Holy moly. After I found your channel, I went to your twitter, started watching your older vids, and the more I watched of you, the more I thought "I really like this guy's brain." This channel became one that I specifically looked for content from because I like how you discuss subjects in a way that feels relatable but is still very thorough and articulate. Then I saw this one, and when you talked to me, my shoulders went up to my ears and I actually made this face :O for a good couple of minutes before I made a very high pitched noise that my cats found to be unpleasant. I adore your brain!!!!! This made my week...thank you for your kind words, you're so awesome! Edit: I just turned 30 too! Happy Birthday!
Epic Meal Time seems like the most American thing ever then, if 'Murica is the shaded area on the Venn Diagram of food and competition. They're really keen on food as a challenge, maybe even more so than actual eating competitions because they've found a way to make it a mass spectator event and not just restricted to a county fayre or something. Some products in the UK include a signature on their label as a sign of authenticity or heritage. Earl Grey teabags have Earl Grey's name signed on, Worcestershire Sauce (I dare you to pronounce that) has Lea & Perrins' names on, some pasta sauces do too. Not just the celebrity ones, which you'd expect them to put their monikers to, but the ones trying to claim a historical connection. I guess it's a way of making the product seem more personal, less faceless? Although weirdly, HP sauce doesn't...
First time I ever ate a jalapeno (and last time I did it intentionally) was part of an on the spot challenge when I worked at Burger King. me and two other employees that had never had it before each ate one at the same time...I failed almost immediately, but it was fun.
Mexican here. I never noticed but you're right, we tend put ladies and maps on sauce. Damn. If I think about it's probably because, at least in Mexico, salsa (I've heard that over there just one kind of sauce is called salsa, but here, all sauces are salsa) is something your mother and grandmother makes, they have the recipe and know how to cook it, not your dad (it's almost weird to see a man roasting tomatoes and peppers on a comal to make salsa). Salsa and it's consumption is matrilineal, your mom teaches you to eat spicy. My grandmother used to accompany every meal with a couple of fresh Chiles de Árbol (bird's beak chile?), taking full bites off of them like it was nothing. Funny how America feels that eating spicy is a masculine trait.
AGH! I totally forgot to fix this! I meant to correct myself in-video with a funny graphic but totally forgot. Will correct next in next comment-response. Thanks.
It's only once your mouth is ruined and tears run down your cheeks that you can appreciate the flavors of hot sauces, and the gain it brings to your food.
I buy it mostly to screw with friends. Also we play card games and the loser picks a punishment out of a hat, "Hotsauce Butthole Wipe" one of the papers you can pick lelelel.
Is the popularity of Sriracha not an example of hegemonic struggle in action? In artistic popular culture the consumer's views are in tension with the author's views; however, in the popular culture that we see in advertising, the consumer's views are in tension with the author's perceptions of the consumer's views. The authors of the labels on American hot sauce believe that the market subscribes to traditional, American ideals of strength, bravery, masculinity, etc. However, the consumer responds by purchasing hot sauce with a relatively benign label from Asia, revealing that they do not reflect the advertiser's preconceptions of their cultural values. Instead, they are in a dialectical struggle with the author to move towards a globalised hot sauce market. Therefore, all history is the history of hot sauce marketing.
PBS Idea Channel I'm on my phone. That link just takes me to comments. I heard the pronunciation(s) on a trailer for a documentary about sriracha. If I can find it I'll post a link.
Mike, it's interesting you would say McIlhenry's label looks like a whisky label, since it is aged in whisky barrels. I think the company hit its mark!
The same concept can be said of sour candy. They often times feature illustrations of people going crazy from how sour they are, puckering like a baby, or even flat out exploding. It's almost as if the marketing ideas of hot sauce were aimed at a more pre-teenage to teenage demographic. The pictures on these kinds of candy usually depicts older children and brings back the whole are-you-tough-enough-to-handle-it thing. Sour candy becomes a challenge to not pucker which is basically a much more kid-friendly version of the challenge to not spit out or throw up hot sauce. There are even candies built around the concept of hazardous weapons and materials just as their are weapon-themed hot sauces.
The idea of hot sauces making food a challenge is spot on in my mind. I personally love eating insanely spicy food for the same reason I love long distance running; I enjoy seeing how much pain I can endure before I quit.
I've never understood why people liked hot sauce until now. See, that actually makes a lot of sense with it being a competition or a test of endurance or whatever. I can eat exceptionally, exceptionally spicy food and not even break a sweat.. but it's also really unpleasant to me. I look at it like "Well, I COULD eat dirt, but it doesn't taste GOOD.". I never understood because everyone would just go "I dunno, I just like it." "But why? It doesn't taste good." "Well, I like it.".
Depending on your location, it could make your feels better. www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/27/spicy-food_n_1628200.html . After that your habits kicks in.
I think it must be a difference in tastes or a difference in kinds of hot sauces, because I definitely really like the spiciness AND the taste! Also - I don’t find the sensation necessarily “unpleasant;” I love how it feels to eat hot things. I think there is just a really wide gamut of how people [/their taste buds] react to spicy stuff. :)
I find it terribly sad you have not found a hot sauce you like the flavor of. I do not know where you reside, but I implore you to ruminate on your choicest flavors or aromas and let us help you find a hot sauce that will entice you on top of warm you. Have you primarily dealt with sauces heavy on vinegar or focused on spicy uncommon peppers rather than flavor?
Sauces have a good taste, and the feeling of the spiciness feels on your tongue. Well, for some people. Taste varies a lot: some people hated overly sweet chocolate, other like bitter chocolate, some like drinking beer in medium temperature, others like it freezing cold. I myself prefer a sauce which it's spiciness doesn't burn my tongue so I can apreciate it's taste, and the taste is not so strong so I can still feel the flavor of what I'm eating.
