Pucker up and take the heat on National Hot Sauce Day this Sunday

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The Lunar New Year may be kicking off this coming Sunday, but there’s another celebration taking place on the same date: National Hot Sauce Day.

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We know there will be fireworks for both festivals on Jan. 22, but one will be set off in the skies while the other will be setting off fireworks of flavour in the mouth.

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Hot sauce is one of the most celebrated foods on the planet, and everyone has a favourite. There are sauces that are closely-guarded family secrets, and mass-produced sauces that are must-haves in many kitchens. I’ve been to Italian weddings where guests have furtively pulled out tiny bottles of fiery pleasure because there’s no such thing as too hot a dish!

How hot is too hot? Fans will tell you there’s no such thing — fiery foods rock, especially during this time of year, when there’s need for a quick warm-up from the colder temperatures. Elevate a hot chocolate with just a few drops of hot sauce.

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Hot sauce, fiery peppers and spicy curries are guaranteed to make your taste buds sizzle and soar with pain and pleasure. And good health as research shows hot sauces deliver quite the healthy punch thanks to all the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties they have.

There are those who call hot sauce a natural aphrodisiac.

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And then there’s capsaicin, the natural chemical hot chilies give out. Not only is it the source of all that heart-stomping heat, but it helps erupt all those wonderful endorphins in our brains that make us feel all giggly, euphoric and happy.

So what if our eyes are streaming with tears and our noses are running. Ask any lover of hot food and you’ll be told nothing beats the sensational heat of spicy dishes.

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This Sunday go celebrate with your favourite hot sauce — on eggs, in rubs and marinades, or incorporate it in a soup or stew. Order a heat-infused cocktail. Heck, even vanilla ice cream can use a dash of heat!

And enjoy the fiery adventure your tastebuds are in for.

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What is the hottest hot sauce known to man?

We checked the usual food sources and found one than can certainly be viewed as the world’s hottest sauce: Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9 comes in at a blistering 9 million Scoville Hotness Units (SHUs).

We’re talking hotter than hell! This sauce can stop a train, seriously. It’s almost two times hotter than pepper spray.

“To put that in perspective, a bell pepper is 0 SHUs, because it contains no capsaicin, the ingredient responsible for the heat, pain, terror, euphoria, and everything else involved in eating spicy foods,” says writer Sam Slaughter on Themanual.com. “A jalapeno? A paltry 5,000 SHUs. A Carolina Reaper, one of the hottest peppers on the planet, clocks in at 1.5 million SHUs and pepper spray — the stuff used to stop criminals — is around 5.3 million SHUs,” he says, adding the bottle — which has to be heated up before it can even be used — has a disclaimer that warns the purchaser must be of sound mind and body — and basically sober — before using it. Cost is around $100 US per tiny bottle!

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History of Hot Sauce

The use of chili peppers and other fiery spices date back more than 6,000 years. Research shows people from South and Central America, including Mexico, were the first to have consumed the heady heat. But it wasn’t until the 16th century that European explorers from Spain and Portugal first brought back the spices and introduced them to the continents, including Asia and Africa.

The first known bottled hot sauce came along in 1868 and was known simple as Tabasco sauce — widely used to this day.

The African Bird’s Eye Chili

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Like many species of chili, the famous African Bird’s Eye Chili (a tiny, fiery firecracker of a condiment!) has roots that can be traced back to Latin America — specifically Mexico. According to Africandreamfoods.com, the African Bird’s chili was introduced to the world “by Portuguese and Spanish colonialists,” appearing on the African continent centuries ago where it was slightly adapted to accommodate the region’s distinctive climate.

How to handle hot peppers

Very carefully! When chopping hot chili peppers, always use rubber gloves. Note — the source of the heat does NOT come from the pepper’s seeds, but rather from the pith and ribs. Wash everything carefully in hot, soapy water and be careful not to touch your face, especially your eyes. If the heat hits your skin, make a paste of water and baking soda and plaster it on where the burn is.

#NationalHotSauceDay.