Every kitchen has a hot sauce in the fridge that’s been sitting there for years. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s not exactly thrilling. Store-bought hot sauces bring the heat but lack depth and personality. That’s where homemade hot sauce comes in – a colourful alternative that adds flavour, complexity and life to your food.
The delicious homemade hot sauce makes everything from marinades to snacks more yummy and memorable. The fresh ingredients add a perfect layer of bold flavours, making it lively. The heat from the chiles is balanced, improving the sauce without overwhelming the other ingredients. The result is a condiment that elevates your cooking, even with just a small amount.
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These ingredients make each hot sauce a perfect match for a particular season. This is because the sauces offer different properties best suited to the season. Read on to know which sauce is best for which season:
Spring: Celery, Green Apple, and Jalapeño Hot Sauce
In this hot sauce, the brightness of green apple and the clean, mineral snap of celery hooks itself around the mild, grassy spike of jalapeño. As this sauce offers a cool, easy heat instead of a punishing heat, it can double as a dipping sauce.
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Summer: Tomato, Peach, and Habanero
The gale-force heat of the habanero is tamed, albeit slightly, by the cushiony sweetness of the peach and the calm, refreshing notes of fresh mint leaves. The soft acidity of tomatoes creates a richer and rounder hot sauce that should be used judiciously as a finishing touch to grilled meats but could be doled out more generously in a base for a marinade.
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Fall: Carrot, Pear, and Poblano Hot Sauce
Raw and roasted poblanos in this autumnal hot sauce assure a gently spiky outcome that does not fade or lose momentum, even in the face of other ingredients. The smoky roasted chiles lean into the natural earthiness of the carrots, while the fresh pear, which remains impressively ever-present, brings out the sweetness in each ingredient. This sauce can be tossed on root vegetables before roasting or simmered into a stew.
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Winter: Fennel, Meyer Lemon, and Serrano Hot Sauce
Serrano peppers are Indigenous to the mountainous regions of Mexico (the name translates to sierra), and their bright, grassy bite melds with the creamy tang of Dijon mustard, the licorice-laced sweetness of fennel and the verve of citrus and white wine vinegar to create a unified hot sauce with some unexpected contrast. This hot sauce has both reach and range and is a welcome finishing touch to rich stews and braises.
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Improve your culinary experience by matching hot sauces to the seasons. Homemade sauces, with vibrant flavours and balanced heat transform every dish. From the fresh, cool heat of spring to the bold, warming kick of winter, each sauce has seasonal ingredients uniquely. Discover your perfect hot sauce for every time of year!