Wow. I actually thought it was a setup in a studio somewhere. Impressive! I love "behind the scenes" looks or "breaking the 4th wall" moments in any kind of media.
I can barely eat barbecue chips, spicy food is not my thing. I remember one family vacation where my brother (who loves spicy food) bought a bottle of hot sauce. this hot sauce was called something like Triple Death Sauce or something like that, and had a sckull and fire on it, and said something about it being one of the spiciest hot sauces in the world. And we all had a turn dipping the tip of a toothpick in it, licking it, and then making a run for the fridge for the milk. It was fun, but I'm never doing that again. the nearly full bottle is still in our fridge, it's probably about 6 years old
The only thing better than hot sauce? _Aged_ hot sauce. If you had to run for the milk after a toothpick-licking, bring a cow if they ever decide to re-open it.
When I was in college this boastful kid from Brazil said nothing in America is truly "hot" as my friend was displaying a bottle of hot sauce. I don't remember the name of it. My friend told the Brazilian kid that this sauce was so hot that nobody could eat it without it being mixed in a huge pot of chili or something. The Brazilian kid said he could take a swig of it and it would not bother him. My friend said no, this stuff is different than anything he has ever encountered. The Brazilian whipped out a $100.00 Bill and laid it on the table and bet he could take a swig. My friend pulled out a piece of celery and dipped a tiny bit on it, he put on gloves to open the bottle. He said if you can eat this I'll give you $100. Just at that time the Brazilian kid grabbed the bottle and took a swig! 5 seconds later he's on the ground writhing in pain. He rubbed his eyes and now he can't see. We had to call an ambulance to take him to the hospital. The next week the Brazilian kid said that it was hot sauce he drank, it was nuclear radioactive waste!
little note* The Valentina Sauce isn't showing it's country of origin, that's actually the shape of "Jalisco", a state inside Mexico, where the sauce is made. :D
in New Zealand, mascot animals and people are rarely ever used because it just seems so tacky... no cereal in NZ has a fucking cereal captain man or fun, furry animal on it because we see it as pointless and we want to buy a product that is true to itself - a product that doesnt need a mascot to be good. its also why sports teams rarely have mascots (or ones that people remember) and neither does our hot sauce. there are no shops that even sell hot sauce with any sort of animal or person on it, because nobody buys them. all our hot sauces have a logo, the sauce name, and that's it. mascots and unnecessary claims do not sell well at all in New Zealand and i feel that it is very much an americanised thing. i would say that people from my country are 'no-nonsense' when buying things. that is why our most popular breakfast item is locally-made (factory is literally down the road from the supermarket i go to) wheat biscuits that taste completely bland on their own, and the packaging is just a picture of the item, with some fruit around it (most people eat it with fruit, or sugar, or something). seeing any commercial with a mascot gives a 'oh, here we go again, another crappy american cereal' feeling. The whole culture of New Zealand is very 'shut the fuck up and get on with it'. and so anything more than what is necessary is seen as pointless and waste of time, unless it makes the good a better quality.
You seem to take the stance that Americans aren't aware of the "tackiness" of annoying mascots and slogans, but I think a lot of us are. There's a difference between mindless consumption of stupidity, and reveling in that which is cliche. I'm not saying there aren't mindless consumers, but when it comes to things as outrageous as a donkey sweating out bullets, blowing smoke out of its ears, and grasping its hooves to the toilet it's seated on, the tackiness of the product becomes a joke in and of itself. Not to mention America still has a "culture" surrounding mascots that's more based in tradition than actual persuasion. Mascot's were paired with products to make them memorable decades ago, that can play well with nostalgia, and it would almost be brand betrayal at this point for some of them to abandon their mascots, which might have a negative impact on "company pride". The "no-nonsense" attitude towards advertisements in general, I will admit, is preferable in many circumstances, seeing as it is far less likely to draw in "dirty tactics" which poison our culture (basically things that claim to sell more than they actually can, like sex or being cool), but a funky animal on a box doesn't have a down side.
I love how he confirms his hipsterness in this video. I'm not a fan of them (I saw his video on it) but it's good to see ppl owning their personalities. Be proud of your hot sauce collection good sir!
I'm a Korean living in New Zealand, so this episode was really interesting. As you point out, the 'meal as a competition' idea relates back to national identity. In Korea, there is a spicy paste-sauce called gochu-jang. I remember a TV ad for it a while back, where it showed a Korean man living overseas who would imagine putting that sauce on EVERYTHING, like spaghetti, pizza, and hamburgers, before snapping out of his imagination and realising that he didn't have any of that sauce. Despite the stunning scenery of Europe, the Korean man is seen screaming in despair. In New Zealand, there was a TV ad for Watties' Tomato Sauce (with its own theme song!) where various shots of New Zealanders are seen putting tomato ketchup also on EVERYTHING like sushi. It was a way of depicting Watties' as a product related to New Zealand identity, and the gochu-jang is the same in this respect - and similar to American hot sauce. It's amusing since the idea of nationalism and national identity can be considered as social constructs - Billig's concept of banal nationalism comes to mind. None of the aforementioned sauces are inherently related to their respective cultures, and you could say the same about American hot sauce and Americans. I wish I knew more about hot sauce culture, but I have a lot of reading to do :(
Mike likes to take unique perspectives on the things he makes shows about. He never just goes with the flow and talks about the topical issues of any given cultural phenomenon. For example, Mike tried to make a "How trolling can be good for you" episode, but he got super uncomfortable in the making of it. If you want furries, you have got to find a new angle on it, like (and i literally just made this up) "How are furries represent a new form of American Romanticism." I don't know if this is accurate at all, but it would have to along those lines. Y'know?
