The use of hot peppers and hot sauces to season food dates back nearly six centuries!

Hot pepper plants were cultivated and used in the preparation and cooking of food all central and south america all the way back in Mayan times.  Back then most hot sauces consisted of peppers mashed with salt and water, though evidence exists that early cultures were also fermenting peppers as well. 

It wasn’t long before other people began to take note, as seeds and plants of these fiery pods were then taken back to Europe by explorers from Spain and Portugal in the 1600s.  There these hot peppers and the various preparations of them started to gain widespread use after being taken further abroad on spice trade routes. 

Soon after hot peppers were being grown in nearly every region of the world!  The first documented commercially available hot pepper sauce made in America was in the northeast region of the country in the early 1800s.  The oldest surviving commercial hot sauce maker in America would be the McIIHenny Company, which has been making its famous Tobasco sauce since 1868. 

While the methods and preparations of hot sauce have not changed all that much over the years, the amount of peppers being used in hot sauce production certainly has!  It is estimated that there are currently around fifty thousand varieties of hot peppers actively being grown around the world. 

Pepper heat levels are measured in Scoville Heat Units – which is the most commonly used method for ascertaining the ‘hotness’ of any given pepper.  Jalapenos are usually measured at 2,500 – 5,000 SHU, while superhots like the Trinidad Scorpions or Ghost peppers can go all the way up to one million or more SHU! 

Here at Dee Roo we believe that craft hot sauce making is an art.  We’ve spent nearly two decades making hot sauce and studying the subtle interplay of heat and acid, balancing these batches with lighter notes of fruit and/or sweetness from natural sources like honey and agave and then finishing them with savory notes and a touch of salt. 

We encourage you to try some of the fruits of our labor – Flavor First, Heat Second!