r/spicy • u/sketchmuffin51 • 22h ago
What are your favorite hot sauce ingredients that aren’t chili peppers?
I really like putting ginger in my home made sauces, but I would love to know what ingredients elevate your favorite sauces?
12
u/Jim_in_tn 21h ago
Obviously vinegar.
2
u/sketchmuffin51 21h ago
I usually use white vinegar. I have never experimented with Apple-cider or balsamic.
3
u/Fi1thyMick 20h ago
I have a habanero honey that uses ACV, it's pretty good. I can't taste a difference but this is the first hot honey I've bought and don't know if others I've had in restaurants use ACV or not
3
u/kanyeguisada 19h ago
Sherry vinegar is where it's at, the absolute best tasting vinegar. Balsamic would be too overpowering in just about any hot sauce/salsa. Apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar would be good though.
3
8
u/311texan33 21h ago
Carrot
1
u/Meltz014 Bravado Black Garlic Reaper 19h ago
Yes but at a certain point, I feel like it starts to taste like baby food
3
3
3
u/GonzoI Capsaicin Dependent Lifeform 18h ago
Cumin - this is more for "southwestern" style dishes. It adds a certain earthiness to the dish that works really well.
Tomato - Obviously, tomato based sauces are amazing, but you can use tomato as a flavorant in other sauces as well. Tomato powder in a cheese sauce, for example.
Komezu/rice vinegar - It's less acidic and has a much more nuanced flavor that pairs better with meats than distilled vinegar. "Komezu" is the Japanese term for "rice vinegar", and it's different from other types of rice vinegar. I can only speak to komezu, not the other types. They're probably good too, they're just not something I have experience with.
2
u/sketchmuffin51 18h ago
I add cumin to almost every Mexican dish I make.
Tomato is interesting. I haven’t tried that. Do you use saucing tomatoes?
I’m gunna look into Komezu. Sounds like it would really brighten up the flavor in my ginger hot sauces.
2
u/GonzoI Capsaicin Dependent Lifeform 17h ago
I've honestly never heard the term "saucing tomatoes" before now. When I'm cooking, most of the time I use canned with "Red Gold" (I think theirs are hothouse, just with spices added to make up for it) sauce and Centos paste because I live in the rural midwest and that's the best I can get around here for flavor. When I'm using fresh, the best I can get for sauces are Roma, which I use for most things (I'd prefer San Marzano if I could get it for Italian). Tomato powder usually comes from hothouse tomatoes (because everyone is cheap, heh) and that's what I've used myself when drying my own one time, though doing it myself was a nightmare I haven't repeated.
2
2
1
u/vash3g 19h ago
Garlic Scapes. Ive made a sauce twice and theres a third fermenting now. Cut that up and blend to smaller pieces. Add salt and a modified kimchi recipe (https://www.instagram.com/p/C3qGMHnrtOK/). Some salt and extra water and then let that ferment for two months. Food mill, vinegar, xantham gum, anything else to taste.
Watch people who dont like kimchi or hot sauce suck this down,
1
15
u/Clear_Assistant8690 22h ago
Garlic