Spicy Food
All about spicy food of all kinds - hot sauces, hot chile peppers, snacks, spicy dishes, hot wings, and more - and even bland food!
New! Spicy Food Reviews - Hot Sauces and Spicy Snacks
Firetalkers - Interview with Jim Campbell of Mild to Wild Pepper Company
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I've respected Jim Campbell for a long time. The guy's done a great many things which make him an excellent all-around ambassador of the fiery foods industry. If you're relatively new to the hot sauce world, you may or may not know that he has worn many hats (no pun intended) in addition to running the Mild to Wild Pepper and Herb Company. His day job is being a firefighter with the Pike Township Fire Department in Indianapolis, Indiana, which instantly earns him the title of "hero" in my book. Jim has founded the Step Up for Charity organization a not-for-profit group that raises funds for charitable organizations, and he once held the world record for stair climbing (106,000 stairs in one 24-hour period!) that he used to help promote this great cause. On his commercial fields, he grows chile peppers that supplies chiles to a large segment of the U.S. specialty hot sauce market. On his fields he also hosts the annual Woodstock-like "Open Fields" pepper event every fall, where chileheads converge for a weekend to pick chiles and to celebrate the spicy life. Overall, Jim is an intriguing individual, so I'm pleased to have been able to ask Jim a few questions, and he was more than happy to provide his often humorous, always knowledgeable insight...
2009 Original Terlingua International Championship Chili Cookoff
The 2009 Original Terlingua International Frank X. Tolbert - Wick Fowler Championship Chili Cookoff is just a few days away. The 43rd annual event is taking place on November 5 - 7 in Terlingua, Texas where an expected 10,000+ chile fans will converge to watch entrants compete in one of the largest non-ICS chili contests on earth. To get the scoop, go to http://www.abowlofred.com.
Texas Pepper Conference on November 12 - 13, 2009
The following info comes form Dr. Kevin Crosby, Dr. Juan Anciso, and Dr. Ben Villalón:
The Texas pepper research is fine and doing well in Weslaco, Texas. The Texas Pepper Foundation (TPF), dissolved after 32 years, was organized in 1976 with over 300 members from 25 different states, several other countries including Mexico and Canada who recognize the importance of peppers (chile, chilli) as the number one spice ingredient in the world. Members included research and extension scientists, growers, producers, seed and chemical industry and major food processing firms. TPF members supported the genetic improvement of peppers being conducted at TAES Weslaco previously by Dr. Ben Villalón and now by Dr. Kevin Crosby and several other scientists throughout Texas. TPF sponsored periodic conferences, field days, and financial research support. This was one of the last major public assisted pepper improvement organizations in the U.S.A. Dr. Crosby has released several outstanding pepper cultivars with more to come, since Dr. Ben retired in 1996.
A Scientific Texas Pepper Conference and Field Day is Being Planned and Organized for November 12 - 13, 2009 at the Weslaco Research Center...
New Blair's 2009 Halloween Reserves with Pumpkin-Shaped Bottles
Blair has sent out the message this morning about the new Halloween 2009 Reserves. Each one is in a unique, glass-blown bottle and contains both a vial of 16 million SHU capsaicin AND bhut jolokia (AKA "ghost chili") powder:
Dear Chilipal,
Some Seriously Spicy Fury is brewing In Death Sauce Land on this festive Mischief Night. What better time than now to announce the release of my over the top 2009 Halloween Reserve !!!! So here it is.... Each bottle is definitely a one-of-a-kind creation. Check out this spectacular, artisan, hand-blown glass pumpkin bottle filled with Jolokia Ghost Chili and Guinness World Record-breaking 16 Million...
2010 Scovie Award Winners Announced
Although some of the 2010 Scovie Award winners had already been contacted days ago, and their placings had been made public knowledge, the full, official list of winners have been unknown until now. The list has finally been announced and was posted up on the Fiery-Foods.com website just minutes ago. If you're unfamiliar with them, the Scovie Awards are considered by many to be the most prestigious awards in the hot sauce and spicy food industry.
