Our latest addiction

[Jenise]

Melinda's XXX Habanero Hot Sauce.

Have known about it for years but presumed it would be too hot for me. Recently bought a bottle anyway. Now I want it on everything. Even my husband the hot sauce wimp wants it on everything.

Melinda's XXX is one of my two longtime favorite hot sauces, the other being Cholula. You will enjoy it!

I love Cholula too, RR.

Funny thing: Tapatio never did that much for me. As soon as I discovered Cholula, I knew I had a "mex style" hot sauce I could love as much as---but in a different way---sriracha and others in my pantheon.

Have to check out Melinda's

Melinda's is great stuff, for sure. Excellent flavor as well as the heat.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I love Cholula too, RR.

Funny thing: Tapatio never did that much for me. As soon as I discovered Cholula, I knew I had a "mex style" hot sauce I could love as much as---but in a different way---sriracha and others in my pantheon.

Have to check out Melinda's

We like Cholula here, too, Bob especially for the strong cumin streak. He loves it warm soft boiled eggs for breakfast. At a similar mildness level, I however prefer Valentina's which has the vinegar sourness with a little less cumin and a stronger red chile-ness. Tapatio takes the red chile thing a step further and leaves out the cumin, and it's hotter. It's probably my favorite taco condiment. (My taco fillings will take care of the cumin flavor.)

But Melinda's--oh wow! I put the bottle on the table for Saturday morning breakfast along with all of the above, and our houseguests went crazy over it. Annabelle used to bring a quart of a habanero based sauce back from every visit to an uncle in Trinidad, and he was planning to teach her his recipe on her next trip over but he died before that happened. Unfortunately, the recipe died with him. Melinda's is quite similar though not as hot, which is a good thing, and it's redolent in that deliciously distinct fruitiness that only habaneros have. I can't imagine you not loving it.

This Melinda's XXX Habanero Hot Sauce must be really, really hot as they have a hot, very hot, and then it goes into the XXX type. Is it hotter than Cholula, Tapitio, Tabasco?

[Jenise]

This Melinda's XXX Habanero Hot Sauce must be really, really hot as they have a hot, very hot, and then it goes into the XXX type. Is it hotter than Cholula, Tapitio, Tabasco?

Let me answer by first saying: Cholula's not hot. Categorically it's a hot sauce, but it's quite mild as such things go. On a volume basis, I'd call Tabasco hotter than Tapatio and Melinda's as hot or hotter than Tabasco. But the thing about habanero is it's a different kind of hot and a little goes a lot further--it's a very fruity heat with a very specific flavor unlike any other chile, a flavor you crave once you come to know it, that starts big and trails off dramatically, it doesn't sit there and burn, or get hotter as it sits as some chiles do. Or at least that's my experience. Bob came home for lunch yesterday and I served him a square of reheated green chile bread pudding that I made for breakfast on Saturday topped with avocado slices and a fried egg. He not only asked for the Melinda's, he decided he hadn't put enough on and added more before he finished. This for a man who considers Cholula his limit.

Jenise, would you know the Scoville ratings of the Melinda's XXX, Cholula and valentina?
My current addiction is the Tabasco habanera sauce that's rated at around 8,000 units, so wonder if the 3 sauces are under or over the rating.

Jenise, would you know the Scoville ratings of the Melinda's XXX, Cholula and valentina?
My current addiction is the Tabasco habanera sauce that's rated at around 8,000 units, so wonder if the 3 sauces are under or over the rating.

Shel,
Melinda's XXX comes in around 1,900. I know this from some research I did when making my own home made knock-off. The XXXX Reserve, which I prefer to the XXX, is around 3,500.

[Jenise]

Jenise, would you know the Scoville ratings of the Melinda's XXX, Cholula and valentina?
My current addiction is the Tabasco habanera sauce that's rated at around 8,000 units, so wonder if the 3 sauces are under or over the rating.

Dave's right. I just did some scouting on the web and found that Melinda's XXX registers only 1920 Scovilles. Milder than regular Tabasco which registers about 2500 and your Tabasco Habanero which comes in at 7000. One site I found (now I'm thinking I should check the manufacturer's own numbers) put the Cholula at 3000--much milder than Melinda's. Doesn't seem right.

For Karen, here's a description of the Melinda's from Melinda's own site: "Melinda's blends fresh carrots, onions, garlic, and a hint of lime juice with the Habanero. The result is a pepper sauce that harmonizes heat and flavor without the overpowering pungency found in traditional vinegar-based hot sauces. Melinda's vegetable base allows you to spice your food without drowning out the original flavor."

[Jenise]

Hmmm...found several other reports of Cholula at 3600! Obviously it's hotter than I'd perceived it to be. Couldn't find any numbers for Valentina's, they do make two levels though, Hot and Picante.

