Tabasco sauce: composition, taste and methods of preparation

Taste and composition

Tabasco sauce came to us from American cuisine; its recipe was invented by Edmund McIlenny in 1868! The experimenter grew various varieties of pepper for several years before choosing the ideal option, which has no analogues in the world. The gas station quickly gained popularity due to the following qualities:

• Low calorie content;
• Excellent compatibility with many dishes;
• Spicy and spicy;
• Naturalness and benefits of the finished composition.

And “Tabasco” is the name of the company that produces the finished product. It is made exclusively from a special variety of pepper called Capsicum frutescens, which grows only in Louisiana (remember the growing experiments?). This is the only species whose seeds do not dry out after being removed from the branch.

Want to know which pepper is considered the hottest in the world? Follow the link and read the article with the top 10 burning specimens!

It's time to figure out what Tabasco sauce is made from!

The original recipe contains only three ingredients:

• Red pepper of the appropriate variety;
• White distilled vinegar (sometimes replaced with rice, wine or apple vinegar);
• Sea salt.

Important! The original recipe is completely free of preservatives, additives and thickeners.

Despite the apparent simplicity of the composition of Tabasco sauce, its preparation is a complex, multi-step process.

• Ripe Tabasco fruits are collected, washed and dried, but not cut;
• The peppers are sprinkled with salt and left in wooden barrels for fermentation;
• The fermentation process can last up to three years;
• The aged puree is mixed with vinegar;
• The mixture is marinated for a month with constant stirring;
• After the pulp is filtered, the seeds and peel are removed;
• The finished product is bottled and sold.

How many scovels do you think are in Tabasco sauce? The classic red dressing according to the traditional recipe has a spicy level of 2500-5000 units on the Scoville scale. This is a really high figure!

Tabasco sauce with tomatoes

A spicy product, no matter how tasty it may be, is not always appropriate in European cuisine. You can serve Tabasco sauce in a completely different way by adding ripe tomatoes to it. To prepare the classic version, you need to add 300 g of ripe, red tomatoes. The technology is as follows:

1. We prepare Tabasco with a classic version. When fermentation is complete, we begin preparing the tomato additive. To do this, grind the tomatoes in a blender and put them on low heat to boil.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10–15 minutes. Strain and combine with filtered sauce. Tasting for salt content.

Gourmets add sugar to this seasoning to improve the taste. For hermetically sealed and long-term storage, the product is brought to a boil and poured into sterile jars.

Varieties

The classic look is not the only one. Let's briefly look at the available varieties of sauce used in the world:

• Green Tabasco sauce. Prepared from jalapeno peppers, quite piquant, but not spicy - only 600-1200 points;
• Smoked. Made from chipotle peppers, the severity on the Scoville scale is 1500-2500 units;
• Habanero. The hottest type - the indicator reaches 7000-9000 scovilles, is prepared from habanero pepper;
• Buffalo. Produced specifically for serving with chicken wings of the same name, contains 300-900 scoville;
• Garlic. Prepared from three types of pepper, lingered at around 1200-1400 units;
• Sweet and spicy. It is produced with the addition of spices and has a corresponding taste - the heat is 100-600 scoville.

Above we mentioned the versatility of the dressing - let's move on to the next part of the review and talk about what Tabasco sauce is eaten with, where to add a couple of drops of piquant hot dressing!

Also recommended: Sriracha sauce

Species diversity of Tabasco

Several sauces are produced under the Tabasco brand name:

• green, which is based on jalapeno pepper;
• smoked chipotle;
• habanero;
• cayenne garlic;
• sweet and spicy;
• Buffalo sauce.

Habanero, chipotle and cayenne garlic sauces are a mixture of Tabasco peppers with other types; jalapeño sauce, unlike them, does not contain Tabasco at all. However, the production of these sauces does not use the three-year aging process characteristic of the production of classic Tabasco.

What do they eat with?

It is important to strictly control the amount of dressing added - do not overdo it, or you risk ruining the taste of the finished dish! You can safely pour in a few drops of Tabasco sauce:

• In ready-made sauce for fried meat or fish;
• In meat and vegetable soups;
• In a stew of stewed vegetables;
• In egg dishes;
• When cooking pasta and rice;
• During the process of frying potatoes;
• In vegetable salads;
• As an ingredient in guacamole;
• Combined with avocado;
• Use for grilled meat or chicken;
• As a filling for sandwiches or burgers;
• In cocktails - in particular, Bloody Mary is popular.