Review - Charles Vergos' Rendezvous Famous Seasoning
Charles Vergos' Rendezvous Famous Seasoning suffers from the fact that it's not a highly versatile product. I wouldn't expect food lovers to be able to sprinkle this stuff on salads, veggies, sandwiches, deviled eggs, or even regular grilled burgers and steaks. It started as one thing: a dry rub for Rendezvous' delicious barbecue smoked meats, in particular pork ribs, and by God that's what it's good for.
It's highly recommended that you use this on foods that you cook over low heat and do it slowly all day, with plenty of wood smoke. You know, real barbecuing. Pork shoulders, ribs, chicken and beef briskets are outstanding with Charles Vergos' Rendezvous Famous Seasoning coated on thick. If you're merely "grilling" (cooking fast with high heat) without smoking the meat, it's just missing something even if this dry rub is applied. It just ain't the same.
I picked up a bottle of Rendezvous Famous Seasoning during my trip to Memphis earlier this year to see if I could replicate the BBQ joint's fantastic dry rub ribs at home. The following is a review of the seasoning and my efforts to achieve rib sucking nirvana...
New Hot Sauce Weekly Podcast Episode
There's a brand spankin' new episode of Hot Sauce Weekly, the first podcast dedicated to hot sauce, fiery foods, and BBQ. This episode features a great interview with Joe and Robin Leicht of Flaming Joe's. Also, I provide my weekly sauce review, this time featuring the fabulous Ott's Wing Sauce.
So if you're craving great hot sauce industry coverage, be sure to download and listen to the audio podcast every week by subscribing today! You may ask, "how can I do so?" Well, you click on the RSS Feed link to download it to your feed reader or podcast catcher, or subscribe via the iTunes Feed.
Love what you hear? Please tell all your chilehead friends and family about Hot Sauce Weekly! And please vote for Hot Sauce Weekly both on Podcast Alley and iTunes - it's super simple and it will only take you 30 seconds.
Hot Sauce Joins BBQ Joint for a Night Of Intense Food
Extreme Hot Sauce Creator Joins Forces With Greater Boston BBQ Hot Spot For A Night Of Intense Food
Extreme hot sauce company, Ashley Foods teams up with Jake's Dixie Roadhouse for a Mad, Mad, Mad Dog Hot Food Feast.
Waltham, Massachusetts (PRWEB) October 26, 2009 - David Ashley, creator of the Mad Dog 357 Extreme Hot Sauces, is teaming up with Jake's Dixie Roadhouse on Thursday, October 29, 2009 for a night of intense flavor, burn, and challenge to those who dare. Booked as the "Mad, Mad, Mad Dog Hot Party," the event that starts at 7:00 pm will include a specially created menu complete with such plates as Final Rights Chicken, Hell Fire Habanero Sausage, and Grilled Liquid Fire Shrimp Skewers.
Topping the night's bill of fare will be extreme wings made with Ashley's Mad Dog 357 hot sauces. For all the brave souls who feel they're up for the challenge, the night of fiery foods will also...
Hot Sauce Hijinks in Paul Blart: Mall Cop
If you haven't seen the low-brow, park-your-brain-at-the-door comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop", you're not missing much. It's actually a pretty harmless little flick, but don't go out of your way to view it. I happened to catch it with the family on cable last night, and despite the predictable, formulaic plot, there were a few memorable scenes involving spicy foods.
The first one involves our hero, mall security guard Paul Blart (played by Kevin James), in a nacho-eating contest at a bar.
As we learn a bit later in the movie, his opponent Leon (Jamal Mixon) runs a hot sauce kiosk in the mall and has a panache for turning up the heat. The more Blart eats of the hot pepper-covered nachos, the worse the burn gets for him.
When it becomes unbearable, Blart has to imbibe large quantities of...
Mad Dog 357 Debuts Pure Ghost Edition Hot Sauce
New Ghost Pepper Sauce Gives Consumers True Taste of World's Hottest Pepper
Creator of the world's hottest sauces introduces Mad Dog 357 Pure Ghost edition, celebrating the world's hottest pepper - The Bhut Jolokia.
