her porridge could be saved with just a few drops of this. The Louisiana brands website also was the most comprehensive site (that I found) for hot pepper information including interesting chili facts, chili pepper terminology and more. Cajun spices and seasonings that help create their sauces and the difference between them all can be found on their website as well. All in all….. I’m sold.
5. Tapatio- Vernon, California, founded 1971
This hot sauce is a yummy one and it comes in 7 gram individual packets, gallon containers, 5 oz., 10 oz. and 32 oz. bottles. I like this one on mexican food of all kinds. Burrito looking sad and lumpy, add some Tapatio. Fajita falling short, add some Tapatio. It’s the perfect condiment for rice and beans and isn’t so spicy that your tongue will feel numb if you accidentally pour a little too much due to your heavy-handedness. And apparently the name Tapatio is the name given to people from Guadalajara, Jalisco which is where the company’s founders are from.
6.Tabasco Original- Avery Island, Louisiana, founded
With a shelf life of five years this is a lot of people’s favorite everyday kind of hot sauce. Or at least for me it is. This is the one hot sauce I definitely always have in my cabinet. I think it tastes way more vinegar-y than any other hot sauce on this list but I love it for that reason as it makes it perfect for those noodle dishes I can’t stop eating and cold chicken wings at midnight I shouldn’t be eating. It’s even great on steak and eggs in the AM. Among their many other sauces they also produce a jalapeno version that I particularly like the flavor of, so if you want to have crazy spicy eggs and are in need of one that is approved for Kosher cooking then this is for you . This hot sauce would definitely have made my number one spot but it’s just not as complex, in regards to flavor and seasoning to me.
7.Texas Pete- Winston-Salem, North Carolina, founded 1929
This is not one of my favorite hot sauces although it is like number 3 in sales of all hot sauces. Or something to that effect. I have actually read seriously bad reviews about it but I don’t think it is too shabby. Having originated as a bar-b-q sauce in the 1920’s then eventually being revamped and altered into a hot sauce, I think that it’s the hot sauce you use when you run out of the others you really like. However, on a positive note, Texas Pete now makes a new siracha sauce that is said to have a tame garlic like flavor that stimulates the senses. So that’s the one I will be keeping my eye out for.
These are my top seven hot sauces based on yummy-ness, flavor and texture. I am one of those people who doesn’t always reach for the hot sauce with my dinner but when I do many of these are the ones I go for. Hot sauce is the condiment of champions so spice up your food and your life, if you can and skip over the ketchup and mustard and reach for whatever little jazzy labeled bottle that does it for you with that liquid peppery magic inside.
Ha Cha Cha!!!!
Cassandra
A cup of Noodle soup 