Around 6,000 years ago — I think it was on a Wednesday — the early people of South America first began to cultivate and plant crops. And one of the first — one of the very first plants they placed into the ground — was the chili pepper; a spicy and flavorful morsel that quickly spread from The Bahamas all the way to the Andes.
So by the time that Christopher Columbus got to Caribbean in 1492, the pepper was well established throughout Latin America. When the famous explorer found the pimiento — the Spanish word for the chili — he shortened the word to pepper because the taste reminded him of the heat that came from the black peppercorns of Europe.
But as impressed as Columbus was, he did not take any peppers back with him. It wasn’t until the next voyage that a physician named Diego Álvarez Chanca — who became fascinated with the medicinal possibilities of the pepper — brought these little beauties back to Spain for the first time in 1494.
In Europe, the chilies were grown but only as curiosities until the monks began to experiment with their culinary potential and soon discovered that their heat offered a very inexpensive substitute for black peppercorns — which were so incredibly costly at the time that they were actually used as currency. From there the popularity of chili’s spread through Europe and then to India, Japan and China. We were now a world of spicy food — when the peppers were in season.
In 1807 the very first commercially bottled cayenne pepper sauce appeared in Massachusetts. Then in 1840, J. McCollick & Company of New York, produced a Bird Pepper Sauce, and in 1870, Edmund McIlhenny obtained a patent on his well-known Tabasco Brand sauce.
Between 1918 and 1928, the first battle of the hot sauce wars had begun and this lasted until The Great Depression slowed things down in 1929. All was quiet until 1980, when The El Paso Chile Company was created and began to mass produce salsas and hot sauces. This took off and the 1980’s quickly became known as the decade of salsa — which during that time made the condiment more popular than even ketchup. And with that popularity, many of the staple hot sauce companies were created — Panola, Franks, Montezuma, etc.
The 1980’s also saw the very first store dedicated to just hot sauces — Le Saucier in Boston — and in 1988 the first National Fiery Foods Show occurred in El Paso; which still goes on today.
Then, things took a strange turn in 1989, when Blair Lazar created the very first extreme sauce which contained pepper extract — the same base ingredient used in pepper spray. And the pain level of hot sauces went crazy.
The hot sauce industry is a multi-billion dollar market with hot sauces now a staple from military meals-ready- to-eat to high school cafeterias.
But here is the great thing. You can make your own hot sauce. Oh yeah. It’s easy to do, cost pennies and is much better than anything you can buy off the shelf — even the forty dollar gourmet stuff — because it’s going to be fresh, tailored to your taste and totally unique.
And on top of that there is something incredibly amazing about showing up at a dinner, barbecue, Superbowl party or whatever, with a bottle of your own homemade hot sauce.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE HOT SAIUCE …
- RED SAUCE
Heat level: Medium
Ingredients:
Twenty or so, serrano chilies or red jalapenos — , stemmed and cut crosswise into slices.
½ medium onion, minced
About 2 cups of water,
1½ tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup apple cider vinegar
Directions: Caramelize the peppers, garlic, onions, salt, and oi, in a pan over medium heat. Add in the water and stir. For about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. In a food processor or blender, purée until smooth. Then add vinegar in while the food
Let age at least 2 weeks — can be stored for up to 6 months.
- JALAPENO SAUCE
Heat level: Hot
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
20 fresh jalapeño peppers, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 cup apple cider vinegar
Directions: Caramelize peppers, onions, combine oil, and salt — everything but the vinegar — over medium heat. Add the water and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Add into food processor and purée until smooth. With the processor running, add in the vinegar. Pour into a sterilized jar with a tight lid. This sauce will keep for 6 months when stored in the refrigerator.
- HABANERO HOT SAUCE
Heat level: Oh yeah.
Ingredients:
4 habanero peppers, rough chopped
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Directions: Put peppers, sugar, cloves and salt in a food processor or blender. Process the fruit and peppers until they are completely smooth and puréed. Scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary.
Pour into a saucepan and add the water and vinegar and let simmer for five minutes. Let cool and fill your bottles or jars. Refrigerate and eat within the month.