I'm trying to think of any hot sauces that are genuinely German. Hot mustard and horseradish cream (think of white wasabi) comes to mind. Most of the labels just say "hot" or, if they're fancy "very hot", which doesn't mean what it might mean in the US. I consider them mild. But it does seem that this "everything is a challenge" approach is a very American one. It seems often enough to be a means to show your environment how great or tough you are, but it's also about showing yourself that you can overcome the obstacles inside of you (or your bowels). I'm thinking of things like "30 day nail art challenge", "crossfit" or even "the seven day juice cleanse". Overcoming yourself, enduring pain and discomfort, and finally being victorious makes it look like you Americans are on a spiritual quest. The harder it is to achieve your goal, the more valuable it is once you've achieved it. And just like hot sauce, you put this idea on everything.
Dude you love hotsauce like I love mayo Your love for the challenge and the endurance and the spice of hotsauce mirrors my own love for the soft, creamy and mouth/throat filling fullness of the pillow-luxury of dipping various foods in soothing, pleasurable and downright decadent dollops of mayonnaise, though I cannot claim to as large a variety or anything much of the labels Outside of differing levels of fat content (Which makes the difference between mayo and salad cream) and various flavourings added to it, mayo is generally a one-stop shop where your purchase decisions are less about the type of mayo you like and more about seasoning it to taste But just like your hotsauce love, I find it is the best addition to most food that adds the feather pillows and wooly blanket to what would otherwise be a threadbare, if very comfortable bed, elevating a night's sleep (a satisfying meal) to exceptional luxury and almost deplorable decadence, to the point where, the pain you and other hotsauce lovers enjoy alongside your hotsauce, mirrors my own masochism of shame and "feeling like a fatass" which lacks a specific term. It's like my sister and ketchup. She used to put it on ice-cream
I also used to be "proud" of my ability to eat spicy food, it should be noted that I am from Scandinavia, and extremely spicy food is very difficult to come by there, so honestly I doubt I was ever very good at eating spicy food by Asian, Caribbean, Latin or North American standards, and realizing this, kind of ruined my pride a bit. However, since I've gotten over my admittedly petty competitive relationship with "heat", I have now started to see it as more of an ingredient that can enhance the flavor of food. I am not really a "master" of spicy food consumption anymore, but I can honestly say that I enjoy spicy food a lot more now than I used to. I definitely think that a spicy taste can improve the quality of a meal, but it is more about balance, I often try good food and think that even though it is not too hot for me to handle, it would taste better if it had a more moderate level of spiciness, just as I often try food that would strongly benefit from adding more heat.
I have finally officially watched every Idea Channel episode from the beginning! Phew what a ride. Needless to say I love your stuff Mike, keep up the excellent work :)
As a Nigerian, the theory doesn't hold that hot and spicy flavours is a complement to dishes to other cultures outside the USA. We consume hot peppers with an intensity that gives most other people diarrhea. A fellow African nation (which I will not name for their benefit) once came over to play a football match and insisted on eating our famous pepper soup the night before (which most people consume on a weekly bases). They had to forfeit the game. 99% of American hot sauce to home grown Nigerians is but a tingle on the tongue. All label art no power. The difference with us and America is that America turns it into a sort of competition or feat while we simply consume it as the norm. American culture seems to exaggerate every achievement or goal hence the skulls, crossbones and such. A Nigerian would not think to put any such a display on their spicy food because it is a moot point... of course its spicy. Finally, I'll leave you with a proverb from the Yoruba people of Nigeria that translates to "a life without pepper is not a life worth living".
Mayowa Adegboyega I think the point being made is that Nigerians don't know what a life without pepper is, so passing judgement on such a life is speaking with the authority of ignorance. Of course, I think it is a bit of deliberate misinterpretation of your obvious intent, which is only understandable when you put us non-heat loving Americans in context: we get a lot of insults, and this one isn't very original.
While I love spicy foods, I have a weird, almost inexcusable requirement: they should taste good. This is insane in my culture because most people understand spicy only as a competition, to accompany smashing beer cans against their foreheads and headbutting each other in a frenzy of macho. But I actually enjoy spicy food. I know, it's crazy... But the right flavor of heat is *wonderful*. The experience of eating it is delicious, slightly painful, cathartic, paced, exhilarating, and ultimately rewarding. But above all? Delicious! When the flavor is wonderful and the spice correctly complements and empowers that flavor, instead of masking it with heat, then THAT is a proper spicy meal. I'm really tired of people talking about how dangerously spicy their chili or chicken is... there's no thought required to dump more peppers or hotter peppers into food, and it doesn't necessarily add much to the experience of eating (unless you need a competition). So much spicy food actually tastes disgusting, because flavor never occurred to the cook. They were only competing for max spicy and bragging rights among competitive audiences... what a waste. (And this doesn't even get into my qualms with marketing claims of foods being dangerously spicy, when I would classify them as mild or medium at most -- that's another story. Claims do not always pan out). If you want me to sample your chili, talk about how wonderfully tasty it is and how much the heat adds to that flavor. I'm not eating this food to win a victory or bragging rights: by all means, enjoy your victory over me. You won, you can eat spicier foods. You are the top masochistic contestant. If it means that much to you, there you are. But I'm eating spicy food to enjoy eating it. Heresy! Blasphemy! The idle rantings of a madman! Silence him at once! How dare he show insufficient enthusiasm for maximum spicy! What audacity, to demand flavor over heat! Yea, I know. I have trouble finding people who agree. I'm just soooo tired of bitter or tasteless food that only burns. (BTW: I do add spicy for the sake of spicy when I have a cold and need to clear my sinuses, but that's when I can't taste the food anyway) ^_^
BTW, the spicy flavors that have recently seized my heart are all from a local restaurant called Holy Smokes BBQ. Their spicy fried pickles are delicious, and I love their beef brisket with white sauce. For those of you who don't have an equivalent BBQ restaurant nearby that offers really good spicy flavors... I'm so, so sorry. (but I'm secretly laughing maniacally at your misfortune)
I know that's sarcasm, and it would be nice if it were misplaced. But it's getting really hard to find spicy food that is more than mere spicy for spicy's sake. That BBQ place I mentioned above changed their recipes to be more flavorless and more spicy. :(
Daan Guldemont Yea, seems like something everyone would get instinctively But I've been to too many chili cook-offs where the spiciness was often maximized for bragging rights: How spicy could you make your chili, and who could eat the spiciest. Reminds me of the Simpsons episode with Insanity Peppers. :) At some point the heat kills the flavor... especially ghost peppers, they taste terrible. Not everyone does it, but it stinks when it happens. Good news though... that BBQ place fixed their sauce so it's delicious again!
