# "This Hot sauce is from ... North Carolina?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 10, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015 "2022-10-10T14:04:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/61 "2022-10-11T17:29:42Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > What’s next, suits against restaurants who have french fries on the menu that didn’t come from France? Pretty sure Cadillac owners will be next. ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/62 "2022-10-11T19:01:15Z")
New Jersey may not have provoked the same visceral response as New York City, since NJ is, after all, the garden state and headquarters of Campbells. ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/63 "2022-10-11T19:02:14Z")
I have not tried this and probably never will, but it is now my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/64 "2022-10-11T19:15:23Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Personally, my favorite hot sauce these days comes from Australia. > > [https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Zcdxi65zL.jpg](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Zcdxi65zL.jpg) > > It sounds like just another one of those “super-hot just for the sake of proving how manly you are” sauces, but it’s got a fruit juice base and is actually really flavorful. You just have to make sure you only use a little teeny bit of it so the heat doesn’t overwhelm everything else. - They only claim 35,000 on the Scoville scale. Wimpy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/65 "2022-10-11T19:24:32Z")
I went looking for bad reviews of Texas Pete to justify my hate, but apparently the pepper-heads think it’s perfectly fine for what it is. Bah. It is possible I need to get over myself. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/66 "2022-10-11T19:34:38Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > for what it is That right there is the damning quote. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/67 "2022-10-11T19:37:11Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > apparently the pepper-heads think it’s perfectly fine for what it is. But maybe you are right. I was at a winery with a group of friends. I was pretty drunk. At one point I pontificated on how bad/mediocre the wine was. My friends all disagreed. They thought the wine was great, after all it’s a winery. I had the last laugh. We came to find out that the winery subcontracted their wine production and worked more on running the events they had. The winery was actively looking to replace the people who were making their wine as the product was sub-par. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/68 "2022-10-11T20:13:36Z")
To me, all those Louisiana hot sauces are largely interchangeable. I, for example, don’t get the love for Crystal, but I have a bottle of it on hand, because it does the job. My first instinct is always Tabasco, because it has the funk I like the others lack, and I like Louisiana because, while milder to my tastes to the others, tastes more of peppers than the others. But, for me, these are all minor differences. I’m happy with any of them. I don’t see how Texas Pete’s is particularly different. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/69 "2022-10-11T20:16:56Z")
Texas Pete is to Tabasco as Miller is to Budweiser. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/70 "2022-10-11T20:26:50Z")
The only Tabasco around this place is the mini bottles in my travel kits. It really is the pepper sauce of last resort _because of_ the funk. Crystal is the go-to, followed by Frank’s as far as vinegar-based Louisiana-style hot sauces go. If only Crystal made small bottles… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/71 "2022-10-11T20:36:05Z")
Not really. It has a distinct funk from the fermentation that the others don’t. Some don’t like it, as noted above, so there is an identifiable difference. It’s more like the difference between a mild cheddar and a medium aged cheddar. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/72 "2022-10-11T20:38:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m happy with any of them. I don’t see how Texas Pete’s is particularly different. Tabasco has a lot more heat, and it’s not nearly so gummy. At burger joints I like mixing Tabasco in with the ketchup for my fries. Texas Pete doesn’t work for this. So I hate it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/73 "2022-10-11T20:41:53Z")
Tabasco definitely has more heat. Texas Pete is about the same as Crystal, and hotter than Frank’s (my least favorite of the bunch, but essential as a base for hot wings — and nothing else — for me.) ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/74 "2022-10-11T20:47:39Z")
Valentinas is to Texas Pete as Guinness is to Budweiser. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/75 "2022-10-11T21:07:37Z")
Tabasco sauce only has 3 ingredients, the tabasco peppers which are a protected heirloom variety, salt, and vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/76 "2022-10-11T21:19:57Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Although on occasions I do like some Tapatio. Yes. My occasions for liking some Tapatio are days where I wake up and at some point eat. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/77 "2022-10-11T21:25:52Z")
That’s closer. But probably works for this analogy. Valentina is my go-to Mexican hot sauce (black label, extra hot variety.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/78 "2022-10-11T21:31:56Z")
Valentina is great, and I always have Sriracha on hand. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/79 "2022-10-11T21:41:51Z")
Yeah, Sriracha is one of those I just got sick of about five or ten years ago. I have it in my fridge, but I can’t remember the last time I’ve actually used it with anything. _check fridge_ “Best Before: April 2020”. Half full. So, yeah, squares with my memory. I don’t hate it – I just don’t find myself using it for anything anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015/80 "2022-10-11T21:56:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Valentina is my go-to Mexican hot sauce (black label, extra hot variety.) Back when I could safely eat hot sauce, I always had a bottle of this around in case I **really** wanted something hot. It was not only very spicy, but also tasty. One of my favorites. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-hot-sauce-is-from-north-carolina/973015.md?page=5)