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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19 October, 2026
Heat and Harvest
The Trade Journal for the Modern Chilihead
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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