Sudbury, MA (PRWEB) October 21, 2009 - Ashley Food Company, known for its world famous Mad Dog 357 Hot Sauces, has created yet another reason for extreme hot sauce lovers and collectors to make new room on their shelves. Called Mad Dog 357 Pure Ghost Hot Sauce, this new extreme hot sauce features the world-record setting Bhut Jolokia pepper from Northeastern India, also known as the "Ghost Pepper".
"The Ghost is truly one of the most unique peppers in the world, not only for its record-setting heat but also for its unique earthy flavor," says David Ashley, master sauce crafter and president of Ashley Foods. "The goal was to create a sauce that would bring out the Ghost Pepper's unique qualities of extreme heat and signature flavor, without the need for additional pepper extracts...
FireTalkers: Interview with Danise Coon and Dr. Paul Bosland of the Chile Pepper Institute
For over 15 years, the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces has done some of the most advanced work on scientific breeding and genetics of chile peppers in the world. I've recently asked Danise Coon and Dr. Paul Bosland of the CPI some questions on a plethora of topics. If you're unfamiliar with them, Danise Coon is the Program Coordinator and Assistant Director at the Institute. Dr. Paul Bosland is the co-founder and Director of the Institute, a Regents Professor in horticulture, one of the world's foremost authorities on chile peppers, a book author (his latest tome is The Complete Chile Pepper Book, which he co-penned with Dave DeWitt), and famously was the one who discovered the Bhut Jolokia, which was named the world's hottest chile pepper by Guinness World Records.
Danise and Paul gave answers on a variety of matters such as the Chile Pepper Institute itself, the world of chile peppers, their Holy Jolokia Hot Sauce co-created by CaJohn's Fiery Foods, Dr. Bosland's new book and if the Trinidad Scorpion pepper has any chance of surpassing the Bhut Jolokia in terms of heat...
Chileheads to Follow on Twitter
Unless you're a Twitter veteran, you may or may not know that for the longest time the chilehead community has been slow to adopt the social networking service. There has been a large contingent of both the BBQ world and foodies in general populating Twitter, but they're not specifically hot sauce and chile pepper fanatics. Thankfully, that's beginning to change.
Below are what I consider to be the most interesting fiery foods people to follow on Twitter. They're manufacturers, bloggers, spicy foods fans, and chile experts. Some may post or tweet a lot (perhaps a bit too much in a few cases!) and some hardly post at all, but I think they're all worth a look.
Please keep in mind that these are only hot sauce/chile related folks listed. If you're interested in BBQ Twitterers, a good "starter" list can be found here...
Review - Sista Natural Pepper Sauce
My latest review is of Sista Natural Pepper Sauce (Picante Chombo), which is billed by creators Alisina, S.A as a "flavorful Panamanian-Caribbean style" elixir. This product of Panama snagged a 3rd place awrd at last year's Scovies, so I was intrigued in seeing what this condiment had to offer.
Ingredients:
Aji Chombo (Scotch-Bonnet Peppers), Aji Dulce (Sweet Peppers), Cebolla (Onion), Ajo (Garlic), Vinagre (Vinegar), Curcumin (Turmeric)
Aroma:
3.5 out of 5. Powerful garlic and pepper smell with a dash of onions thrown in. I kind of...
Chile Pepper Industry To Increase Production
Better news than from nearly one year ago, when New Mexico's chile yield was down due to disease:
Chile peppers are a hot, spicy subject among growers and researchers in the Southwest and West.
Cheaper foreign competition has robbed the market for U.S.-grown chiles. U.S. planted acreage fell from 35,100 acres in 2000 in New Mexico, Texas, California, and Arizona to 27,900 acres in 2008. Chile production in the Southwest alone totaled about 35,000 acres in the 1990s....
More Hot Sauce and Hot Pepper Sites You Should Visit
Earlier this year I listed what I thought were essential hot sauce and hot pepper sites from which you could get solid information and weren't necessarily shopping websites. In a never-ending quest for more and more worthwhile chile-centric content, I present to you a few more additions that are worth bookmarking and paying regular visits...
Jake Melnick's Battle Of The Bhut XXX Wing Eating Contest
Jake Melnick's Corner Tap in Chicago, Illinois wants to know – can you handle the heat? Jake's signature XXX Hot Wings are made with two of the hottest peppers in the world, the Red Savina Habanero and the Bhut Jolokia, the later of which currently holds the title of hottest chile pepper in the Guinness Book of World Records. Jake's is opening up the playing field with their first-ever "Battle of the Bhut," XXX Hot Wing Eating Contest, Thursday, November 5 at 6 p.m.
