The Demystification of Hot Sauce

November 2003

The Demystification of Hot Sauce

By Jason R. Gronlund

Many have argued about the origins of hot sauce. According to Dave DeWitt and Chuck Evans, authors of “The Hot Sauce Bible,” newspapers and city directories reveal that the first bottled cayenne sauces appeared in Massachusetts around 1807. Sometime between 1840 and 1860, J. McCollick & Company of New York produced a Bird Pepper Sauce, most likely made with wild chiles called chiltepins, or bird peppers.

The year 1849 marks the first recorded crop of tabasco chiles, the vital ingredient of McIlhenny Company’s Tabasco® Pepper Sauce. Colonel Maunsell White, a prominent Louisiana banker and legislator, grew the crop on his Deer Range Plantation, calling his peppers “Tobasco,” an early misspelling of Tabasco, the Mexican state. In 1859, White manufactured, bottled and advertised the first hot sauce from these chiles; at about this time, he gave some chiles and his sauce recipe to a friend, Edmund McIlhenny, who promptly planted the seeds on his plantation on Avery Island, LA.

After experimenting with White’s recipe, in 1868, McIlhenny packaged the aged sauce in 350 used cologne bottles and sent them as samples to likely wholesalers. The sauce was so popular that, in 1870, McIlhenny patented his Tabasco Brand (as it was now called) hot-pepper sauce, and by 1872, opened an office in London to serve the European market.

All about chiles When discussing hot sauces, one clarification we need upfront is “chile” vs. “chili”: the former refers to the pepper and the latter refers to the soup or stew. Chile comes from the Aztec word for these peppers, “chil.” The word “aji” is also used to describe chile peppers, and comes from the native Caribbean Arawak word “axi.”

Experts believe that chile peppers originated in South America. Different species traveled about the continent, as well as north into Central America and Mexico. While in the West Indies, Christopher Columbus “discovered” chile peppers and transported them to Europe. From that time on, they made their way around the world in common spice trade.

Chiles are a bountiful, hearty crop that easily pollinate, which would explain the more than 100 available varieties. They belong to the Capsicum family (C. annuum, C. chinense and C. frutescens) vs. Piper nigrens, the source of black, green and white peppercorns. And, many of them have more than one name, which causes a bit of confusion as well. For example, Anaheim chiles, when dried, can be called California or New Mexico chiles.

Chile peppers vary greatly depending on many factors: climate, soil, geographical location grown in, and stage of maturity. The green, or unripe, pepper is not as sweet or as hot as the mature, red, ripe pepper. The heat comes from the compound capsicum and other capsaicinoids, which are found mostly in the membranes of the pepper, and to a lesser amount, in the seeds. Besides the heat rush, fresh chiles are packed with almost as much vitamin C by weight as rose hips and acerola, and dried chiles are great sources of vitamin A.

Turning on the heatCapsicum, an oil with virtually no flavor or odor, is difficult to detect. That’s why, in 1912, Wilbur Scoville developed the Scoville organoleptic test, consisting of a trained panel that tastes sugar-water dilutions of peppers and rates their heat. Heat measurements range from 0 Scoville units for a bell pepper, to about 5,000 Scoville units for a jalapeño, to 300,000 Scoville units for a habanero. This heat measurement is now done using sophisticated analytical equipment, like high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which measures the levels of the capsaicinoids HPLC results are still translated into Scoville units. The organoleptic testing method is not used as often.

When you experience that capsicum heat rush, several things are happening to your body at the same time. As the blood rushes to your abdomen, your body temperature rises, causing you to perspire, which then cools your body; your breathing rate increases; and your muscles are stimulated as they would be during physical exercise. Throughout all of these physiological changes, your brain produces endorphins, chemicals that signal pleasure — nature’s morphine to counteract the pain. Ironically, you’re sweaty, breathing hard, lips on fire, muscles tired and yet ... you like it! Spicy food has always been the thrill ride at the table, helping to satisfy that need for danger that all humans possess.

Getting saucyStore shelves are filled with hot sauces of varying strengths. For example, McIlhenny Company’s Tabasco brand Green Pepper Sauce comes in at 600 to 1,200 Scoville units, its conventional Pepper Sauce rates 2,500 to 5,000 units, and the Habanero Sauce scores 7,000 to 8,000 units. Hot-sauce aficionados scour stores both physical and online, searching for a new heat challenge.

Our training in the culinary world taught us that hot sauce was just that — hot — and used sparingly by consumers only when they wanted the thrill of spicy food. Well, times are a-changing, and so is our consumer. In fact, the Mintel Global New Products Database reports that in 2000, 37% of American households had salsa or hot sauce on the shelf at home. This trend holds true not just on the home front. From products on store shelves to restaurants and institutions, dishes with more heat appear with greater regularity.

Although the consumer once thought of hot sauce as just a topical application on foods, this is now far from true. Words like “rounded, subtle notes,” and “fruity tones” are being used describe the flavor effects that hot sauce can add when developing food products.

