Hot Sauce Fun Fact - To Refrigerate or Not to Refrigerate, that is the Question
Oh, The Great Debate...
An often-debated topic is whether to keep hot sauce in the fridge or not. Generally speaking, unopened hot sauce doesn’t need to be kept in the fridge because capsaicin, the active component in chili peppers, keeps bacteria at bay. However, there are still several factors to consider. Namely, the ingredient list.
Sauces that are vinegar, salt, and garlic heavy don’t necessarily need refrigeration as these ingredients are natural food preservers. While sugary, fruity, or especially egg-based sauces (think Sriracha mayo) are more susceptible to spoilage and should be refrigerated after being opened. We do however suggest checking the label as each sauce has its own guidelines and recommendations.
There are many benefits to refrigerating your hot sauce:
*Pantry stored unopened hot sauce can last up to six months, while refrigerated unopened hot sauce lasts up to four times longer. A general rule depending on the sauce’s ingredients. It will keep your hot sauce looking good. If you don’t store your hot sauce (opened or unopened) in the fridge it will darken in color due to oxidation and nobody wants a potent, bright red sauce, turning to a dull maroon, or your beautiful habanero yellow hot sauce taking on a greyish hue.
Although, many spice-heads consider this a worthy trade-off as they swear that keeping hot sauce in the fridge reduces its flavor. It is important to note that there is no scientific backing to this, and it has been proven that the Scoville Scale (the heat scale used to determine the spiciness of foods) is no different before or after refrigeration. It will keep your sauce tasting fresher. An obvious one, yes, but definitely worth mentioning! Hot sauce kept out of the fridge may not spoil, but it can most certainly taste ‘old’. By this, we mean that certain nuances of flavor can be lost. Flavors of the different peppers used, of the additional ingredients, and even of the specific vinegar could all be lost by being out at room temperature. Nobody wants a dull, vinegary sauce only reminiscent of hot sauce being poured over their eggs!
*It helps if you are a slow hot sauce eater. If you aren’t one of those people who slather hot sauce on your plate every meal, then you run the risk of your sauce being forgotten or lost. So, simply stick it in the fridge for safekeeping and maximum freshness ready to whip out when your spice-loving friends come to visit.
Chile Pepper Fun Fact - Species of Chile Peppers
Did you know that there are Five Main Species of Chile Peppers
Peppers, like any other plant-based food, originally came from a naturally growing, undomesticated plant. Wild peppers look more like berries than the peppers you’ll find in the supermarket today, and grow only in the New World, with their range spanning from the southern United States through Central and northern South America.
Humans have been using chile peppers for thousands of years. In fact, the most verifiable evidence shows chiles were domesticated as early as 6,000-6,100 years ago in both Peru and Mexico, though there's evidence to suggest they may have been used thousands of years earlier. Over the years, selective breeding and hybridization of these once wild plants has resulted in the over 50,000 chile pepper cultivars that are estimated to exist today.
1. Capsicum Annuum
2. Capsicum Chinense
3. Capsicum Frutescens
4. Capsicum Baccatum
5. Capsicum Pubescens
Chile Pepper Fun Fact - Fish Chile Peppers
There's something fishy here...
Fish peppers are a spicy pepper variety within the Capsicum annuum species. They are slightly hotter than a Jalapeno pepper, but much less intense than a Habanero pepper. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about Fish peppers is their origin and history in North America.
Fish peppers are known for their incredible variegated foliage. The plant leaves are green with white stripes and spots throughout. They make a beautiful decorative plant.
But the colors don’t stop on the leaves. Fish pepper fruits themselves go through an incredible transformation as they ripen. Peppers turn from striped white and green to orange and finally to a deep red.
The Fish Pepper is thought to have its origins in the Caribbean. It then made its way into North America and was first documented in the early 1800s along the East Coast. The pepper was named from the cuisine in which it was primarily used, namely seafood dishes.
Chile Pepper Fun Fact - Filius Blue Chile Peppers
You're my boy Blue!
One of the most beautiful of both ornamental and edible peppers, the Filius Blue pepper produces beautiful ovoid chillies that start out a deep purple blue color which they remain for a long time before ripening to red. Filius Blue chillies are unusual in that they lose their heat when they ripen.
Filius Blue Peppers are a striking ornamental pepper and an edible variety. Peppers are rated at 30,000-50,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units). The peppers are at their hottest when they purple-blue (and very hot), becoming milder as they mature to a bright red.
Beyond heat, what do they taste like? Like all ornamentals, you can eat Filius Blue peppers, but also like ornamentals the flavor is bell-peppery, but not overly complex.
Chile Pepper Fun Fact - Naturally Fermented Pepper Mash
Naturally fermented pepper mash begins with freshly picked, washed, chopped or ground Capsicum peppers and salt. The salt and peppers are combined in jars or vessels, then naturally occurring Lactobacilli assist in creating and promoting the fermentation process. This fermentation process continues over several months. Due to the combination of peppers, Lactobacilli, and salt, the PH of these peppers gradually lowers over time to approximately a PH of 3.3. This is the process of natural acidification. This type of natural fermentation promotes the development of complex flavors and aromas in our pepper mashes and purees. All-natural fermentation allows development of a delicious tasting pepper mash that most say is addictive to the taste.
