Make a Fresh Hot Sauce Each Season

We all have that bottle of industrial-produced hot sauce that’s languishing on the door of our refrigerator, sometimes for years. And while there’s nothing particularly wrong with this hot sauce, there’s also nothing especially interesting, either. Too often, commercial hot sauces have fire but no fervor; heat without any heart. As a compelling alternative, enter seasonal homemade hot sauce; a condiment that sings, slaps and soars with depth and intrigue. A homemade hot sauce makes meals, snacks and marinades more memorable and more alive. The dynamism of these homemade hot-sauces are compounded because the highly-of-the moment freshness of the produce offers a multiplicative effect of flavor, one that stays lively and affecting. The climbing heat of the chiles thread their power through each seasonally based sauce, carefully asserting its force so as not to overpower the presence of the other ingredients. The result is a condiment that gives cooking with seasonal fruit and vegetables more altitude and depth, even when it’s used in the smallest measure. 

Spring: Celery, Green Apple, and Jalapeño Hot Sauce

In this hot sauce, the brightness of green apple and the clean, mineral snap of celery hooks itself around the mild, grassy spike of jalapeño. Because this sauce offers a cool, easy  heat  – as opposed to a punishing heat– it can also double as dipping sauce

Summer: Tomato, Peach, and Habanero 

The gale-force heat of the habanero is tamed – albeit slightly – by the cushiony sweetness of the peach and the calm, refreshing notes of fresh mint leaves. The soft acidity of tomatoes creates a richer and rounder hot-sauce that should  be used judiciously as a finishing touch to grilled meats but could be doled out  more generously in a base for a marinade. 

Fall: Carrot, Pear, and Poblano Hot Sauce

In this autumnal hot sauce, both raw and roasted poblanos assures a gently spiky outcome that does not fade or lose momentum, even in the face of other ingredients. The smoky roasted chiles lean into the natural earthiness of the carrots, while the fresh pear – which remains impressively ever-present – brings out the sweetness in each ingredient. This sauce can be tossed on root vegetables before roasting, or simmered into a stew. 

Winter: Fennel, Meyer Lemon, and Serrano Hot Sauce

Serrano peppers are indigenous to the mountainous regions of Mexico (the name translates to sierra) and their bright, grassy bite melds with the creamy tang of Dijon mustard, the licorice-laced sweetness of fennel and the verve of citrus and white wine vinegar to create a unified hot sauce with some unexpected contrast. This hot sauce has both reach and range and is a welcome finishing touch to rich stews and braises.