Hot Sauce Depot Blog

Producer: Hemorrhoid Helper

Price: 5oz: ~$4.29

Ingredients: Fresh habanero peppers, red wine vinegar, fresh lime juice, fresh cilantro, fresh onions, fresh garlic, salt and xanthan gum

Appearance: Green / Brown, pulpy consistency with herbs and finely minced garlic

Aroma: A front of vinegar quickly followed by a fresh pepper, garlic, and slight herb bouquet.

Taste: Much like with the aroma, vinegar is at the forefront of this sauce. This is quickly followed with a nice, smooth blend of habanero, garlic, and cilantro. This sauce is very pleasant and is not overwhelmingly hot, so it will go with a large variety of foods.

Heat: Hot (6).

Conclusion/General Comments: Hemorrhoid Helper Hot Sauce is a pleasant sauce that can add a pleasing character and mild heat to almost any food.

Overall Rating
Heat: 6 Flavor: 8

Producer: Grandma Shivji’s

Price: 5oz: ~$5.95

Ingredients: Red Habanero peppers, Carrots, Onions, Vinegar, Lime & Lemon Juice, Garlic, Salt, Spices

Appearance: Reddish brown, thin consistency

Aroma: A complex blend of vinegar, habanero, onion, and garlic.

Taste: The heat on this hot sauce hits pretty much right out of the gate, but not before tasting a very nice blend of peppers, onion, and the lime/lemon juices. The vinegar is present, but much more subdued than in many hot sauces. The burn from this sauce comes on quickly, but has finished building in only a few seconds. It then hangs around for less than a minute before tapering down rather quickly. The mouthfeel of the sauce is a mix of pureed peppers and vinegar / juice, and does not appear as one on the tongue. It is almost as though the sauce is not fully blended.

Heat: Very Hot (7).

Conclusion/General Comments: Grandma Shivji’s Red Habanero Hot Sauce is a nice sauce that would go well in soups or chili, as well as with chicken, but it does not have the substance for heartier meats.

Overall Rating
Heat: 7 Flavor: 6

A little action during our week of development

Well, it was that time again- time to head off to Costa Rica to complete the development of a new hot sauce, a couple of wing sauces, and a couple of new BBQ sauces.  Somehow, telling people that you have to go to Costa Rica to do some work just doesn’t get you any sympathy!  That could also be because they know that it is maybe (just maybe) not entirely about developing new sauces, and there may be at least a little bit of play time, as well.  But you know what they say- all work and no play…

The first couple of days were completely about product development.  Fortunately, we knew what we wanted.  Unfortunately, we knew what we wanted.  Knowing just what you want for a final result is very helpful, as you know more or less how to get started.  The down side it that it makes for a lot of fine tuning and many revisions.  This can be time consuming, but we feel that the results were well worth the added effort.

We are truly excited about all of the new sauces that we developed on our trip, and look forward to introducing them very soon.  While we cannot give up too much information on the sauces, the new Irazu sauce is likely the most exciting.  This new crushed pepper hot sauce is going to be the most extreme on the planet, using the largest possible amount of Naga Jolokia pepper and absolutely no pepper extract we have developed the hottest, yet most flavorful sauce possible.  This sauce will not leave you looking for more heat, and is sure to blow you away with flavor!  More information on this and our other new sauces will be available shortly.

Producer: Southwest Specialty Foods

Price: 5oz: ~$6.29

Ingredients: Water, Jalapeno Peppers, Vinegar, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Garlic and Spices.

Appearance: Reddish brown, thin consistency

Aroma: Peppery, with a pleasant blend of vinegar.

Taste: This hot sauce is pleasantly simple, with the Red Jalapeno jumping straight at you with a wonderful, peppery flavor. Just enough vinegar is in the mix to blend smoothly with the peppers, and the garlic is a kept nicely in the background. Unquestionably present, it allows the Jalapeno peppers to do the real work.

Heat: Mild (3).

Conclusion/General Comments: Jack Ass Hot Sauce is a very pleasant sauce that will mate well with nearly any food.

Overall Rating
Heat: 3 Flavor: 7

Producer: Iguana

Price: 5oz: ~$3.50

Ingredients: Corn syrup, water, honey, carrots, corn vinegar, sugar, corn starch, habanero peppers, onion, lemon juice, cayenne peppers, salt, garlic and black pepper, with .1% sodium benzoate & ascorbic acid (vitamin C) as preservatives

Appearance: Amber, jelly consistency

Aroma: Sweet, with a background of habanero and hint of honey

Taste: The front of this sauce has little real flavor, and is more of a light, sweet honey character. The habanero lends little to no flavor, and only a very slight heat that does not build to offer any burn.

Heat: Very mild, topping out at a 1-2.

Conclusion/General Comments: Bee Sting Honey n Habanero may have its place as a glaze or for grilling a food such as fish, but is not a sauce that offers a wide list of uses.

Overall Rating
Heat: 1-2 Flavor: 2

We have again expanded our list of hot sauce, with new products from Melinda’s, Dave’s, and Iguana.  From Melinda’s we have added the Naga Jolokia Hot Pepper Sauce, with heat-a-plenty, but still an excellent flavor.  Being part of the Melinda’s line, you know that the quality will be second to none, so be sure to give this sauce a try- if you dare!

New to our lineup of Dave’s products are the Mini 4 Pack, with 0.75oz bottles of Temporary Insanity, Hurtin’ Jalapeno, Roasted Garlic, and Cool Cayenne.  We have also added the Spicy 12 Pack, with 0.75oz bottles of the most popular sauces fromDave’s Gourmet, plus several new sauces such as Rowdy Red Chile and Hysterical Habanero.  We have also added Dave’s Original Steak Sauce, and Bloody Mary Mix, plus gallon sizes of Dave’s Insanity Sauce, Ultimate Insanity, and Ghost Pepper Edition.

