We have hot sauce YouTube shows. Hot sauce internet challenges. Hot sauce t-shirts. Hot sauce conventions. Hot sauce subscription services. Hot sauce shops. And hot sauce sommeliers. Hot sauce culture is alive and well in the world. But in all this hot sauce hysteria and with all these hot sauce varieties, we shan’t ignore one glaring fact: Not all hot sauce is the same.
And that becomes especially important when it comes to cooking food at home with hot sauce. Or topping the food you just spent your valuable time making with some liquid heat. You need to know what kind of hot sauce is going to make your food taste the best it possibly can. Grab a glass of water, because we’ve got the hot sauce answers for you right here:
All of these hot sauces contain more vinegar than they do water, which means they taste just as acidic as they do spicy. Vinegar-based hot sauces are tangy in the clean, sharp way you’d expect from something made with a base of white vinegar (at least usually). These hot sauces are bright in flavor and they have an approachable spice level and clean pepper flavor.
When it comes to using hot sauces like Crystal or Tabasco, you have to take the high acid level into account. They’re great for delivering flavor and acid in marinades, sauces, and dips, as well as adding a little flare to a slice of pizza, among other low-acid or high-fat foods. And if you’re making Buffalo wings, you’ll need to use one of these vinegary hot sauces to get that spicy, tangy, buttery sauce tasting right.