Knowra Hot sauce Hot sauce Hot sauce is a liquid condiment made primarily from chili peppers, whose capsaicinoids produce pungency. Recipes commonly add vinegar, salt, fruit, or other flavorings.
Capsaicin : Capsaicin is a pungent chemical compound in chili peppers that activates heat-sensitive pain receptors. It produces the burning sensation that gives many hot sauces their heat.
Capsicum domestication : Capsicum domestication is the cultivation and selective breeding of wild chili peppers into crop varieties. Domesticated peppers made the core ingredient available for sauces across the Americas.
Buffalo wing : A Buffalo wing is a chicken wing coated in a spicy sauce traditionally made with cayenne pepper sauce and butter. It demonstrates how hot sauce becomes the base of a richer cooked coating.
Chili oil : Chili oil is an oil infused with chili peppers or their flakes, used as a condiment or cooking ingredient. It carries chili heat in oil rather than the watery or vinegar-based liquid common in hot sauces.
Scoville scale : The Scoville scale measures the pungency of chili peppers and chili products by capsaicinoid concentration. It provides a familiar, though imperfect, way to compare sauces’ heat.
Mesoamerican cuisine : Mesoamerican cuisine encompasses food traditions developed by Indigenous societies of Mexico and Central America. Chili-based sauces have deep roots in the region’s food traditions.
Hot chicken : Hot chicken is a fried chicken dish coated with a spicy paste or oil, associated with Nashville, Tennessee. Its seasoning shows a dry or oily alternative to pouring liquid sauce over food.
Salsa : Salsa is a sauce, often made with chopped or blended fruits, vegetables, herbs, and chili peppers. Many salsas contain chili, but their fresh produce and texture distinguish them from typical hot sauces.
Chili pepper : Chili peppers are fruits of Capsicum plants, cultivated for their pungent compounds and varied flavors. They are the defining ingredient and primary source of heat in hot sauce.
Tabasco sauce : Tabasco sauce is a fermented pepper sauce made by the McIlhenny Company in Louisiana since the nineteenth century. It became a widely distributed American example of aged, vinegar-forward hot sauce.
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