Ehh no thanks to them all, so none.
Fortunately the One True Hot Sauce -Cholula- is becoming more common than them all.
I don’t know. To me, Tabasco is definitely more vinegary. Looking online at the Tabasco vs Crystal debates, it seems a lot of people who prefer Crystal prefer it because they say Tabasco is too vinegary. Like, look at the comments here.
(Or a brief summary:
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Also, I love Cholula, but it ain’t Tabasco.
Cholula is much thicker than the Louisiana sauces, for one. Made from different peppers, too. Good stuff. But my heart belongs to Crystal.
Surprisingly, I’m also not a big fan of Frank’s, except when cut with margarine or butter for chicken wings. That’s about it, though. I certainly don’t put that shit on everything.
That’s a different thing, entirely. This poll is for Louisiana-style hot sauces that are made with peppers, vinegar, and salt.
It may reflect a marketing problem. I’m familiar with McIlhenny’s and Louisiana hot sauce. But I had to google Crystal.
Yeah, here in Chicago, Crystal is certainly not very well known, in my experience. I’d guess if I asked 20 people, maybe 1 or 2 would know what it is. But they do have it (or at least I’ve bought it before) down at the 7-11.
Oh, and since we’re talking Louisiana-style hot sauces, what does everyone think of Texas Pete’s? That’s another one I enjoy.
Also, Bulliard’s for their habanero. It’s my favorite of the Louisiana-style habanero hot sauces. When I make Buffalo wings and want to keep the character of Frank’s & butter/margarine but kick it up a notch with habanero flavor, this is the one I reach for. Vinegary, punchy, clean flavor.
(Hope this is not too off-topic–it’s still Louisiana-style hot sauces.)
ditto. I have 3 different ones on my desk at work - usually chipotle, habanero and either garlic pepper or green pepper.
So after my first post, Mr. Athena and I had a blind taste-test of Crystal versus Tabasco. We both picked Crystal as the brighter, more acidic (aka vinegary) of the two, and both picked Tabasco as the hotter of the two.
They’re both good, and I stand behind my original assessment. I can’t say why people think Tabasco is more vinegary; the difference is extremely pronounced.
Tabasco is definitely hotter. As to the vinegar question, I don’t know what to say. For me, Tabasco is more vinegary. I guess it’s one of those YMMV things.
Tabasco, Louisiana, Crystal. I use more Louisiana around the house but it’s mainly cuz I’m cheap when it comes to red pepper sauce. Crystal’s a little too bland for my fiery taste buds but it’ll do in a pinch.
Tabasco; it’s the only one of the three I’ve even heard of, much less used.
Tabasco.
For me, the defining characteristic of Tabasco is its winey oak flavor, which really limits the foods its good on but also makes it irreplaceable where it is useful. The other flavors don’t have any of that oak flavor so I don’t really bother with them.
Are Crystal and Louisiana also aged in oak? I’ve never had them.
The main different component in Louisiana (to my taste) is a lot more salt. No specialty flavour, just the yummy pepper in vinegar flavour with a lot of salt. Makes it really good on tortillas or in a guac.
Tabasco has a particular sort of bitter, funky taste that to me anyway, doesn’t taste good at all. Maybe it’s that oak flavor that is mentioned a couple of posts up, but I’d put my money on some sort of fermentation byproduct that builds up in all that time in the casks.
Crystal, Louisiana, Frank’s, Trappey’s, etc… don’t have this same weird funky taste. I personally like Crystal- it’s peppery, vinegary and has good flavor. If I want heat in a dish, I can always add cayenne pepper, but it’s a lot harder to get that right pepper sauce flavor.
Of the three I like Tabasco best. Sriracha is my overall favorite by far.
Is Crystal not fermented? I can’t find any source one way or another, but I would have thought it is. Fermentation introduces lactic acid flavors into hot sauce (if you’ve ever had traditional fermented pickles, like Kosher sours or a pickle from a barrel in an Eastern European grocery, you know the flavor–it’s a sweet kind of funky acidity.) Maybe that’s another reason I prefer Tabasco to Crystal, as I like lactic sourness (and is how I start making my own red pepper hot sauces, too.) But I seem to recall Crystal having some of those flavors. Don’t have any around right now to check, though.
Frankly, I’m not that fond of this style of hot sauce. Oh, I’ll use it if nothing else is there, make no mistake.
Of the two I’ve tried, I prefer Tabasco over Louisiana. But I’ve not done a real hard analysis of which is more pleasing. Never tried Crystal, but now I want to.