Hot Sauce 101

Can you take the heat? Hot sauces are a splash of tantalizing thrill for your taste buds. Heat lovers know their sauce and the Scoville-unit scale to measure the heat's intensity. Hot sauce heat is rated from a one to ten with ten being the hottest of the hot. If you dare, some hot sauces rate higher than ten and will leave you on the floor in tears. Most hot sauces have a base of jalapeño, habañero, or garlic or may be a combination of the three. For the hottest of the hot, there is the habañero sauce, or for the craziness thrill-seekers, there are sauces with a touch of Capsicum oil.

HABAÑERO

Habañero peppers are usually seen as orange or red in color. This is the hottest pepper you will find at the grocery store. Like most chili peppers, handling the pepper will be painful if the oils reach your eyes. While handling these hot chilies, wearing protective gloves is your best bet.

Habañero hot sauce is a blend of ingredients including a mix of vegetables or sauce with tangy citrus flavoring. Melinda's XXXtra Hot Habañero Hot Sauce has a heat scale of four and is a blend of vegetable flavors with a splash of lime. For extra-hot flavor, Marie Sharp's Belizean Heat Habañero Hot Sauce ranks as an eight with a vegetable-citrus blend, Creole spices and Capsicum oil.

JALAPEÑO

Jalapeño peppers are common in food such as salsa and pizza. They are typically dark green in color and at times are red in color. The jalapeño is the most commonly grown chili in Mexico and is moderate to hot with intensity usually around five.

Buffalo Jalapeño Hot Sauce has a heat scale of five and is a sauce based in vinegar, water, carrots, and peppers. Higher on the heat scale and sure to bring tears to your eyes is Hank Williams Jr.'s Family Tradition Jalapeño Hot Sauce. This outrageous tradition is a seven on the heat scale and is a blend of red jalapeño peppers, mustard, garlic, onions, and spices sure to open up your sinuses.

GARLIC

Garlic is commonly seen at the grocery store as a white bulb. The most important part of the garlic is the bulb, which contains the cloves. Garlic has many health benefits and is rich in antioxidants.

Garlic hot sauce is a tasty blend of spices and peppers from moderate to hot in intensity. Cajon Power Spicy Garlic All Purpose Sauce has a heat scale of five and is a fantastic flavoring for any recipe.

OTHER BRANDS

CaJohn Hot Sauce offers a line of specialty products ranging from salsa to hot sauce. The CaJohn brand is preservative free and has Asian, Caribbean and Cajun flavors. The brand has won over 200 awards for their products.

Blair's Death Sauce has some of the hottest sauces around. Blair's Mega Death Hot Sauce rates as a painful 10+ and uses only the hottest known ingredients for its hot sauces.

Dave's Gourmet Hot Sauce claims ownership to Dave's Insanity Hot Sauce. The sauce's exceptional taste has earned a gold trophy and six silver trophies. Dave's Hurtin' Habañero Mustard rates as a serious eight on the intensity scale and has won three gold medals.

Cholula Hot Sauce is a unique blend of piquin and árbol peppers with a flavor ranking as seven times as hot as jalapeño chilies.

HOT SAUCE COLLECTOR BOTTLES

Hot-sauce lovers can purchase CaJohn's Fatalli Puree Balloon Hot Sauce. This balloon-shaped bottle is signed by John. Mad Dog 357 Collector's with Gun Keychain will blow you away packing heating of 600,000 Scoville units; it is the hottest in the world.

For the brave wanting to spice up life or play with fire, hot sauce will do the deed. With intensity ranging from one to ten, there is a degree of heat to satisfy every taste.