I absolutely loved this diversion from the normal Idea Channel format. Mike's apartment is great, and it's awesome hearing about something he's so passionate about! More of these please. Also subscribed to your podcast. Very excited.
Seeing as a lot of your episodes are USA-focused (though of course as PBS is American I understand) I was wondering if you could do an episode on English/British culture, as an Englishman I think it'd be interesting to see how Americans see British art and culture. One idea I had was on a show called "The Inbetweeners". It's one of the most successful UK sitcoms ever, had 2 films (though only 18 episodes as its English TV); yet an American remake flopped. Why do you think there is such a difference in British and American humour? Or feel free to select some other British vs US culture clash
Ths is a brilliant idea for an episode. I would plus one it but I feel like replying to it will help other people (and more importantly, IDEA channel) see this
Here in Mexico in the taquerías we usually have 3 levels to measure how spicy is a sauce: "Spicy", "not spicy" & "for gringos" (usually a guacamole with a touch of chiles). We love spicy food so much that there are some delicious habanero jam and Serrano jam (that you can buy in Coyoacan, next to the Gandhi bookstore in Miguel Angel de Quevedo, Mexico City). Finally, for the people who aren't accustomed to spicy food, we tend to call spicy sauces "Bell sauce" because it rings when it enters and rings again when it goes out (Porque pica al entrar y repica al salir)
tokento91 No it isn't. Tapatio is only 3000 Scoville units. Sriracha is 2200. Cholula is 3600 Scoville, tastes like ketchup to me. These are not for the real hot sauce fans, not for the chileheads. You need to eat a lot more spicy and build up your tolerance. What I would like is a hot sauce around 30,000, that's 10 times hotter then Tapatio. The hottest I have right now is 180,000. SIXTY times hotter then Tapatio. You aren't a real chilehead until you can break 10,000 at least. The serious ones get past 100,000, and there are crazy people going past 1,000,000.
I might seem like an over pompous ass for saying this, but I did not know that Sriracha was hot. I use it all the time and I never thought of it as being really spicy.
It's like sweet and sour sauce with a small bit of spice. The Thai stuff is even less hot and more sweet and sour tasting. I like the Thai type better.
Long Hair and Glasses yes and pizza :) i grew up in south Texas, where hot chili, spicy BBQ, and Jalepenos in every recipe are part of life. in fact i'm a little surprised Texan/Mexican cuisine wasn't mentioned specifically along with Thai and Indian. i'll forgive him though, he's a New Yorker. they don't really get good TexMex or real salsa up there. (shh they think they do though, so when they try to make an exception just look pleased and smile politely.)
There was so much to take in in this episode. I am going to go back and re-watch it and then I will have like a million tabs open. For some reason all of the things that you talked about today sparked other ideas in my head and I am kind of having an information overload. So I'm gonna watch it again and then comment.
Sriracha is a hipster thing? That's completely new to me, considering that I grew up seeing sriracha. The creator himself is Vietnamese though the name is based from the location in Thailand. I'm going to leave this article on Sriracha. www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-himi-tran-20130414-story.html
Oh my yes. Rooster sauce used to be a pretty obscure product, and now it's everywhere...but like so many things, when it was just on that first slope upward on the popularity curve, it was definitely seen as a hipster food item. A lot of Americans liked to pretend it was this spooky foreign sauce they found collecting dust in a corner of their more eccentric supermarkets. The Oatmeal comic was the last nail in the coffin for any hipster appeal, though.
As much as I love to mock hipsterdom, it is true what Michael Gonzales, says, that it is the watercolour. The Sriracha itself is just an asian condiment that has become very mainstream. I remember first seeing it at a thai restaurant in a food court.
It's less that the physical/concrete Sriracha is hipster, but the cultural symbol is(or was(more later)). Sriracha is a lot more than a red hot sauce made out of specific ingredients with a rooster on it; It is all those things but it is also every post, comic, or creation about it, its also every idea or association about it. Put simply it is every bit of material and immaterial culture about it or derived from culture about it. Think of it like this; bacon in and of itself as fried pork strips is not hipster, what makes it hipster is every meme, pin, strip of bacon flavored gum, piece of art, or any other piece of culture involving it. But at that point it's become a lot more than a strip of pig meat, it has a symbolic existence that transcends (not in a new age sense) what it is in a concrete sense. Sriracha the hot sauce created by Tran is a separate entity than Sriracha the cultural icon though they do overlap and the distinction between them is hard to find. I would argue that Sriracha(and bacon for that matter) is no longer a hipster thing because of how diffused it is into the culture. The "Theory of Diffusion of Ideas" states that an innovation goes through multiple stages of adoption and as it goes through those stages it transforms from a creation of a few to an idea belonging to a cultures collective conscious. In order for anything to be truly hipster the idea still needs to be the property of a few or at most solely a facet of hipster sub-culture, but because of Siracha's image/popularity throughout American culture and the acceptance of it as a part of the physical object it can't be an idea owned by any individual or group of individuals.
Every single time I watch one your videos I learn something new. That's great and I look forward to new episodes. Thank you for not only the knowledge, but the entertainment as well. I believe if John Wayne was around today (and enjoyed/watched TH-cam) he would say, "When you sit down for a helpin' of TH-cam, you better have some 'PBS Idea Channel Hot Sauwesome' by your side."