Culinary uses for pepper mash:
Industrial food companies, copackers, ingredient blenders, and sauce makers use pepper mash as a base ingredient for hot sauce, hot mustards, barbeque sauces, wing sauces, salsa, tomato sauces, and many other food products such as chili beans, salsas, soups, marinades, and for other flavor additions.
Hot Sauce Fun Fact - Fermented Hot Sauce
Fermented Hot Sauce, don't mind if I do
Fermented hot sauce is easy to make and so versatile you'll want to put it on everything. The sauce takes just minutes to prepare—cut the peppers, garlic, and carrots, pack them into a jar, then add a simple salt and water brine. That's all you'll have to do to prepare the peppers. After about 10 days, you'll blend the peppers with brine and vinegar and then funnel the strained sauce into bottles.
You can easily put your own spin on this hot sauce recipe. Add a few slices of onion to the pepper or add spices such as a dash of cumin seeds, peppercorns, or coriander. Fresh cilantro is another excellent option, and a dash of sugar or honey can add a touch of sweetness. If you prefer a relatively mild hot sauce, add a sliced sweet red bell pepper to temper the heat. You can reduce the heat by halving the peppers lengthwise and removing the seeds and ribs.
This recipe makes 1 quart jar or 2 (1-pint) jars, yielding about 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Double the amounts for a 2-quart jar.
Safe Fermenting:
Use clean hands, jars, lids, and work surfaces. There's no need to sterilize the jars—put them in the dishwasher or wash them by hand with hot soapy water and rinse them well.
Oxygen is the enemy. Always make sure the ingredients are submerged in the brine as they ferment. You can use a specially made weight to hold the food under the brine, or you can try an alternative weight, such as a small plastic bag filled with extra brine.
Carbon dioxide is produced by the ferment, forcing oxygen out. The lid must have a way to let air escape without allowing any back into the jar. You can achieve this with an airlock-style lid. If you don't have an airlock lid, you'll need to loosen the lid daily to let the air escape.
Once you have bottled the sauce, refrigerate it. If the capped bottle stays at room temperature it will continue to ferment and could explode.
Chile Pepper Fun Fact - Elephant Trunk Chile Pepper
Let's address the elephant in the room...
This awesomely shaped chile – there is no mistaking this one does in fact look like its name – the Elephant Trunk. A beautifully prolific plant, the Elephant Trunk pepper plant with its twisty 15-20cm long fruit. This variety comes from East India and is quite a compact growing plant. Taste-wise it's just great, sweet and juicy, just screaming to be stuffed with something like cheese and chorizo.
They are medium hot, have medium-thin flesh, and turn from green to red when mature. The plant has green stems, green leaves, and white flowers. Peppers absolutely resemble an elephant's trunk. Excellent for Indian cuisine and drying pepper and for making seasoning spice powder. A variety from India. Scoville Heat Units: 8,000 to 10,000.
Chile Pepper Fun Fact - The Chicken or the Egg
The Chilies have come to roost!
Did you know that chili powder is what famed chefs Dan Barber and Dominique Ansel use to change the color of their chicken egg yolks bright red?
Chili Powder also has a surprising health benefit it’s been shown in studies that the capsaicin might help prevent and/or get rid of worms in chickens.
The idea is the worms object to the spicy taste of the chili powder, detach from the hen’s body, and leave through...the back entrance, breaking the lifecycle of the worms.
Have some chickens of your own? You can add chili powder to your flock’s or add it to nesting boxes.
Eggstraordinary!
Hot Sauce Fun Fact - What are they called anyway?
So, what are those little things are called on so many hot sauce bottles...
Dripper Fitment Orifice Reducer
Ever get a sauce that pours out to quickly, but doesn't come with one of those reducers that restricts the flow? It runs out all over your food. These flow restrictors are perfect for slowing the flow of hot sauce, Worcestershire, vinegar and other savory choices to a controlled drip, it is designed for use with 5 or 10 ounce Woozy bottles.
I pop mine off as soon as I see it, give me all the flow!
And now you know...
Chile Pepper Fun Fact - Using Dried Chilies All Year Long
Fresh vs Dried Pepper Names...
Dried chilies are used throughout the world because drying is the best way to preserve peppers for year-round use. From mild peppers to very hot chilies, there's a dried chile pepper that everyone can enjoy. Showcasing the best-known dried chilies from mild to spicy, most of these are featured in Mexican cooking and common in the Southwestern United States and Tex-Mex dishes. One little fireball is a favorite in Thai food.
When selecting dried chilies, the general rule is that larger peppers are milder, and the smallest chilies are the spiciest. Recipes often call for them to be rehydrated or roasted, and many can be ground into flakes or powders for quick seasonings. No matter which chile you cook with, always wash your hands and kitchen tools and surfaces after working with these spicy peppers.
Dried chilies can be re-hydrated by soaking in hot water for 20-30 minutes or more. If the seeds are to be removed, it is usually easiest to remove the stem and shake out the seeds before soaking. If liquid is called for in the recipe (for example, for a sauce or soup), then the soaking water may use as part of the liquid; however, taste it first and do not use it if the soaking liquid tastes bitter.
Dried chilies can also be ground, with or without the seeds to a coarse or fine powder. Chili powder can be used as a seasoning in many dishes such as dry rubs or marinades, soups, meat fillings, and vegetable side dishes. Sauced. Dried chilies can be cooked with water and a little seasoning, then pureed to create a chili sauce that can be used as a seasoning like chili powder, or as a table condiment.