In addition, we have added a new Bloody Mary Mix from Iguana.  This is a spicy, all natural mix that is packed with flavor!

Do you love hot sauce?  Can you put it into words?  Then we want you to help us in reviewing hot sauces!  Sure we love to review sauces, but we do not always have the time to do so, so we need your help.  When we get new sauces, or just want your opinion on a new hot sauce, salsa, BBQ sauce, or other spicy product, we will send it to you to sample and write a review on.  Not only is it a lot of fun, but you also get free sauces!  What more could any chilihead ask for?

What are the requirements?  Well, you are reviewing hot sauces and spicy foods, so you need to be able to handle heat, or at least let us know your limits, so that we do not send you something that is too hot for you.  First we will want you to sample the sauce on its own, just so that you can give everyone a reasonable idea of what to expect from the sauce.  But after that, have a ball!  You can add it to a prepared food to spice it up, cook with it, you name it.  Just try to get a good picture to add along with your review.

Will you only be reviewing hot sauce?  No.  While most of what we send will be hot sauces, we may also send you BBQ sauce, salsa, wing sauce, or almost anything else spicy.

Only a limited number of reviewers are being accepted for official reviews, but don’t let that stop you from submitting reviews to our forum!  In fact, if you have a sauce that you especially enjoy, or a new sauce that you have tried and you want to share your opinions, please hop over to our forum and tell everyone else about it.

How do you apply to be a reviewer?  First, be sure that you are registered on our blog, and then fill out the form at our Reviewer Application

Producer: Dave’s Gourmet

Price: 5oz: ~$4.49

Ingredients: Passion fruit juice, fresh pineapple, sugar, cane vinegar, honey, habanero peppers, onions, acetic acid, spices, xanthan gum

Appearance: Orange/Tan, smooth, medium thickness

Aroma: Sweet, slightly fruity, with pepper background

Taste: Right out of the gate you taste the sweet fruit flavors, with only a slight heat from the habanero peppers.  The flavor dies out very quickly, leaving a very mild heat lingering for under a minute.

Heat: This is a mild sauce, in only the 2 range.

Conclusion/General Comments: Jump Up and Kiss Me Passion Fruit is a good starter sauce for those afraid of the heat in hot sauces, and would accompany fish or chicken well.  It would not be well suited to hearty foods.

Overall Rating
Heat: 2 Flavor: 4

Do you have a hot sauce or salsa that all of your friends keep bugging you for?  Maybe it is a rub that you conger up that has everyone talking.  Or is it that spicy dessert, appetizer, or side dish?  Whatever it is, we want to help you share it with the world!  And, what is the best way to do this?  There are two options: directly via the Hot Sauce Depot blog, or on our website where we will actually create a printable recipe card.  And no, you do not have to pick just one.

To start off, please share your recipe on our forum.  Simply register on our blog and you will have full access to everything on our forum, including starting your own threads.  If you have a hot sauce recipe, salsa recipe, wing sauce recipe, etc., please use the Making at Home section.  For cooking recipes, use the Cooking with Fire section.  And, while you are at the Hot Sauce Depot Forum, be sure to say ‘hi’ to everyone, and feel free to offer reviews of your favorite sauces or discuss products that you have tried.

Hot Sauce Depot also offers a special ‘thank you’ for sharing.  Each month we will make a drawing from all recipe submissions for a gift certificate that can be used toward purchases at Hot Sauce Depot (online or at our warehouse).  To submit your recipe for inclusion on our website, go to our Recipe Submission Form.  Each recipe is considered an entry, so the more recipes that you share the better your chances of winning.  So you see, just like Mom told you- sharing is good.

You may be surprised these days when you enter a breakfast joint and sit down at the table and see a special addition to the standard condiments of ketchup and mustard. Hot sauces have officially entered the scene and they’re here to stay.

Many people simply can’t have a meal without that extra spicy kick. Whether you are chewing on eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, waffles or veggie sausage, you simply need a variety of hot sauces by your side to keep your taste buds on their toes and your mouth watering. This unsuspecting sauce has fought its way into the breakfast line up and it doesn’t seem like it will be leaving anytime soon.

Many people are surprised to hear that hot sauces go so well with the breakfast meal. They don’t automatically assume that it would taste good to them, but once they try it they seem hooked. Soon enough, the ketchup is pushed aside and the variety of sauces is brought in for good. There they sit at the side of your table just waiting for a chance to add a kick to those bland eggs or an extra punch to your fried potatoes.

But they don’t stop there. These spicy sauces are also delicious on hot wings (of course!), pasta, chips, snacks, sandwiches and just about any other carbohydrate you can think of. Try them also on veggies for a spicy twist to the otherwise boring greens. You simply can’t have a good Bloody Mary without the right kind of spicy sauce. Go ahead and pick out your favorite sauce and add it to your Bloody Mary, or any other drink that you feel can use a boost in flavor.

As you can see, there are simply endless uses for these great tasting sauces. So get ready to get hot, sweat and earn your food! Or use your favorite mild sauce too add a slight punch in flavor. Whichever way you go, you will be giving your foods the flavor they deserve.

Foods can be bland, unseasoned and they can taste simply alright. Don’t deprive them of their zesty appeal; use your favorite spicy sauce to create foods that taste amazing and appeal to your taste buds. You never want to eat another meal that is absent of your favorite hot sauce again! Start sampling a variety of sauces to find the one that was made just for you!