Hipster mode activate! I remember loving sriracha sauce from when I was very young in Western Washington, bc every East Asian restaurant had it. Teriyaki, Korean BBQ, Chinese, phō, all of them. It is cool how it's gotten so much more popular in recent years. And we called it roster sauce. And we walked FIFTEEN miles on the snow to get it... wait...
This was such an awesomely personal video for you, I love your kind of absurd passion for a condiment! Would love to see more videos about the Idea channel crew's passions and interests.
On watching this, I am reminded of a Phineas and Ferb episode where Candace defends the act of judging a book by its cover on the grounds that covers are there to help us judge books. The same can be said for food labels and clothes for that matter. What we choose to put on ourselves, our stuff, or our products is an expression of self, or a claim of self. This is especially true of products. Companies are making a claim about what they are about. Therefore, they are trying to understand what you are about so that they can know what it is that you will buy.
Speaking form Mexico, here every food item seems to have a motherly figure who "lovingly prepared this plate and you're gonna eat it or I swear to god I'm gonna shove it down your throat". You know: mom´s love.
In the Caribbean (im from Trinidad) we call it pepper sauce. Whats funny is in America I always hear of Jamaican "hot sauce" but when any Jamaican try our special pepper sauce that we mix, blend and at times it sits like a fine wine, they run for their lives. In the Caribbean we dont only go for the hot, but mostly the taste and of the pepper and seasoning, but even with the taste alone (and that can happen without burn) we still miss the hot pepper hot. Hot = good flavors. If it don't have good flavor then the food has to be good and we enjoy it that way.
Mike, between our mutual love of hot sauce and The Simpsons, you are quickly becoming my favorite TH-camr. First time commenting, but I've been watching for a while now. Thanks for putting these tidbits of critical thinking out on the interwubs for folks like me.
"The level of my hipstertude was not in question." Can I just say that I admire your level of self-awareness? It's always refreshing to see people embrace their labels instead of trying to deny them. Though, yes, we do become overly concerned with labels at times.
I'm Italian, and we have the so-called "culture of food". We love to eat, we love to cook, we love to BUY food. Because of this, we don't really need some fancy images or cowboys of animals on our products (unless they are for children or imported from other countries), we choose to buy something because of its tradition. For example, speaking about hot sauce, we have this spicy sausage (that can be spread on bread or even pizza) called 'nduja. It's from Calabria, in the South of Italy. If I want to by some 'nduja for the first time, I won't choose the one with the prettiest package, but the one which claims to be made in Calabria, by the same family, for the past 10 decades. In general, Italian boxes show picturesque images of men growing plants, peasants carrying food, Tuscany landscape, usually along with sentences as "Growing tomatoes. Since 1908" I think that this is our way to show our passion for our tradition! PS: Sorry for my poor English!
My joke when I decline adding hotsauce and they insist it adds flavor is "when I am wincing and waving air into my mouth.. I am NOT saying TOO.. MUCH... FLAVOR!!!"For there is spicy, and then there are chemical burns. There IS a line there.
When I was younger, and when I had a thicker lining in my digestive tract, I was a massive heat freak. But it wasn't a competition. It was only made into a competition by others seeking to "prove me wrong". To me, it was 30% flavor and 70% adrenaline rush. Mega Death Sauce was my go-to. At the time of its release, it was the 2nd hottest condiment on the planet. I loved that thing. I grew such a "tolerance" to the heat, that I used to douse everything I ate with it. Food *was* my delivery mechanism. Burritos, burgers, pizza, hot dogs, mashed potatoes, steak, salad, steamed brocolli, and, even once, green tea ice cream (it was delicious). But I could taste the flavor underneath all that heat. I loved that rounded taste of habanero, cayenne, ginger and molasses. But most of all, (the reason I put "tolerance" in quotes) I had become an adrenaline junkie. I had a problem. And the day I saw one of my friends go to the hospital after a hot sauce eating competition involving two bottles of Dave's Ultimate Insanity (which wasn't even half as hot as my usual)... I realized I should probably stop. But I didn't. I continued for a while after. And it was at the worst time in my life to have realized I was beginning to get a trifecta of ulcers. On a camping trip in Sequoia National Park... The adrenaline rush was not something to be savored that weekend... Nor was the state of my bowel movements and internal inferno... It's been 12 years since that day, and I've since recovered. I eat spicy things from time to time, but the last time I had any of my old alma infernum, Blair's Mega Death Sauce, I only had a drop, and I realized I could never go back, literally. It felt like getting hit by a molten ton of bricks. I offer this as words of warning. I see your collection. And I saw your Blair's hot sauce set. I'll just say, enjoy the highly spicy ones in moderation. Extreme moderation. Like once-or twice-a-year moderation. Every culture has its odd excessive behaviors: drinking, smoking, "medicines", body adornments, etc. But I think America has truly made an industry of the belittling advertisement. If you don't drink this beer, you won't be able to become the most interesting man in the world. If you don't buy this muscle car, you'll be laughed at, you idiot. Hot sauce is just cheap to make, and easy to sell to those who are easily taken to being belittled. It's pure an simple. If you can't handle this, you have to reassess your importance in the world. Which is why Huy Fong Foods is an enigma. Huy Fong doesn't advertise. It never has. All hail Sriracha.
You concluded that the labels demonstrate America's views of food as an affirmation of awesomeness, but I think it speaks to American culture as a whole. Our politics based on competition and one-up-man-ship while campaigning (though this is hardly an isolated phenomenon), and our romanticizing of burly self-made men support this sentiment.
