Chile Peppers/Hot Sauces/Salsas

[Mith242]

Maybe it's because I'm about to head out west to New Mexico where they grow a lot of chile peppers. But I just felt like starting a new topic and seeing what type of hot sauce/salsa people are into. Growing up I was always the wussy person who couldn't handle anything hot at all. But moving to NWA and having access to better Mexican restaurants than what I was used to in southeast Arkansas seemed to help me better appreciate spicy food. I'm sure it also helped I had family move to Albuquerque a number of years ago. I'm not a big fan of the more vinegar based hot sauces like Louisiana and Tabasco. The exception is the Chipotle Tabasco sauce which is mainly chipotles and not vinegar. I also like the Yucateco brand of hot sauces. Although around here I can usually only find a couple of the varieties. As far as salsas go I enjoy some of the salsas you can get at some of the restaurants but have a harder time finding a on the shelf jar salsa I'm a huge fan of. A lot of the jar stuff seems sorta rubbery to me after it's been pasteurized and jarred. On the Border's is pretty good and their hot really does have some good heat to it. I also like some of the Frontera salsa quite a bit as well. Pain is Good has an interesting line of salsas and hot sauces as well. I've bought a number of things out west and haven't paid real close attention to what a lot of them were. Anyway anyone else into spicy food?

[zman9810]

Maybe it's because I'm about to head out west to New Mexico where they grow a lot of chile peppers. But I just felt like starting a new topic and seeing what type of hot sauce/salsa people are into. Growing up I was always the wussy person who couldn't handle anything hot at all. But moving to NWA and having access to better Mexican restaurants than what I was used to in southeast Arkansas seemed to help me better appreciate spicy food. I'm sure it also helped I had family move to Albuquerque a number of years ago. I'm not a big fan of the more vinegar based hot sauces like Louisiana and Tabasco. The exception is the Chipotle Tabasco sauce which is mainly chipotles and not vinegar. I also like the Yucateco brand of hot sauces. Although around here I can usually only find a couple of the varieties. As far as salsas go I enjoy some of the salsas you can get at some of the restaurants but have a harder time finding a on the shelf jar salsa I'm a huge fan of. A lot of the jar stuff seems sorta rubbery to me after it's been pasteurized and jarred. On the Border's is pretty good and their hot really does have some good heat to it. I also like some of the Frontera salsa quite a bit as well. Pain is Good has an interesting line of salsas and hot sauces as well. I've bought a number of things out west and haven't paid real close attention to what a lot of them were. Anyway anyone else into spicy food?

[masons_dad1]

I'm a Pace Mild guy myself, but can handle Medium on occasion. If trying salsa or hot sauce at a new restaurant I order a glass of milk just in case. My wife on the other hand can handle hotter stuff being from Louisiana.

[Mith242]

I'm a Pace medium salsa guy at home although I'll try hotter stuff if I'm out. Sounds you are more of a a

[strmchsr77]

I take hot sauce to another level. I always carry a bottle of tradional Tabasco sauce with me. I know which restaurants carry it and which don't. So I use the restaurants instead of mine when I can. I like other brands such as Pain is Good but I have got to have my tabasco on almost everything, especially salads. I don't care for salsas too much, they are never hot enough for me and I really don't like tomatoes or onions. I do like La Huertas salsa more than any other restaurant in the area. As for peppers in general, I love habaneros and used to grow them every year. I think that I can handle pretty much any hot foods. If you are ever in Norman, OK there is a Thai restaurant that you can order Colby's Curry. On a scale of 1-10 it is around 60!

[Mith242]

I take hot sauce to another level. I always carry a bottle of tradional Tabasco sauce with me. I know which restaurants carry it and which don't. So I use the restaurants instead of mine when I can. I like other brands such as Pain is Good but I have got to have my tabasco on almost everything, especially salads. I don't care for salsas too much, they are never hot enough for me and I really don't like tomatoes or onions. I do like La Huertas salsa more than any other restaurant in the area. As for peppers in general, I love habaneros and used to grow them every year. I think that I can handle pretty much any hot foods. If you are ever in Norman, OK there is a Thai restaurant that you can order Colby's Curry. On a scale of 1-10 it is around 60!

[strmchsr77]

I wasn't a huge fan of Tabasco for a while. But I've gotten to where I appreciate it more. But I still prefer something with less vinegar in it. I haven't had too much luck growing peppers myself, guess I don't have much of a green thumb. I've tried growing some unusual chile peppers that you can't find in grocery stores around here. Luckily for you, if those habaneros just aren't cutting it for you anymore there's the jolokia pepper. I'm starting to see more and more hot sauces on the internet with it in it. The one they found over in India that's twice as hot as a habanero. I haven't tried any of it yet. I just ordered me some chile purees from CaJohn's, the chipotle, serrano and fatalii. I'm looking forward to trying them out. Especially the fatalii, it's one I'm not too familiar with. Apparently it's grown in central Africa. I believe it's a Capsicum chinense variety so it would be related to a habanero.

[Mith242]

Isn't that the hottest pepper on the planet? I believe that it is around 1,000,000 scoville (i think that is how its spelled) units. I think that the jalapeno is around 5,000-10,000 units. That is a huge difference in capsicum.

[Mith242]

Got some hot sauces from UPS today. Technically they're purees not hot sauces. The set I ordered had Chipotle (I'm a big fan of chipotles), Serrano and Fatalii. Got them from CaJohn's, very nice packaging. Was pretty happy with the little taste I had of them, good flavor. I had read that the fatalii is a relative of the habanero. After a quick smell and taste it certainly reminds me of a habanero. It also has a good kick to it as well like a habanero. Next I'll have to order the other set, it has Jalapeno, Cayenne and Orange Habanero. That way I can compare the Fatalii and Habanero back to back.