I used to think all hot sauce was just spicy vinegar

For like 10 years straight I only bought Tabasco because that's what my dad kept in the fridge. I thought every other brand was either too hot or too fake tasting. Last summer my buddy brought over a bottle of El Yucateco green from the bodega by his apartment in Brooklyn and I almost refused to try it. One drop on my taco and I realized I had been missing out on actual flavor my whole life. Now I have 7 different bottles in my cabinet and I use a different one depending on what I'm eating. My dad still refuses to touch anything that's not Tabasco. Anyone else stuck in a sauce rut for years before snapping out of it?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_riley3d ago

From the bodega by his apartment in Brooklyn" - those green sauces are actually Yucatecan, not a Brooklyn thing. Tabasco just numbs your tongue, real hot sauce should taste like peppers, not just heat.

danielb433d ago

Yeah man you're totally right about the Yucatecan thing. I got hooked on that green salsa from a tiny taco spot in Bushwick and asked the guy what it was, turns out it's habanero based with a ton of cilantro and lime. Tabasco is basically vinegar and salt to me now, like I can't even taste the pepper past the burn. What worked for me was just buying fresh habaneros and tomatillos at the farmers market and making my own little batches, way more flavor than any bottle. I still keep a bottle of Cholula around for eggs but the green stuff is a whole different level.

danielhenderson1d ago

@danielb43 Yucatecan is a style not a brand, it's from the Yucatán peninsula originally.