We warn you! If you suffer from problems with the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, ulcers or a tendency to allergic reactions, it is better to completely stop using it. For others, we recommend that you carefully try a drop of the liquid first to assess the pungency.

And below you will find recipes for homemade Tabasco sauce - it's time to try one of the dishes we talked about!

Universal sauce

What can you replace Tabasco sauce with? Here is one option for a sauce that is not too spicy and very tasty.

Compound:

• 1 kg of bell peppers;
• 100 g hot peppers;
• 50 g garlic;
• 5 tbsp. l. 9% vinegar;
• 2 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
• 2 tbsp. l. salt;
• coriander;
• paprika.

Preparation:

1. We remove the seeds from the peppers – hot and bell peppers – and wash them.
2. Cut the sweet pepper into small pieces and place in a blender container.

3. Now chop the hot peppers and add them to the sweet ones.
4. Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the peppers.

5. Grind the peppers and garlic to a puree consistency.
6. Add salt, vinegar, granulated sugar, paprika and coriander.

7. Stir. Ready!

And finally, I would like to remind you that too spicy dishes have a detrimental effect on the functioning of our gastrointestinal tract, so everything should be in moderation! Cook with pleasure and bon appetit!

How to cook?

Unfortunately, we cannot give a classic recipe for making Tabasco sauce with your own hands - it is very labor-intensive, requires special skills, equipment and appropriate ingredients that are not easy to obtain. Therefore, we have prepared an adapted method for preparing Tabasco sauce that even beginners will succeed in!

Let's try to figure out how to make Tabasco sauce at home! The sauce will be a little like chili! But first, find the following ingredients:

• Three large fresh chili peppers;
• Four tomatoes;
• One onion;
• 2 tablespoons of wine vinegar;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• A teaspoon of salt and sugar;
• A bunch of parsley.

Now let's get started with the preparation:

• The seeds must be removed from the peppers;
• Finely chop the vegetable - if necessary, you can pour boiling water over it for 20-30 minutes to reduce the heat of the finished dressing;
• Remove the skins from the tomatoes and chop them;
• Chop the garlic and parsley;
• Combine all ingredients and place them in a blender bowl;
• Heat a saucepan over low heat and add a little oil (preferably olive);
• Pour the ground mixture from a blender and cook until thickened - about 20 minutes;
• A couple of minutes before readiness, add wine vinegar to the container, add sugar and salt;
• Mix thoroughly and remove the sauce from the heat.

Also recommended: BBQ Sauce

Helpful advice! Be sure to wash your hands after cutting peppers, do not touch your eyes or other mucous membranes - you risk getting burned.

Now let's figure out how to prepare Tabasco sauce according to a recipe close to the classic one. Catch the second, simplest option for the lazy!

• 100 grams of chili pepper;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• Half a teaspoon of salt;
• Half a glass of white vinegar.

You need to do the following:

• Remove the seeds from the chili and finely chop the fruit;
• Place the pepper in a saucepan, cover with vinegar and add salt;
• Cook for 5-10 minutes, then remove from heat and cool;
• Transfer the mixture to a blender, add garlic;
• Grind, place in a glass container and leave in the refrigerator for two weeks.

You already know how to make Tabasco hot sauce with your own hands - let's discuss how to replace the finished product if you were unable to purchase or prepare it.

Tabasco production

Initially, all the pepper for the production of Tabasco was grown only on the island of Avery. Nowadays, island peppers are used exclusively for obtaining seeds, which are subsequently exported to large enterprises and manufacturers located in Central and South America. The stable climatic conditions and available land in these regions allow Tabasco chiles to be grown year-round.

Traditionally, peppers are harvested by hand. All collected peppers are crushed on the same day, generously covered with salt and sent for aging in white oak barrels in which whiskey was previously aged. The inside of the barrel is fired and cleaned to minimize the presence of whiskey residue.

At the end of aging, which lasts for 3 years, the peel and seeds are removed from the pepper mass. The resulting pepper puree is combined with distilled vinegar, stirred several times a month, and, as a result, the famous sauce is obtained, which is packaged in bottles.