No longer can product designers offer food that has no lasting flavor or leaves the taster with a dull feeling. The consumer demands products that are full-flavored and deliver value. In contrast to the old saying, “eat to live,” today’s diners live to eat, and to experience new flavors and textures. We are all looking for the edge that will separate our products from the competition. So maybe it is time to take that bottle down off the shelf and realize the potential that hot sauce can offer.

Field of saucesAn essential primer for any food developer is a basic understanding of the field of products in the marketplace and the unique profiles these sauces can offer to food formulations. Tabasco brand sauce, for instance, is made from a tabasco-pepper mash that is aged in oak barrels for up to 3 years. After aging, the mash is blended in large oak tanks with vinegar for yet another 30 days. The resulting product has oak flavor tones and a unique piquant flavor.

Next on the list is the myriad of habanero sauces that have flooded the market. The habanero is a flavorful, fruity pepper, as well as one of the hottest. Typical sauces based on this type of pepper can run the gamut from less than 10,000 Scoville heat units all the way up to 300,000. At that high heat level, the tendency is to lose flavor and just get heat. To reap the true benefit of this pepper, developers should formulate a sauce containing other components, such as fruits like tamarind, banana or papaya, that will help bring out the flavor of the habanero and bring down the heat.

Chipotle has burst onto the scene and nothing can slow down its popularity. This pepper is actually a smoked red jalapeño. History credits the Aztecs with “inventing” the chipotle pepper, originally developed as a method of preservation and not for its smoky flavor. When the Aztecs attempted to dry the jalapeño, they found the skin was too thick — the pepper would rot long before it would dry. The smoky flavor that began simply as a byproduct of the preservation method has become the most-wanted part of the pepper. The liquid sauce form makes chipotle very convenient to use.

Weaving in and out of the food scene for years, the ever-popular flavor of jalapeño forms the basis for other great sauces and has multiple uses. From a light, low heat to an in-your-face bold, the jalapeño spans a full range of pepper flavors. I have a saying called “green for your greens” — any green sauce in salad dressing makes a thrilling addition to any flavor profile. The fruity flavor of the jalapeño pepper adds excitement to any salad dressing. But the excitement does not end there for greens and salads. Consumers look for different textures, as well as flavors, in their eating experiences. Croutons add texture and also help carry flavors and the light spice of a hot sauce. Green sauce tastes great in snack mixes and other chip flavor profiles.

Last, but not least, don’t forget the popular, but economical, cayenne-based pepper sauces that serve as the backbone of the well-loved buffalo wing — the dish that has taken the chicken wing from useless to priceless. Cayenne-sauce flavors range from garlic- to fruit-based. These sauces typically derive their flavor from high salt levels, a consideration for product developers concerned about sodium.

A peck of applicationsWhen formulating with hot sauce, you do not need to think way outside of the box. Just as one would blend herbs for flavor, hot sauce can also provide similar results. Would anyone think it normal to add it to apple-pie filling? Believe it or not, doing so can gain flavor benefits. Most apple-pie fillings contain common spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and adding hot sauce at .05% to 1% level will enhance the cinnamon and give it a hotter flavor, but consumers will not be able to place their finger on why it tastes like that.

Sweet heat is not a new concept by any means. Moles provide a great example of sweet and heat coming together. While they might not have used the term, 20 years ago, developers utilized the sweet-heat idea to create foods like black-pepper ice cream, and jalapeño and habanero sorbets. Today’s consumers might soon enjoy pepper-laced extreme candies, or sweet-heat menu items or snacks, like popcorn.

One of the more popular applications for pepper sauces is in spreads for sandwiches and burgers. From mayonnaise-based to barbecue-style and even mustard-based, the bold flavors match the other components in the build.

Whether developing a sandwich for a limited-time offer, a permanent menu item or a retail product, the formulator must consider several points. First, taste the product in its complete state. Many times, a product that stands alone tastes great, but once put into the build, its flavor drops substantially due to the flavor effects of the other components. For instance, when combined with a high-fat meat or cheese, the fat will coat the tongue against the effects of the capsicum and the finished product will not deliver the same heat profile as the sauce tasted alone. The starch in bread and the water in vegetables will net similar results by diluting the flavor profile. The finished product must deliver flavor designed around all of the items in a sandwich. Hot sauce can deliver that flavor with its higher acid levels, due to vinegar content, and its full flavors.

Unfortunately, there is no benchmark for hot enough or too hot. What one person defines as hot, the next guy may call wimpy. When developing an item, try to look at the target consumer for the product and whether that consumer could finish a full portion, and would want to eat another one. As the old saying goes, you can always add, but you can’t take away. For many products, consumers can bolster the heat if they see fit. The worst thing to do is offend the majority of people by excessive heat in a product … is it dinner or a dare?

Over the past 5 years I have spent with McIlhenny, I have tried to teach people about the nuances of hot sauce and the benefits from using it in the products they develop. Next time you are trying to find that edge, reach for that bottle on the shelf and see for yourself the benefit of hot sauce.

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