The condiment that’s fast becoming hot property

the condiment that’s fast becoming hot property

hot sauce

the condiment that’s fast becoming hot property

Britain is officially a nation of spice lovers, after Waitrose saw a spike of more than half in sales of hot sauce.

The store said shoppers were choosing the fiery condiment amid a rise in popularity thanks to YouTube show “Hot Ones”, where interviews are conducted with celebrities while they eat spicy chicken wings with increasing levels of heat.

The boom in popularity is also attributed to Britons enjoying a wider range of cuisines and also those looking to jump-start their tastebuds after losing senses to Covid.

The Mexican brand Cholula is a bestseller, while sales of tangy sriracha, which is a staple in Thai food, are up 22 per cent, figures from the 2023 Waitrose Food and Drink report suggest.

According to a Tesco report released earlier this year, seven per cent of Generation Z celebrators will have chilli sauce with their Christmas dinner.

A compound found in the peppers, capsaicin, is what produces the irritant effect, causing a “burning” sensation when eaten. The higher the amount of capsaicin in a chilli, the spicier it will be.

The compound is believed to reduce some risk factors for heart disease and cancer, according to a 2020 survey of more than half a million people by the American Heart Association.

It is believed to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, as well as helping those who consume it regulate their blood sugar levels.

Capsaicin also increases how quickly a body processes food, but can also cause ill effects, including abdominal cramps, nausea, and acid reflux.

Martyn Lee, Executive Chef for Waitrose said: “Tolerance of hot spice is increasing among younger people who are eating it from an increasingly early age due to global cuisines being more widely available in the UK.”

The chef explained that due to some Covid sufferers losing their sense of taste when they were infected, many consumers are choosing stronger flavours.

He said: “Some people whose sense of taste was affected by Covid are now more drawn to hot foods because they can taste this intense flavour.”

Ben Uraszewski, co-founder of hot sauce delivery club Bauce Brothers, said they’d seen memberships jump by 120 per cent during the pandemic.

He said: “What we’ve seen is that the hot sauce scene, especially the craft scene, has big similarities with the craft beer scene in terms of labels and artwork, and different flavours.”

Mr Uraszewski added that younger shoppers tended to be more experimental with food, encouraged by social media cooking influencers.

“Millennials in general are just more creative with food. I think honestly, it’s not just social media – you log in to a food app and you’ve got about 500 restaurants with all different cuisines,” he explained.

“It also ties into street food as well, because if you get Louisiana fried chicken, it comes with homemade sauce, whether it’s hot sauce or not.”

the condiment that’s fast becoming hot property

The chilli market is worth more than £1.23bn annually, and is projected to grow to £1.6bn by 2028, according to analysis from Mordor Intelligence.

While Europe is the fastest growing region for chillies and hot sauce, young people in the US have also leapt on the trend.

The popular YouTube programme Hot Ones, which launched in 2015, has featured British celebrities including Louis Theroux, James Corden and footballer Harry Kane, as well as Oxford-born actress Florence Pugh.

One American teenager died after trying the viral “One Chip Challenge”, a single tortilla chip flavoured with Naga viper and Carolina Reaper peppers, causing snack company Paqui to pull the crisp from shelves.

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