Ingredient of the Month: Champagne Vinegar
As one of two hot sauce sponsors for the recent Mid-South Chili Pepper Classic League of Fire Belt Match –
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Trending :
- Ingredient of the Month: Champagne Vinegar
- Festival Coverage: Blaze for the Brave Brings World-Title Chili Eating to Gettysburg
- Hot Sauce Industry Annual Report: 2025 in Review, 2026 in Focus
- The Receptor That Burns: How Capsaicin Hacks Your Nervous System
- Ingredient of the Month: Koji, the Quiet Revolution in Craft Hot Sauce
2 September, 2026
Heat and Harvest
The Trade Journal for the Modern Chilihead
Festival Coverage: Blaze for the Brave Brings World-Title Chili Eating to Gettysburg
Gettysburg’s two-day pepper festival that raises money for first responders — and now hosts the League of Fire World Title. Recap of the 2025 event and a preview of what’s coming in September 2026.
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Hot Sauce Industry Annual Report: 2025 in Review, 2026 in Focus
$3 billion in retail sales. The end of heat creep. Fermentation as baseline. What 2025 told us about the hot sauce industry, and what the makers, growers, and distributors should watch in 2026.
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The Receptor That Burns: How Capsaicin Hacks Your Nervous System
Hot sauce doesn’t burn anything. It binds to a single receptor in your nervous system and lies to your brain. Here’s how the mechanism actually works, and what it means for sauce makers.
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Ingredient of the Month: Koji, the Quiet Revolution in Craft Hot Sauce
The mold that makes soy sauce is quietly rewriting craft hot sauce fermentation. Here’s what koji does, who’s using it well, and how to try it in your own ferments.
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Pepper of the Month: Pepper X, the Pepper That Quietly Dethroned the Reaper
Ed Currie spent over a decade developing the pepper that would replace his own Carolina Reaper. Pepper X is what came next — and it’s built for the people who actually make hot sauce.
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Wendy’s “Scorchin’ Hot” Sauce
I had no intention of our first post being on Wendy’s but here I am. Wendy’s is known for having
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