Hot Sauce Primer by Anna Russell Anatomy of a Hot Sauce Flavor Base Many of the best tasting hot sauces will have a flavor base to help round out the pepper. They can include vegetables, fruit, salt, vinegar, citrus, garlic and spices. Cheaper sauces are made using commercially processed pepper mash which is prepared with distilled vinegar and salt. Better quality sauces use fresh peppers, often grown in close proximity to where the sauce is manufactured. This eliminates the salt and vinegar, except where they are added to enhance the flavour. Sauces that rely primarily on the pepper for all of the flavour are sometimes called pepper mash and are often thicker and chunky. Style Many hot sauces are made in a style that reflects their region of origin and can be influenced by the variety of peppers available, cultural & ethnic heritage of the place, and the types of cuisine consumed. Some hot sauces are a reflection of the variety of chile pepper they contain. Those types strive to highlight the flavour and heat intensity of a particular pepper. Regional Sauces The types of peppers and ingredients often compliment the style of the foods in a given region. These are some of the most recognizable, although just about every place on the planet has some kind of spicy specialty. Louisiana: Cayenne or Tabasco peppers are combines with a little vinegar for balance; sometimes they include onion and garlic, pairing well with savory cajun and creole dishes. ie Tabasco Mexican: These have pronounced red chile flavour, sometimes smoked or aged, with very little vinegar. They pair well with rice, beans, and saucy simmered meat dishes. ie Cholula Caribbean: Scotch Bonnets, which have a touch of sweet pepper flavour, are mixed with mustard and a little vinegar or lime. They pair well fish, poultry, fresh vegetables, and mango. ie Melinda’s Scotch Bonnet Sauce Central American (Costa Rica, Belize): Habanero is combined with a carrot and onion base, often with a little vinegar or lime, garlic, and salt to round out the flavor. These make good “table sauces” to use on anything. The most classic chicken wing sauce recipe is a bottle of habanero sauce and stick of butter. ie Marie Sharp’s Habanero Sauce Asian: Hot thai chiles or flakes are mixed in a sweet, often thick, base. Perfect pair with Pan Asian dishes from all around the Pacific Rim, especially with soya sauce. ie Tiger Sauce African/Portuguese: A common African condiment is made from peri-peri peppers soaked in vinegar and dashed in soups and stews. In Portuguese cooking, peri-peri peppers are blended with vinegar, garlic, lemon, herbs & spices with a distinct flavor. It’s traditionally used as a sauce with chicken but also pairs well with breakfast burritos and lunch wraps. Peri-peri sauce makes a great base for a chicken or pork marinade because of the garlic & lemon flavours. ie Zulu Zulu Peri Peri Sauce Chile Pepper Sauces Some sauces are based on the chile pepper more so than a regional style. Jalapeño: These sauces using green jalapeños tend to be the mildest. They usually have a carrot, onion, garlic base and often include unique ingredients like cactus, apple, tomatillos, lime juice, cilantro, or tequila. They make good all-around sauces, especially with fish, chicken, fresh salsa, and eggs. ie Iguana Mean Green Chipotle: These sauces, using dried, smoked jalapeños, are often combined with fresh or roasted garlic, or cane sugar for a sweet, smokey flavour. They work well with many foods… breakfast eggs & potatoes, chicken wraps, Tex-Mex dishes, barbecue sauce, baked beans, sweet potato fries, enchiladas & burritos. ie El Yucateco Chipotle Naga Jolokia (Ghost Pepper): Newly rated as the hottest chile pepper to date, the jolokia is twice as hot as the Red Savina habanero. As such, it’s used in combination with other peppers and ingredients like habanero, cider vinegar, cane sugar, and sea salt. Never having tried the pepper alone, we’re not sure of its flavour, but the sauces which contain it tend to have a bright, clean taste. It works well on any dish where you want lots of kick. ie Melinda’s Naga Jolokia Sauce Extract Sauces: These superhots use capsaicin extract, also called oleoresin, to add more heat intensity than a chile pepper could on its own. The more extract added, the hotter the sauce becomes, whereas, a sauce of plain chiles will only be as hot as the pepper itself. These sauces are intended for use as ingredients only and can be quite expensive. Some will be produced in limited quantity and packaged specially for collecting. ie Da Bomb - The Final Answer Hot Sauce Facts Scoville Heat Units are the standard measurement for heat intensity of chile peppers and hot sauces. Some hot sauces will claim a certain SHU rating. To be truly accurate, the manufacturer has to submit the sauce for laboratory testing, which can be expensive. It’s often reserved for a company’s top of the line specialty sauce. The SHU listed on the label may, however, be based on the rating of the chile pepper or pepper extract in the sauce and not the actual sauce itself. True chileheads can be fanatical about this. The hottest sauce on record is The Source made by Original Juan in Kansas City. It’s rated at 7.1 million SHU. Police grade pepper spray is 5.3 million and pure capsaicin extract is 16 million. A dash of hot sauce has been known for ages to pique the flavor of a dish, however, chileheads claim to get a rush from hot sauce. Capsaicin stimulates pain receptors and it has been theorized that an endorphin rush follows as a response to the pain. Anecdotally, responses to hot sauce consumption include sweating, flushing of the face, runny nose, tearing eyes, hiccuping, mouth breathing, a glazed look, and what we refer to as happy feet. The only effective ways to cool the burn are to consume a full fat dairy product or a room temperature sugary drink. Casein in milk binds to capsaicin molecules, allowing them to rinse away. Sugar water solutions block pain receptors. RETURN TO THE RECIPES PRINTABLE - HOT SAUCE PRIMER.pdf HOT SAUCE OF THE MONTH INDEX

Hot Sauce Primer

by Anna Russell

Anatomy of a Hot Sauce

Flavor Base

Many of the best tasting hot sauces will have a flavor base to help round out the pepper. They can include vegetables, fruit, salt, vinegar, citrus, garlic and spices. Cheaper sauces are made using commercially processed pepper mash which is prepared with distilled vinegar and salt. Better quality sauces use fresh peppers, often grown in close proximity to where the sauce is manufactured. This eliminates the salt and vinegar, except where they are added to enhance the flavour. Sauces that rely primarily on the pepper for all of the flavour are sometimes called pepper mash and are often thicker and chunky.

