Food Product Design's Portfolio on McIlhenny Company

Turning Up the Heat On Ethnic Cuisines

As seen in the December 2001 of FOOD PRODUCT DESIGN Foods from around the world have become established fare in the American diet, catering to consumers’ interest in unique cookery. TABASCO^® brand ingredients from McIlhenny Company lend distinctive flavor profiles as well as heat options to popular cuisines such as Asian, Latin and Caribbean. “We often refer to our pepper ingredients as the vertical condiment, since they integrate well into numerous cuisines and are not limited to just one category,” says Jason Gronlund, corporate chef, director industrial sales. “Benefits include controlled, even heat and unique fermented tones that can’t be duplicated, plus the products blend well with various seasoning systems, providing subtle background notes.” Ethnic formulations commonly use Original TABASCO^® brand Pepper Sauce and TABASCO^® brand Habanero Sauce, low-sodium ingredients with distinctive flavor notes produced by the fermentation process. Pepper sauce, prepared from a special capsicum variety, delivers a pungency of 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville heat units (SHU). Habanero pepper sauce, a combination of hot habanero peppers with ingredients such as mango, banana, tamarind and papaya purees, offers a sweetheat profile with an intensity of 5,000 to 8,000 SHU.

Asian cuisine, often spiced with a chile paste (7,000 to 10,000 SHU) prepared from ground chile peppers, can acquire a more balanced heat level by substituting pepper sauce for the paste. Tantalizing recipes include five-spice flavored ribs, ginger chicken wings and chicken Javanese, prepared with a sauce that includes pineapple chunks, peanut butter and soy sauce. A subtle heat level enhances fermented blackbean sauce made with soy sauce and rice vinegar, popular for dipping. Habanero pepper sauce yields a tasty kimchi, pickled vegetables common in Korea.

Diversity is the norm in Latin dishes, with seasoning profiles reflecting specific regions. Use pepper sauce to spice up fajita wraps, chicken tortilla soup or a green pepper breakfast burrito. Add zip to pasta with a Brazilian tomato sauce. Cook up a tangy ropa vijoa, shredded beef in a tomatobased sauce, experiment with the heat level in paella, a rice dish containing chicken and shellfish, or design a chimichurri sauce, the spicy Latin condiment used with meat.

Many Caribbean recipes benefit from the flavor profile of habanero pepper sauce, such as jerk sauce, a mixture of chiles with ginger and cinnamon used as a meat rub or marinade. Fish-roll stuffing utilizes bread crumbs, cucumber, bananas and a splash of heat. A spicy Caribbean black-bean salsa complements fish or grilled meat. Habanero mango sorbet surprises the palette with a burst of heat that follows the initial cool creaminess.

For additional Industrial Ingredients assistance, consult our Frequently Asked Questions or Contact Us.

For a look at TABASCO^® Ethnic recipes visit www.foodservice.TABASCO.com.

As seen in the December 2001 of FOOD PRODUCT DESIGN

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