I was sitting on TH-cam thinking... it's been a while. And then suddenly a wild Idea Channel appeared. So, yeah. Great episode. For once I have an anecode to share. My buddy Dan and I went to Texas for SXSW (same one we met Mike at) and at this particular SXSW we went to a little venue which was hosting a group selling "Nuclear Tacos". We're both English, from England. Our cuisine is not known for its spiciness. We have plenty of Indian food over here but even that is fairly underwhelming when it comes to spice. We waited in line for like 15 minutes and finally we got the option between three different spicinesses. Dan chose a taco with the medium spice. I, seeing Dan's choice, chose the exact same taco with the exact same level of spiciness... but with a drop of the HIGHEST LEVEL OF SPICE. Before we both went to munch on our spicy lunch, we headed to the beverage stall. Dan took a beer, thinking it would be like an Indian back home. I was a little more cautious, getting a coke which would be more appropriate for when the food gets too spicy. As it turns out, I had made the right move. *Well done me* [/sarcasm]. Thanks to my sensible choice of drink i was soon the victim of desperate robbery. Dan and I both took a bite out of our respective tacos at the same time and yet he continued, and then quickly dispensed with his beer. It didn't take long before he was gagging for a thirst-quenching and he grabbed my coke, leaving me liquidless for at least 10 minutes, mouth burning from the sauce. So from what I can tell, this is what hot sauce brings out in anyone: * The competitive spirit * Betrayal Nevertheless, I hope you understand!. Good episode! Dan
I live in the American heart of spicy food, Louisiana. I find a lot of hot sauce that comes outside of this state is not about taste or "enhancing" your food rather then just being "lol so hot." My favorite is probably Crystal hot sauce. One thing I would love to ask you is your thought on 'creole seasoning shakers'. Examples being Tony Chachere, or Slap yo Mamma. (not store bought creole seasoning you get in the spice isle you cook with, I mean the Louisiana substitute for salt and pepper found on every table in the state.) They seem to be just as, if not, more popular in my neck of the woods than hot sauce. They don't take the place of hot sauce, more just complement it. You can never not have one without the other, like salt and pepper. People are always discussing the best combo of sauce to shaker. In combination of my collection of sauces AND shakers I probably have more bottles then you. Everyone and everyplace makes and bottles their own. The shakers have similar label designs as the sauces but they seem to have a branch the hot sauces can't really obtain, like a more "elegant and lady like" design the local mom and pop stores sell and just a down and dirty "I made this in my shed" design. I don't know how common these shakers are outside of the deep south, I know Tony's can be found all over but trust me when I say that rabbit hole is just as deep and complex as hot sauce. Great video!
I'm glad you mentioned the fact that sriracha is a type of hot sauce, not just a brand. I found a bottle of actual Thai sriracha a few months ago at my local Asian market, and there's actually quite a difference in texture, and it's actually a little sweeter as well.
Thank you for mentioning that everything with Sriracha in it ends up tasting like Sriracha. This is why I never, ever use Sriracha as a garnish or condiment, but instead for doing things like coating chopped chicken pieces, which then goes in something else. It's a great sauce, but the reason many people seem to use it ends up being the main reason why I wouldn't.
Personal preference. :) I put it on Asian-style dumplings (potstickers) and fried rice. It's good for breathing life into bland Chinese take out or last night's pizza. Not culinary excellence by far, but it serves enough of a purpose for it to be a staple.
Dakrith I don't disagree. It strikes a much better balance between flavour and heat than other popular hot sauces, and it's still totally worth having. Speaking of which, that's another general trend of American hot sauces. Either it really isn't all that spicy but tastes ok, or it gets fairly spicy but tastes like garbage. As though people figured nobody would be able to taste it anyway so they just didn't care how it tasted.
Yeah I can definitely attest to the fact that Americans view hotsauce as some kind of challenge. I'm a Mexican American and one thing that always strikes me is when I go to Mexican restaurants in America that have hot sauce labeled as more or less authentic by spiciness. I swear I actually saw a sauce rack with the hottest labeled "mexican" and the least spicy labeled "gringo." Which is funny because in Mexico food is spicy but its not like a war to make things spicier, (for the most part) there isn't some "winner" where you've reached "true" spiciness.
Have you heard of the hot sauce Mad Dog 357? My sister got my a dad a bottle of the collectors addition for the stuff. The collector's addition is 600,000 scoville units (I assume you know what these are), as opposed to the regular sauce's 357,000. If this isn't an American hot sauce by your description, I don't know what is. It's got the warning label declaring itself exempt from damages after opening or gifting. With it comes a tiny spoon inside of a bullet-shaped casing. Not only is it spicy, it has a really great flavor with it two. That tiny spoonful is enough for a whole burger, which means that bottle is going to last a long time. It also makes a great marinade or addition to soup that doesn't make the dish that spicy.
SECRET AARDVARK!! This sauce has been my favorite since moving to Portland, OR (where it originated), but how can we keep it a secret if you keep telling people about it?
The only sauce I recognized among the ones you showed was _Valentina_ . It was so bizarre to see the same bottle which is on my fridge on your channel. I'm by no means a sauce expert, but at least I'm a sort of _Valentina_ aficionado. What I can tell you is that the label is mostly a symbol of regional and cultural pride. _Valentina_ is one of the few successful exports from my state (the sate's shape being the red blob you see in the label), and so that brand usually advertises itself as a sort of ambassador from Mexico into other countries. It shouts "look at me! Proud and firm while in foreign land!" Quite an adorable little bottle
I really enjoyed this episode. Most of the time the subject material more directly or indirectly involves the interwebz or internet culture a bit more. I appreciate the departure, and would be interested to see your take on more obscure subjects like hotsauces.... I have no suggestions though, I'll save that for someone else :D
Sriracha has a distinctive flavor though. Some of these hot sauces are simply about enduring the pain, but the good ones like Tabasco and Sriracha bring the flavor.
I too love hot sauce, and having carried it around with me since freshman year (high school) I've realized how much other people do to. I'm constantly being asked "can I have some" I guess it's on of those things you remember you like when you have it.