I just did some scouting on the web and found that Melinda's XXX registers only 1920 Scovilles. Milder than regular Tabasco which registers about 2500 and your Tabasco Habanero which comes in at 7000. One site I found (now I'm thinking I should check the manufacturer's own numbers) put the Cholula at 3000--much milder than Melinda's. Doesn't seem right.

Melinda XXX is 1920 Scoville and Cholula is 3000 (or 3600) Scoville---and Cholula is milder than Melinda's??? Huh?

[Jenise]

I just did some scouting on the web and found that Melinda's XXX registers only 1920 Scovilles. Milder than regular Tabasco which registers about 2500 and your Tabasco Habanero which comes in at 7000. One site I found (now I'm thinking I should check the manufacturer's own numbers) put the Cholula at 3000--much milder than Melinda's. Doesn't seem right.

Melinda XXX is 1920 Scoville and Cholula is 3000 (or 3600) Scoville---and Cholula is milder than Melinda's??? Huh?

Obviously a mistype--head was wondering while I typed how my memory of Cholula is that mild with numbers like those.

Thanks all of you for the Scoville info, am gonna order all of them tomorrow and will get both the 3X & 4X of Melinda's for comparison.
Should have said the Tabasco habanero was between 7K & 8K as spotted both numbers on different sites.
FYI, a hot sauce I still like a lot is called "Bello", a West Indian sauce that was numero uno in the UK and think it was called "West Indian sauce" there. I'd guess it's around the 3K Scoville mark.
Also still like Picka-Peppa for certain things, and of course Frank's.

I like Melinda's, though I remain firmly hooked onto the Tabasco Chipotle - while it's not spicier than the regular Tabasco (or the habanero), I absolutely love that smoky flavour it imparts.

Anybody have a tip for an online seller that would have all of the following? Tried the ones I've bought from and eith they're out of biz or don't have these very 'popular brands.
I'm looking to buy Melinda's XXX & XXXX, Cholula, Crystal (hot), Texas Pete's, Bufalo, Louisiana Gold (hot), Picka-Peppa and Maggi, and those last not critical as can get them in shops, just convenient if I can do it all together. Thanks.

http://www.mohotta.com/

I like Melinda's, though I remain firmly hooked onto the Tabasco Chipotle - while it's not spicier than the regular Tabasco (or the habanero), I absolutely love that smoky flavour it imparts.

Haven't had Melinda's (although you can bet I'll be looking for it now), but I agree on the Tabasco Chipotle. That stuff is fantastic. Makes a simple quesadilla sing.

Mike,

If you have a Cost Plus World Market they should have both of the Melinda's. They do here at least.

Mike,

If you have a Cost Plus World Market they should have both of the Melinda's. They do here at least.

Thanks, Dave! There's one right by where I work, so I'll take a look.

If you want a really incendiary sauce that also has lots of good flavor, Google for "Inner Beauty Hot Sauce", and you'll find the recipe for a real treasure.

This is a sauce formulated by Chris Schlessinger, chef/owner of the East Coast Grill in Cambridge Massachusetts, in imitation of the Central American and Caribbean habanero-based sauces used for Jerk grilling. Its main ingredients are habanero chiles, mango, cheap mustard, and commercial curry powder. Schlessinger produced it commercially for several years, but it's out of production now. However, a recipe for a home version, which is a dead ringer for the commercial sauce, is available on the Net. This is my very favorite really hot sauce. Melinda's XXX is mild by comparison, in terms of hotness.

At the really extreme end are a whole bunch of capsecein extracts. I'm fond of Dave's Insanity Sauce. This is pure heat. If you have a dish that isn't hot enough, just add a tiny dab of this stuff, and it WILL be hot enough. There are lots of other mega-hot sauces out there that are capsecein distillates of various absurd strengths. Some of them are, undiluted, literally dangerous to your health and well-being, and would be considered illegal weapons if you were to throw some of the sauce at somebody.

-Paul W.

Re "Inner Beauty" hot sauce, we used it for years for making jerked chicken and when they stopped producing it, found an almost exact sub called "Rasta hot sauce".
You can read some info on it at at:
http://firegirl.com/hs1256.html

Hey! Where were you guys during my poll? Melinda's XXX is great, but the salient distinction for me is the different flavor profile it has vs. something like Cholula. Its Habanero content gives Melinda's a distinctive, fruity character that is worlds away from the red chile profile of Cholula. Tabasco's Habanero salsa is distinct yet again, having a greener character to it than Melinda's. Of course, this all comes from one who is quite insensitive to capsaicin-induced pain, so YMMV.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

Hey! Where were you guys during my poll? Melinda's XXX is great, but the salient distinction for me is the different flavor profile it is vs. something like Cholula. Its Habanero content gives Melinda's a distinctive, fruity character that is worlds away from the red chile profile of Cholula. Tabasco's Habanero salsa is distinct yet again, having a greener character to it than Melinda's. Of course, this all comes from one who is quite insensitive to capsaicin-induced pain, so YMMV.

Mark Lipton

I just changed my vote--I'm a Mindy girl now!