As the name suggests, hot sauce is a hot sauce or gravy that is originally made with chili, vinegar, and salt. Additional ingredients such as garlic, ginger, tomatoes, onion, sriracha, coriander, carrots, various herbs, etc., can increase the taste and flavor of the hot sauce.

Conventional red hot sauce is usually made by boiling a mixture of red peppers, red bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, and garlic with a little olive oil and salt and then cooling it. It is a condiment that commonly accompanies sandwiches, burgers, tacos, burritos, fries, pizza, tortillas, pasta, and fried or steamed vegetables. One also adds them to salads for their characteristic hot, spicy and salty taste.

Best Hot Sauce Preparation Process:

The commercial hot sauce takes a long time to make. The companies select the right type of chili pepper for their seasoning and, immediately after harvesting, they are mixed with salt and crushed. This must is left to ferment in sealed wooden containers for up to three years! After fermentation, the batch is mixed with vinegar and stirred continuously for two weeks. This process infuses the fermented flavor of the peppers into the vinegar.

Variety of Hot Sauce:

Some popular varieties of hot sauce are Tabasco pepper sauce, sriracha hot sauce, Jolokia hot sauce, Schezwan sauce, extra spicy, buffalo style, green sauce, Cholula hot sauce, Habanero, peri- peri hot sauce, Harissa, Black Beesan sauce, etc. While there are hotter sauces with higher Scoville heat numbers, they are not as widely available as those listed above. There are many different varieties based on their place of origin, such as Shatta from Egypt, Awaze from Ethiopia, Shito from Ghana, Muhammara from Syria, Gochujang from Korea, Sambal from Indonesia, Picante sauce from Mexico, scotch sauce from Jamaican chili, pepper mustard Trinidad sauce, Chilean Pebre, etc.

Anything with too many preservatives and additives isn’t doing you much good. Although there is a lot of evidence for the positive side effects of sauce, it is not very convincing. Additionally, some specific additions like sriracha, turmeric, cumin, olive oil, coriander, onions, etc., offer health benefits. Each of us reacts differently to a spicy seasoning. Listen to your body and your taste buds for the same.

Adds Flavor to Food:

The sauce provides a tangy, salty flavor to food without adding to the calorie count. Nutritionally, even having 100 grams of hot provides no more than six calories. However, this is because the ingredients are rather low in calories.

You can serve it with a low-calorie salad, sandwiches, eggs, etc., to make a delicious and very healthy meal. Low-carb, keto, vegan, vegetarian, and other diets won’t have to worry about the sauce. Most hot preparations may also contain traces of vitamins C.

Hot Sauce and Its Health Effects:

From the nutritional information, one might think that hot does not confer any health benefits. However, it is not completely harmful. The ingredients used to make the sauce can provide some health benefits. Below are some ways hot sauce can affect your health.

Effect on Metabolism and Body Weight:

According to NCBI research, there is a correlation between hot sauce and metabolism. It is an active compound found in abundance in chilies (one of the main ingredients in hot sauce). It plays a key role in promoting metabolism.

Another study explains that eating hot sauce every day can reduce up to 50 extra calories. Another study shows that eating chili peppers, reduces appetite due to capsicum. It also reduces the levels of ghrelin, a hormone that causes hunger.

A hot sauce can affect weight loss as these ingredients fill you up faster. You can replace a cheese dressing with a small amount of sauce. Several studies indicate that hot and hot spices stimulate the taste buds and reduce hunger and cravings for fatty and salty foods.

Effects on Cardiovascular Health:

Eating limited quantities of sauce can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and another heart diseases. Additionally, capsaicin helps reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) and raise HDL (good cholesterol). One study also adds that eating sauce significantly reduced the amount of triglycerides, c-reactive protein, and phospholipid transfer proteins that damage heart health.

Blood Pressure Regulation:

Capsaicin helps regulate cholesterol levels. Also, according to a 2010 study, sauce and other spicy foods can lower blood pressure. So this ties into why you feel happy and possibly euphoric after eating hot, spicy meals. When you eat spicy foods, your body thinks you are in pain. It’s similar to the high you get after a strenuous workout or a runner’s high. In the case of blood pressure, it causes the release of neuropeptide y. It is a derivative of nitric oxide that is released into the blood due to capsaicin.

When you consume spicy foods, your body assumes you are in trouble. The release of endorphins is responsible for this feeling of euphoria. It triggers the release of something called neuropeptide y. It can also help with anxiety and stress, constrict blood vessels, improve circadian rhythm, and even make you want to cut down on alcohol.