Having worked at a place that regularly had "Da' Bomb" available, I can confirm that stuff really is pretty rough. Not unconsumably hot, i held the restaurant record of how much i could stand, but it's not something you use every day. I actually cleared out the restaurant during lunch rush because i dropped a bottle, and made the ABSOLUTELY FUCKING STUPID decision to mop it up usign a bottle of HOT water, thinking it would help get the oils off the floor better. Yeah, technically it DID, but mostly by aspirating it into the air. I basically maced the whole place, and cleared us out for about an hour. My boss was a mix of super pissed at ruining the lunch hour, and too busy holding his sides from laughter (OUTSIDE the main door) to be all that mad as i was the only one made to stay inside and finish the cleanup. That said, a good dollop in curry or chinese food is a great spicy additive!
I @#$%ing hate how people in the USA treat eating as a challenge. I say this as a US-born, European-bred, US resident. Even when waitstaff - excuse me, servers because "waiting" isn't active enough to be an acceptable job description here - asking "Do you want a box or are you still working?" *I AM NOT WORKING*. I am eating, dining in fact. It's called a restaurant because it's supposed to restore you, not deplete you. Do you realize how much healthier we'd be as a nation if people just slowed down enough that they could actually digest their food as they're eating? Why must eating always be digestive shock and awe? The only people we're beating are ourselves.
As someone who's been consuming hot sauce and spicy food since I was a toddler, I've gone beyond the challenge of finding "the spiciest" food/add-ons. I more or less have hot sauce and spices for the flavour now (almost any habanero hot sauce + cayenne pepper powder is really good). It's also helps me win at pepper & salsa eating contests.
Hey, this was really interesting! Especially because I love spicy food too! As someone from the southwest that is now living in the midwest, I generally enjoy spicier food than those around me so I've come to be the spicy expert among my friends. My expertise is less hot sauce and more salsa, however. While I do love a good hot sauce, I'm more of the opinion that spiciness should complement the food, not overpower it. When I first went of to college in the midwest, I was shocked at my inability to find decent salsa (my college was in a small, predominantly white little town surrounded by corn fields, not a bastion of culinary experimentation). I actually had my Dad ship me my favorite salsas when I discovered that the local grocery store only stocked Pace (Pace is fine, I guess, my family calls it "cooking" salsa much as you have wine you use in cooking, not to drink. I have some in my fridge right now for this purpose). In New Mexico where I grew up, the salsa section of the grocery store is quite extensive and full of locally made salsas that you can buy. I bet there are some patterns to the types of labels, but I don't have enough different salsas at my apartment right now to really make generalizations (I only have four types at the moment, and that's too small a number, I think). I think a lot of my favorites though either have very simple labels with the name of the salsa and bright colors (generally green for mild, yellow for medium, red for hot) or they show a painting like image of a landscape or adobe village or something (again with the green/yellow/red border or background to indicate spiciness). I wonder if the sorts of labels you see vary based on region? I'll probably start paying more attention now.
Ah, food. It's always SO full of meaning, it's incredible. I'm a Brazilian living in France, and the cultural differences when it comes to food are really fascinating. One thing that strikes me is how traditional methods and ingredients are valued here: old-fashioned labels and names, lots of products which feature a grandmother, plastic packaging made to look like paper, even a revival of "old vegetables" that have become rare... I think all of this can be found elsewhere too (basic baby-boomer nostalgia), but I've yet to meet outside of France the "pur beurre" indication (pure butter) or the proud claim that this cheese is 45% fat. The "pur beurre" is found on biscuits and cookies, and it really just means there's no margarine or other vegetable oils in the product: the only fat used is butter. Still, it's a peculiar way to phrase it, and anything with that phrase on it would just rot on brazilian shelves. Not related to labels, but France is also the only place I know where we talk about the food we're about to eat, about the food we just ate, and then *while* we're eating we talk about other foods we've eaten in other occasions. Much love for the eating, here. :) I have to say I find it juuust a little bit sad that "competition culture" would be so fundamentally widespread across american culture. While I do see it from "out here", I wouldn't have said it was such a defining trait of the US. Oh well. Also, hooraaaaay for the new podcast!!
Being from Kansas City, Barbeque Sauce labels are this, in large. Though they do intersect with hot sauce labels for the spicier varieties, there remain common themes: animals, usually pigs, often consuming the flesh of their brethren (one sauce, Night of the Living Barbeque Sauce, combines both pigs and outlandishness--cartoon pigs chase a cartoon griller and his steer, saying 'it's hot!'--though no actual cani-pig-ism). An interesting subset. I think labeling in general can say a lot about the culture or market in which it is produced.
All I know is that last year, when Facebook started doing those Year In Review auto-posts, my most successful post was a bowl of soup with a Sriracha pentagram drawn on it.
I see a lot of what you were saying, on the cultural side, and even the on the personal side. I was always a fan of spicy food, but I wasn't a fan of heat for heat, I was brave but not looking to be challenged, I enjoyed the nuanced flavors different spicy sauces would impart. My roots were Tabasco, jalapeno chips, and jalapeno laden nachos. Born and raised in Texas hot sauce is imported from far and wide to be put through the gauntlet. Not to mention the entire sub-genre of Texas chili that is SUPER SPICY Texas Chili. But, I have to say on the "America" side of the culture divide I think we aren't primarily challenge or risk takers, neither are we melodramatic. I think we are exuberant in our love of experiencing new, unique, and foreign things. Americans love their simple american food but most every american I know loves when a new culture becomes represented in their area with a new restaurant or a new neighbor moves in down the street and invites them to a BBQ and you get to look forward to what new twists will we see? I think americans are just born with an inherent amp set at 11 for things of novelty, and uniqueness and the experience. We see hot sauce as a story to experience from the ingredients and where they hail from and how they're prepared, to the peoples who bring them to us and the dishes they are served in and with, to the new directions americans will imperiously take these sauces and spices exploring uncharted culinary waters. Buffalo wings went from butter, garlic, and tabasco to downright scary combinations right quick. The wings are just an accepted universal medium for the myriad spice stories to be found in the sauces. Same is true of many ethnic cuisines, fusion foods, and for those of us lucky enough to have them, food truck experiments. I think the labels show our willingness to be playful, to try new experiences and challenges, but also appreciate the craftsmanship and culinary art involved. Many sauces exist solely to impart heat, but so many more exist to give us truly unique and nuanced flavors. America shows here its inherent truism, we have a place for everyone, and we will gladly experience your culture and flavors even with the dramatic flair of labels, become a part of us and make your unique flavor a part of ours. I would love to try the secret aardvark, I hope to be able to find it and experience what you have experienced in it. I think that is what america brings to the hot sauce game. We will try anything, and whether its a challenge, a flavor, or a story, we're gonna ENJOY it.
