During the bottling process, hot sauce is typically pasteurized and hermetically sealed. This creates a closed, air-tight environment, free from bacteria. It is also the reason you hear a little “pop” when you open up a new bottle of hot sauce. Because of the preservation characteristics of these ingredients, some sauces, like Cholula and Tabasco, don’t require refrigeration at all. The low pH level prevents the growth of unwanted bacteria & mold. In this article, we’ll rank some of the most popular hot sauces on the Scoville scale from mild to insanely hot.

This sauce is one of those that gets better as it has time to sit for a little bit. Make it an hour or two before serving, and you’ll be set. Or, make it a day or two in advance. This sauce recipe comes together with just a few simple ingredients. Many of which you likely already have in your pantry, which is another win!

Sorry Hot Head

Keeping sauces at room temperature is inviting the potential growth of bacteria and molds, as these tend to thrive in warm, moist environments (like inside your hot sauce bottles). As a rule of thumb, vinegar based sauces are better at keeping, but should still be stored in the fridge for safety. If you’re anything like me, you have a lot of hot sauces. Last time I counted, there were 58 opened bottles in our fridge (and counting). Hot sauces offer great variety of flavors and uses, so it’s no wonder they’re so popular.

We’ve tried most of these hot sauce, but we haven’t been daring (or stupid?) enough to put pure capsaicin on our tongues. With that all said, let’s get started through the hot sauce Scoville scale ranks! 1. Frank’s RedHot Sauce – 450 SHUs Garlic: the punchiness of raw garlic is basically a must in sauce recipes for me. If you’re not a fan, use garlic powder. If you made it with what you had, and it’s too spicy, add more sour cream to even out the flavors. The dairy will tone down the heat. How to Make Creamy Jalapeno Sauce Toss it with greens for a flavorful salad dressing! Blending it up makes it thin enough to toss with lettuce, but to make it even more dressing-like, add more lime juice. We understand the seriousness of food allergies and sensitivities and will always declare these ingredients on our label in the ingredient statement - they will never be hidden under the notations of "spices" or "natural flavors":It’s truly as easy as adding the ingredients to the blender and blending until smooth. Then taste test, and adjust any ingredient as needed. What does this mean for storing fermented hot sauces? It means that you should refrigerate after reaching the desired level of fermentation. The process will continue in the refrigerator, but at a much slower rate.