Style

Many hot sauces are made in a style that reflects their region of origin and can be influenced by the variety of peppers available, cultural & ethnic heritage of the place, and the types of cuisine consumed. Some hot sauces are a reflection of the variety of chile pepper they contain. Those types strive to highlight the flavour and heat intensity of a particular pepper.

Regional Sauces

The types of peppers and ingredients often compliment the style of the foods in a given region. These are some of the most recognizable, although just about every place on the planet has some kind of spicy specialty.

Louisiana: Cayenne or Tabasco peppers are combines with a little vinegar for balance; sometimes they include onion and garlic, pairing well with savory cajun and creole dishes.

ie Tabasco

Mexican: These have pronounced red chile flavour, sometimes smoked or aged, with very little vinegar. They pair well with rice, beans, and saucy simmered meat dishes.

ie Cholula

Caribbean: Scotch Bonnets, which have a touch of sweet pepper flavour, are mixed with mustard and a little vinegar or lime. They pair well fish, poultry, fresh vegetables, and mango.

ie Melinda’s Scotch Bonnet Sauce

Central American (Costa Rica, Belize): Habanero is combined with a carrot and onion base, often with a little vinegar or lime, garlic, and salt to round out the flavor. These make good “table sauces” to use on anything. The most classic chicken wing sauce recipe is a bottle of habanero sauce and stick of butter.

ie Marie Sharp’s Habanero Sauce

Asian: Hot thai chiles or flakes are mixed in a sweet, often thick, base. Perfect pair with Pan Asian dishes from all around the Pacific Rim, especially with soya sauce.

ie Tiger Sauce

African/Portuguese: A common African condiment is made from peri-peri peppers soaked in vinegar and dashed in soups and stews. In Portuguese cooking, peri-peri peppers are blended with vinegar, garlic, lemon, herbs & spices with a distinct flavor. It’s traditionally used as a sauce with chicken but also pairs well with breakfast burritos and lunch wraps. Peri-peri sauce makes a great base for a chicken or pork marinade because of the garlic & lemon flavours.

ie Zulu Zulu Peri Peri Sauce

Chile Pepper Sauces

Some sauces are based on the chile pepper more so than a regional style.

Jalapeño: These sauces using green jalapeños tend to be the mildest. They usually have a carrot, onion, garlic base and often include unique ingredients like cactus, apple, tomatillos, lime juice, cilantro, or tequila. They make good all-around sauces, especially with fish, chicken, fresh salsa, and eggs.

ie Iguana Mean Green

Chipotle: These sauces, using dried, smoked jalapeños, are often combined with fresh or roasted garlic, or cane sugar for a sweet, smokey flavour. They work well with many foods… breakfast eggs & potatoes, chicken wraps, Tex-Mex dishes, barbecue sauce, baked beans, sweet potato fries, enchiladas & burritos.

ie El Yucateco Chipotle

Naga Jolokia (Ghost Pepper): Newly rated as the hottest chile pepper to date, the jolokia is twice as hot as the Red Savina habanero. As such, it’s used in combination with other peppers and ingredients like habanero, cider vinegar, cane sugar, and sea salt. Never having tried the pepper alone, we’re not sure of its flavour, but the sauces which contain it tend to have a bright, clean taste. It works well on any dish where you want lots of kick.

ie Melinda’s Naga Jolokia Sauce

Extract Sauces: These superhots use capsaicin extract, also called oleoresin, to add more heat intensity than a chile pepper could on its own. The more extract added, the hotter the sauce becomes, whereas, a sauce of plain chiles will only be as hot as the pepper itself. These sauces are intended for use as ingredients only and can be quite expensive. Some will be produced in limited quantity and packaged specially for collecting.

ie Da Bomb - The Final Answer

Hot Sauce Facts

Scoville Heat Units are the standard measurement for heat intensity of chile peppers and hot sauces. Some hot sauces will claim a certain SHU rating. To be truly accurate, the manufacturer has to submit the sauce for laboratory testing, which can be expensive. It’s often reserved for a company’s top of the line specialty sauce. The SHU listed on the label may, however, be based on the rating of the chile pepper or pepper extract in the sauce and not the actual sauce itself. True chileheads can be fanatical about this.

The hottest sauce on record is The Source made by Original Juan in Kansas City. It’s rated at 7.1 million SHU. Police grade pepper spray is 5.3 million and pure capsaicin extract is 16 million.

A dash of hot sauce has been known for ages to pique the flavor of a dish, however, chileheads claim to get a rush from hot sauce. Capsaicin stimulates pain receptors and it has been theorized that an endorphin rush follows as a response to the pain. Anecdotally, responses to hot sauce consumption include sweating, flushing of the face, runny nose, tearing eyes, hiccuping, mouth breathing, a glazed look, and what we refer to as happy feet. The only effective ways to cool the burn are to consume a full fat dairy product or a room temperature sugary drink. Casein in milk binds to capsaicin molecules, allowing them to rinse away. Sugar water solutions block pain receptors.

RETURN TO THE RECIPES

PRINTABLE - HOT SAUCE PRIMER.pdf

HOT SAUCE OF THE MONTH INDEX

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