Turn up the Heat!
I remember being a college freshman at Georgia Tech, and having a contest with my fraternity brothers to see who could eat the most jalapenos. Back then I thought that was the hottest thing on Earth.
Then I discovered hot sauces.
Like most people, I suspect, I started with the basics, Tabasco, Frank's Red Hot, and a Chinese Hot Chili Sauce. Soon, if I didn't break a sweat, it wasn't hot enough.
I'm not really sure if there was an increase in the brands of hot sauce available in the late 80's, or maybe it was just because I started looking for them, but I was soon tasting my way up the Scoville Scale.
Not only was the fire stimulating, but I also started cooking with hot sauces. If a recipe called for tomato sauce/paste, or chili powder/red pepper flakes, a little hot sauce could always be used as a partial/full substitute in chilis, meatloaf, party dips, and more. Along the way I also discovered hot sauces flavored with chipotle, blueberry, and even pineapple.
Today I pile jalapenos on everything from hot dogs and burgers to pizza, and usually splash on a little hot sauce for an extra kick.
So if you like the heat, welcome to the kitchen!
Our Favorite Links
- hotsauce.com - The Hottest Byte on Earth
- Experience a fiery journey through the largest online selection of Hot Sauces, Hot Sauce Gifts and Extreme Foods. Dedicated to all Chili Heads & Hot Sauce Enthusiasts Worldwide!
- Kitchen Cutlery & Knife Sets
- You already have great taste, you love Hot Peppers & Hot Sauces, so why not enhance your culinary style with a top notch set of knives, and quality flatware. Browse our selection of vintage and everyday flatware, and our Chef's, Sashimi, and steak knives (individual and sets). We also have knife blocks and sharpeners to keep you slicing and dicing.
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- HELP-I-have-twins is the home of great products at great prices. We offer a wide range of items from top brands including Rawlings Sports Equipment and Apparel (baseball, football, basketball) Yak Trax, Kakadu of Australia, Authentic Coach Bags, Pottery Barn Pottery Barn & Pottery Barn Kids, Williams Sonoma, Himalayan Salt Crystal Lamps, Vintage Collectibles, hats for your Ipod & MP3 Player ear buds, Johnathan Kinkade Wall hangings & Throws, fabric, decorative wrought iron accents for your home, birdhouses & bird feeders and Deer-X netting.
- OSI Rock Stars
- The Small Electric Kitchen Appliance Shop
- Stop in and find all the Small Electric Kitchen Appliances you need to make your food preparation and entertaining a breeze.
HOT Lenses about HOT Sauces and Chili Peppers
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H is for Hot Peppers
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Hot peppers, or chili peppers, were first cultivated by the people of Central and South America as far back as 3000BC. Christopher Columbus is largely credited for introducing pepper seeds to Europe in 1493. Since that time, the popularity of hot pep...
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what you need to know about chile peppers
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Chile or Pepper, not Chile Pepper. Confusing right? So how did this confusion begin? Well, it began in Mexico. The word Chile is Spanish for Pepper. In English we would say the Jalapeno pepper and in Spanish it would be Chile Jalapeno. A sweet peppe...
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How to Eat Really Hot Peppers, Hot Sauces and All That is Hot & Spicy Without The Burn
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Let's talk hot and spicy! Do you love all that is hot and spicy? So do I ~ lets talk about any great news or comments you have about hot and spicy foods, hot sauces, pepper extracts, or anything that is hot & spicy ~ I can't wait to hear from you!
What's the difference between hot and HOT!
The Scoville Heat Scale
Before we even start discussing the difference between hot and HOT!, what is it exactly that makes the pepper hot, and gives the sauce its fire. Peppers arefruits of the Capsicum genus which contain (naturally) capsaicin. Capsaicin is a chemical compound which stimulates thermoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucus membranes, which your brain interprets as 'heat'.
The "hotness" of a chili pepper is measured using the Scoville scale, named after its creator, chemist Wilbur Scoville. Scoville's original method for testing hotness was called the Scoville Organoleptic Test, which he developed in 1912. As originally devised, a solution of the pepper extract is diluted in sugar water until the "heat" is no longer detectable to a panel of (usually five) tasters; the degree of dilution gives its measure on the Scoville scale. The number of Scoville Heat Units (SHU) indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Thus a sweet pepper, containing no capsaicin at all, has a Scoville rating of zero, meaning no heat detectable even undiluted. Conversely, the hottest chiles, such as habaneros, have a rating of 300,000 or more, indicating that their extract has to be diluted 300,000-fold before the capsaicin present is undetectable.
The greatest weakness of the Scoville Organoleptic Test is its variation. Its reliance on human subjectivity, and the natural variation in heat from pepper to pepper, make the scale a subjective/comparative guide.
Spice heat is now usually measured by a method using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This identifies and measures the quantity of heat-producing chemicals which are then used in a mathematical formula (each compound is weighted according to its relative capacity to produce a sensation of heat). This method yields results, not in Scoville units, but in ASTA pungency units. A measurement of one part capsaicin per million corresponds to about 15 Scoville units. This conversion is approximate, and tends it give results about 20-40% lower than the Scoville Organoleptic Test.
Today, many hot sauces use their Scoville rating as a selling feature.
The Scoville Heat Scale
Whch is your Favorite Extreme Hot Sauce
The Naga Jolokia at Walt Disney World!
Only for seeing, not for eating.
Walt Disney World in Orlando is the last (but happiest) place on Earth I expected to find hot peppers. Not just hot, but the HOTTEST.In Epcot (the Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow), at the Land Pavillion, and after getting our Fast Pass for Saorin', we took a ride on Living with the Land. An informative journey through rain forests, the African desert, and the American plains. It also provides a look at the future of agriculture with such innovations as hydroponics, aquaculture, desert farming, and fish farming. As we passed into the fruits and vegatables section, there it was on the right hand side, The King of the Scoville Scale, the Naga Jolokia, a ghost no more.
