Here’s a few tips on Dealing with the heat of Capsaicin in Hot Peppers and Hot Sauces. Peppers of all varieties are measured in SHU or Scoville Heat Units. Some say the measurement isn’t real and some say that the measurement is objective. Getting down to brass tacks, the amount of capsaicin in any pepper is measurable, meaning that once a sauce is created, the creator of the sauce can either have a solid idea of the SHU measurement of their sauce simply by knowing a few factors which are:

1. knowing the heat, in SHU, of the pepper
2. knowing the amount of sugar used in the recipe
3. knowing the rest of the ingredients, in combination with all the others, that would dilute the heat of the peppers used.

Can you become immune to the heat of hot peppers? No, you can, however, become accustomed Dealing with the heat of Capsaicin and your own reaction to the heat. For good and not so great effects of overdoing it with capsaicin, take a look here. In the end the goal is to simply enjoy the heat while it lasts and try not to hit panic mode if the heat is something you’re not used to. The “Burn” of the capsaicin will only last about 10 minutes, so keep that in mind while the nerve receptors in your mouth are trying to make you feel uncomfortable. It’ll subside pretty quick. Promise. We intentionally create hot sauce that everyone can enjoy. I’m sure we’ve all had a hot sauce that blew our shorts off. Unless you’re used to it, it’s not a lot of fun. But, if you know what to expect, then you can relax a bit and enjoy the ride.

Colour is important, in hot sauce anyway. Because we don’t use any synthetic additives or ingredients that aren’t derived from food and meant for consumption, we wanted to create a hot sauce that is colourful and safely shelf stable. We go beyond to create a safe product, like constant and diligent sanitization, making sure pH levels are in very safe thresholds, and aging product just to giving them to a lab to have them tested for possible bacteria growth, just to name a few key points. It’s not that we adhere to our own litmus tests, but the industry as a whole. Policing ourselves would be stupid and counter productive, but maintaining the standards of bigger and better companies is the safest approach. Let’s face it, we’re a risky dink operation. But, although small, we’re big on safely getting a good product made to be enjoyed by anyone who loves hot sauce and hot peppers in general. But, I digress. Colour, yes, that was my point. Any time the sauce is blended or transferred from one vessel to the next, it gets hit with oxygen, which in turn strips a tasty sauce of its colour. A while ago, while adjusting ways to drop pH without using too much vinegar, I thought back on my early days learning about naturally preserving food, which is an artform that is quickly being lost. I remembered learning about the math of figuring out citric acid volume to adjust acidity and extend shelf life and maintain colour. It’s always a good moment to surpass a hurdle and achieve a win.