Jake's is currently seeking contestants for the "Battle of the Bhut," which is open to wing fans and heat-seeking enthusiasts alike. The winner will walk away with...
Review - Kala's Kuisine Salsas and Chutney
Kala's Kuisine is an Austin, Texas-based company that has been around for a while - 1994, according to their website. They strive to serve up Nepalese-fusion vegetarian food in the form of gourmet chutneys, salsas and sauces. I'm certainly not a vegetarian, but I'll try most anything, and I don't think I've ever had food that was billed either specifically or partially as "Nepalese". Since the country of Nepal is situated between China and India, a melding of their cuisines could be very interesting with whatever else the company may dish up. Kala's Kuisine was kind enough to send me some samples of their Mirchi-Masala Salsa, Sweet & Spicy Chutney, Extra Hot & Spicy Curry-Chipotle Salsa, and their Curry-Tabasco Sauce - the last of which I was told was still in the process of having it's recipe finalized, so I did not review it...
FireTalkers: Interview with Cleo 'Jake' Calloway, Jr. of Jake's Barbeque Sauce
Cleo "Jake" Calloway, Jr., president and owner of Jake's Barbeque Sauce and Seasonings Company, is one of the most passionate people I've ever talked to, and seems to be totally into what he does. He's extremely helpful and accommodating, too - I gave him a list of sample questions that I would plan to ask him a few days in advance of our phone conversation, and he e-mailed me back condensed but detailed answers to each one, which aided tremendously in the editing of this interview. And just speaking to him, he exuded an honest enthusiasm and love of what he does that it was darn near infectious. It was hard not to like this guy and what he does; and after reviewing his Barbecue Sauces and his Basil Marinade, I would say he does it quite well.
Before interviewing him, I had only known him as Cleo and did not know of his nickname, so it led me to start out by asking him...
Scott: How did the company get its name and who is Jake?
Jake: Jake is my great-grandfather, whom I was nicknamed after. After developing my first sauce and gaining approval on the flavoring from my parents and I was talking with them about the products when my mother mentioned that I reminded her of her grandfather Jake. Jake was an old time barbecuer and spent hours upon hours perfecting his sauces and dry seasonings. She said that I have that same level of diligence and persistence and with that I name the company Jake's...
The Burn Buzz - Spicy Food News 10/16/09
Sizzlin' it up with a fiery new edition of The Burn Buzz, where I list hot n' interesting links about spicy food and BBQ that have been floating around on the intertubes lately...
Hot Sauce Banned From Show - The 10 Minute Burn Extreme Hot Sauce was removed from sale at the Brighton, UK Fiery Foods Show
American Royal Barbecue Winners - From the 30th annual BBQ competition held in Kansas City, MO
Peppers Can Help With Neuropathic Pain - Maybe, a Little
USDA to Block Dutch Peppers Via Canada
Illinois Real Estate Agent Wins World Chili Cookoff in Charleston, WV
Taco Bell Tackling Cupcakes and Smoothies?
Wing Zone Inducted into Buffalo Wing Hall of Flame
Hear Scott's Audio Review on HotSauceWeekly Podcast
If you haven't already, check out the Hot Sauce Weekly podcast, hosted by Brian Meagher of HotSauceDaily.comand Randy Combs. The show, which focuses on the world of spicy foods with interviews and news coverage, already has three episodes under its belt and is getting better and better with each new one.
I'm very pleased to say that I've joined the podcast as a guest reviewer, and my first audio review on Crazy Uncle Jester's Blazing Hot Mustard can be heard in Episode 3!
The HotSauceWeekly podcasts can be played on any computer or any MP3 player or MP3-compatible phone, and are perfect for listening to while you're surfing the web, driving to and from work, washing the dishes, eating chiles or sucking down hot sauce.
You can subscribe to the podcast RSS feed here, or subscribe via iTunes here.
Spicy Food Reviews - Hot Sauces, Spicy Snacks, and more.
