Hot Sauce Day

Hot Sauce Day is January 22nd

People all over the world love to spice up their food. Hot sauce is made from the combination of peppers and spices. Chile peppers originate from the Americas, but when Columbus colonized the Native Americans, he took the chili seeds back to Spain, where the phenomenon then spread globally. Why do we love to add heat to our meals? Many do it for the thrill, to increase flavor in bland meals, or because they get an adrenaline rush by the threat of spice- there’s a science to it. When we consume peppers, the chemical capsaicin interacts with our pain receptors. From there, we perspire, increase our heart rate, and release endorphins.

Hot Sauce Basics

Since 1912, the Scoville Scale has been used to rank the heat of peppers, named after Wilbur Scoville. Based on their Scoville ranking, here are some popular peppers ranked mildest to hottest: 

• Bell
• Jalapeño
• Hidalgo 
• Serrano 
• Cayenne 
• Tabasco 
• Red Chile 
• Chiltecpin 
• Tabiche 
• Bahamian 
• Kumataka 
• Habanero

There are thousands of hot sauce brands and flavors. Some of the most common that you’ll find at restaurants are: Cholula, Tobasco, Crystal, Tapatio, Sriacha, Frank’s, Texas Pete, and Valentina. However, the hot sauce community gets much more specific than these brands. Check out thousands of options at hotsauce.com or read some opinions on which sauces are the best. 

Celebrate Hot Sauce Day

• Try new sauces you haven’t ventured to yet
• Add hot sauce to something you haven’t considered before, spicy cereal anyone?
• Check out these buzzfeed polls to see how Americans consume their hot sauce
• Binge episodes of Hot Ones on YouTube. They’re entertaining, and you might even see your favorite celebrity cry.
• Gift your hot-sauce-loving pal some spicy art from Etsy