The Postitive Approach

Do you like hot sauce? I sure do – but where does a good deal originate? Since chili peppers are natural to the Americas, its no surprise that some of the best and most high quality sauces are produced in and round them – however, many countries outside of the “new world” have taken hold of on to the chili pepper and created some very particular peppers and sauces which have become fully integrated into their culinary arts.

Lets start with Mexico – what most hot sauce connoisseurs consider to be the home of the chili pepper and therefore the hot sauce. Most Mexican sauces don’t focus on heat solely, but are more about flavor – for instance, chipotle peppers, which are dried and smoked jalapeños, can make any dish taste like it has been roasting over an open fire for hours. Cholula, a popular Mexican hot sauce from el estado de Jalisco, can be found in many American stores.

The US, Mexico’s Anglo neighbor, produces some of its own unique sauces – like Louisiana Hot Sauce, Frank’s Red Hot, and Crystal Hot Sauce. Many US sauces admit vinegar along with chili peppers. For many countless years, Tabasco was reckoned to be the principal measuring stick of hot sauces in the US – which is aged and fermented in barrels like wine.

Outside of its original land of the Americas, chili peppers (and therefore hot sauces) have become ever-present. Thailand is famed for their Thai chili peppers, and they committed them on all varieties of food – even watermelon. Sriracha sauce is a famous type of Thai sauce, which can be establish all over the earth. Other Asian countries, like China and Vietnam, also have their own distinctive flavors of hot sauce, and their cuisines clearly display that. Who hasn’t ordered a hot Kung Pao dish from a Chinese kitchen prior to? The chili pepper is one of the most diverse on the planet, and is specific in its cross-cultural appeal.