Although I'd been on the ride several times in the last few years, this was the first time I'd noticed the beautiful bush with it's bright red, ripe jewels. This was most likely due to the fact that my kids are now old enuogh to enjoy the ride without needing constant explainations about what everything is, so I could actually look around for myself. Regardless, there it was, and I was so stunned, I couldn't get my camera out in time to get a photo.
So the next time you're in Disney World and need a hot pepper fix, this visual tease is better than nothing. Of course you can always head over to Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and try their Hot Pepper Chicken soup. It doesn't have that much heat, but it sure is tasty!
Random Photos of Hot & Spicy Foods and Sauces
grovefest06
Tapatio
jason
must be moist and sp...
benny's brunch table...
Gringo Bandito
Fried Chicken Wings...
coyote hot sauce
wall of flame
wall of flamer
My Favorite Hot Sauce Appetizer
"Mushroom Magma"
Mushroom Magma
Ingredients
3 Tbsp Olive oil
1.5-2 lbs Whole White Mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 med yellow onion, finely chopped
Dash of Salt
~1 tsp Pepper
~1 Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2C Tomato Sauce
~4 oz (or more) of Favorite Hot Sauce - to taste
Tortilla Chips or Plain Crackers to serve
Preheat a large skillet over med-high heat. Add Olive oil and turn skillet to coat entire bottom. Add chopped mushrooms, onion, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
Allow mixture to saute ~15 - 20 min (stirring occassionally) until all liquid from mushrooms evaporates and mushrooms and onions start to brown slightly.
Add tomato sauce (be careful since it will tend to splatter once it hits the hot pan). Mix to coat. Add hot sauce (I'm currently using Ring of Fire). Mix thoroughly with wooden spoon. Remove from heat, scoop into serving bowl.
Serve either warm or cool - with tortilla chips or crackers.
Also makes a great topping for hot dogs and hamburgers.
Leftovers (if there are any) can be refrigerated and either reheated, or served cold.
NOTE: Mixture should have a chili-like consistency before removing from pan. If too 'soupy' continue to heat until some of the liquid evaporates. If you're adding more Hot Sauce to increase the heat, cut back on the tomato sauce slightly.
Have you tried the Mushroom Magma?
Some "Appetizing" Food Sites
How to quench the Fire
As previously discussed, that 'burning' sensation in your mouth is the result of the chemical caspacai stimulating specific nerves in your mouth. The Scoville Chart also shows that there are different typses of caspaicin(s) which becauseof their structure, stimuate the nerves in different areas of the mouth. All of this depends on which particular capsaicin(s) is in the type of pepper being eaten. Responses can be immediate, delayed or prolonged and affect the lips, middle of the tongue, the throat, and/or the back of the mouth.
What is best to "quench the burn" in your mouth?
A common misconception is that water will 'douse the fire'. Water, however, only provides an
immediate, and very brief, relief because it flushes away the free capsaicins. Unfortunately, it leaves behind those that are already 'attached' on to your thermoreceptors. Almost immediately, the hot sensation can actually feel more intense because the water has also rinsed away any other foodstuffs that had been diluting the effects of the
capsaicins.
Starchy foods, such as breads, mechanically remove some of the capsaicins so they can help to reduce the pungency. Also the mechanical stimulation of the mouth by chewing food will partially mask the pain sensation.
The most effective way to relieve the burning sensation it causes are dairy products, such as milk. A protein called casein occurs in dairy products which binds to the active agent in chilies, capsaicin, effectively making it less available to "burn" the mouth.
Think about some of the hottest ethnic dishes, and you will notice that most are served with sour cream, yogurt or other dairy product. During the meal, a few bites of the spicy hot food would be followed by a 'dose' of the cleansing dairy product. That way, the heat can be enjoyed
and the other flavors within the food can also be enjoyed.
What others are blogging about Hot Sauces
- Change... Can Be GOOD!!
- So when we learned of Barack Obama's love for hot sauce, we started our own campaign for Change. Starting October '08, we will be offering a limited number of Special "Collector's Edition" Sauces. A portion of the proceeds from the sale ...
- Hot sauce + food pairings
- It's my go to sauce when I want more of that tabasco flavor without all the vinegar, and it packs great heat too. A great little sauce. I actually bought mine at Giant. And I thought all/most hot sauces used white vinegar?
- The best chilli sauce. In the world. Ever.
- However, this is probably the best chilli sauce I've ever tried. It's called Sriracha Hot Sauce and I buy it from Chinese/Oriental supermarkets here in the UK. It creeps up on you, it starts out quite nice and mild. ...
Flickr Photos about Hot Peppers
Hot Peppers
Bhut Jolokia Pepper
P1300342
Alameda.
Fatality
hothouse grown
P1010153
to-garashi
Twisted pepper
Mise for "Flami...
HOT Sauces, Chili Peppers and more on Amazon
Hot Sauce
Amazon Price: $17.99 (as of 10/07/2008)
The Hot Sauce Bottle Cookbook ; Recipes that Sizzle - Sauces that Cook!
Amazon Price: (as of 10/07/2008)
The Great Hot Sauce Book
Amazon Price: (as of 10/07/2008)
New Guestbook
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JustAls
THIS IS THE BEST HOTSAUCE PAGE I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!! FANTASTIC!!!!! Posted September 14, 2008 |
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KimGiancaterino
I think Culinary Favorites From A to Z can handle the heat. I'm growing 6 habanero plants this year and a few milder peppers for making salsa. Very nice lens! Posted June 25, 2008 |
