If you are not a true connoisseur of hot sauces, you may not realize that some of them offer pure heat while others provide a veritable smorgasbord of tastiness. Take Dave’s Insanity Sauce, for instance: Nothing but heat. A single drop of Dave’s Insanity Sauce into a large pot of chili is more than enough to satisfy the desire for spiciness among a dozen chili lovers lining up for a single bowl.
And then there’s the legend ary hot sauce of Avery Island. It’s not the hottest sauce in the world. It may not even be the most flavorful hot sauce in the world. But it has withstood the test of time and, personally, I do love it. I’m talking, of course, about Tabasco Sauce.
The salt mines beneath Avery Island have been instrumental in the production of Tabasco Sauce since long before I was born. For most of its existence, that product derived from the aging process that follows the secret recipe for mixing salt, vinegar and peppers was enjoyed only in small glass bottles containing the original recipe. Today, of course, Tabasco ‘s non-sauce merchandise and products range from baseball caps which can hold tiny bottles to personalized labels on those tiny bottles to–for reasons I still don’t get–Chipotle favored Tabasco. I mean, seriously, what is the appeal of Chipotle peppers? They’re like jalapenos with all the flavor removed.
And yet, the only Tabasco bottle in my house is the gallon of the original sauce that used to be av ailable only by either visiting the company’s headquarters on Avery Island or through special orders over the internet. Look around, however, because those gallon bottles of Tabasco Sauce are turning up in more and more places. That gallon of Tabasco, if stored with proper care, could theoretically last a few years and still deliver the same great flavorful heat. Around my house, a gallon of Tabasco Sauce doesn’t even come close to lasting one year. That’s especially true if you have come to learn all the myriad ways to use Tabasco Sauce that have nothing at all to do with making any food taste better.
For Actors Only
Actors can make exceptionally effective use of Tabasco Sauce. Open a bottle, pour it into a bowl and breathe in just before shooting a scene or going on stage to do a scene in which your character needs to have a runny nose for one reason or another. Breathing in Tabasco Sauce can clear out congestion and get your nose running. Whether your character has a cold or snorts drugs, a little Tabasco Sauce just before the scene will bring a definite sense of realism.
Cleaning Copper
I’m no scientist, but I often write as if I played one on TV. I’m also one heck of a great cook. And with all great cooking comes the need, eventually, to clean copper cookware. Just by chance I happened to notice that Tabasco was able to eat through the dulling of the metal’s varnish. Try Tabasco Sauce the next time you need to clean away any dirty buildup on any copper surface, from cookware to coins to jewelry.
Sore Muscle Relief
If you regularly suffer from the aches and pains caused by sore muscles, then you probably are already aware of medication on the market that features capsaicin as one of its prime ingredients. Well, why the heck would you want to line the pockets of billionaire executives working for the pharmaceutical companies when you can just rug Tabasco Sauce directly onto the skin layering over the area experiencing muscle pain. Capsaicin is just fancy talk for what makes hot peppers hot and it’s not even less of a food ingredient when wrapped up in the fancy packaging of medication and sold for more than double the price of a bottle of Tabasco.
Feed a Congested Cold
If you are experiencing a cold with congestion that is dragging things on for way longer than the cold should last, try dousing everything you eat with Tabasco Sauce. Why? Because the very same facet of Tabasco Sauce that makes it perfect for actors who need to realistically portray someone with a runny nose makes it ideal for those suffering from congested sinuses or chest. That peppery heat found within the flavor that gives Tabasco Sauce its unique place with the world of hot sauces has the power to loosen the mucus that is clogging up your sinuses and chest. Eating food flavored with Tabasco Sauce may actually reduce the time that your cold lingers around.