A friend turned me onto Sriracha about four years ago. I'm not normally one for hot and spicy foods, but this "rooster sauce" stuff impressed me by actually tasting like fresh peppers, rather than just a liquid-state delivery system of pure heat (like many hot sauces seem to be).
I had to pause the video so I could get my fave and play along at home... . (1) But first, Tabasco is actually aged in barrels. Some years ago the Scotch Malt Whisky Society commissioned a barrel of whisky aged in a former Tabasco cask. More of a condiment than a beverage, it was "Undrinkable!"... (2) I don't know if it's widely distributed or just a regional brand, but my fave is Sontava! (I didn't add the exclamation, it's just part of their name.) It's main ingredients are simple: habaneros, carrots, lime juice and salt. Triple X if you just want the "hot," and Double X if you want to taste the other ingredients. Produced in Belize for a local company. The label features mainly the disk of Aten - the face of the sun in the Spanish style - against a dark leafy jungle...
My favorite thing is Siracha on mac & cheese. I love the combo of creamy, and spicy that's usually only found in asian food. I also put sriracha on my avocados. Don't judge me. Try it.
I had a stir fry frog dish at a Szechuan join in NYC once. It was roughly 50% frog and 50% extremely hot peppers. The red from all the peppers overwhelmed my vision.
*You've been filming in your apartment this whole time?!* My life is a lie. I mean, I knew there was stuff behind the records, but I thought you had a separate studio...but you just do this stuff at home! MIND BLOWN
In a conversation with friends while living in Japan we came to the conclusion that the best way to discover a countries attitude toward food was to explore its variations on other foods. E.G. Japanese Mexican food comes as small dry burrito with good quality ingredients served on a small plate with a slight drizzle of sauce. The focus is on the quality of ingredients and their subtle flavours and the food is rarely spicy. It's also expensive as hell. In contrast, American Japanese food borrows heavily from wasabi and tempura (the Japanese deep fried technique). It adds in piles of flavourful sauces that disguise the taste of the ingredients and then throws a bit of avocado in everything. The act of eating the food is more about saying "look at me I can eat raw fish!" This means that there are not only Japanese, French, Mexican foods, but also Thai French food, Mexican Chinese food, and Korean Indian. I've found that I prefer Japanese French and Italian but American Indian and Mexican. I also love thoroughly love the Thai take on everything.
![ILLSLICK - WINTER IS COMING [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dwTMeM1zIhQ/mqdefault.jpg)
tfw Senpai finally notices you.
Come on the show and eat a hot pepper with us, Mike!
Ok but only if we can eat spicy things and talk about video games.
PBS Idea Channel pleasedothethingpleasedothethingpleasedothethingpleasedothething!!!!
I hope senpai notices me one day. :/
You could try inviting the PBS Game/Show guy too! (since doing video game discussion is his thing)
PBS Idea Channel
The clamoring masses demand it.
Holy moly. After I found your channel, I went to your twitter, started watching your older vids, and the more I watched of you, the more I thought "I really like this guy's brain." This channel became one that I specifically looked for content from because I like how you discuss subjects in a way that feels relatable but is still very thorough and articulate. Then I saw this one, and when you talked to me, my shoulders went up to my ears and I actually made this face :O for a good couple of minutes before I made a very high pitched noise that my cats found to be unpleasant. I adore your brain!!!!! This made my week...thank you for your kind words, you're so awesome!
Edit: I just turned 30 too! Happy Birthday!
this is why the internet is so amazing!
*any chance we'll see some idea channel asmr role-plays? ;)
There aren't enough thumbs for me to up.
Hey, Mike did a podcast on ASMR. Check it out here: www.infiniteguest.org/reasonably-sound/2014/10/whisper-quiet/
It's always awesome to see favorite TH-camrs interacting! :DD
I found the obsessive one.
Epic Meal Time seems like the most American thing ever then, if 'Murica is the shaded area on the Venn Diagram of food and competition. They're really keen on food as a challenge, maybe even more so than actual eating competitions because they've found a way to make it a mass spectator event and not just restricted to a county fayre or something.
Some products in the UK include a signature on their label as a sign of authenticity or heritage. Earl Grey teabags have Earl Grey's name signed on, Worcestershire Sauce (I dare you to pronounce that) has Lea & Perrins' names on, some pasta sauces do too. Not just the celebrity ones, which you'd expect them to put their monikers to, but the ones trying to claim a historical connection. I guess it's a way of making the product seem more personal, less faceless? Although weirdly, HP sauce doesn't...
First time I ever ate a jalapeno (and last time I did it intentionally) was part of an on the spot challenge when I worked at Burger King. me and two other employees that had never had it before each ate one at the same time...I failed almost immediately, but it was fun.
Mexican here. I never noticed but you're right, we tend put ladies and maps on sauce. Damn.
If I think about it's probably because, at least in Mexico, salsa (I've heard that over there just one kind of sauce is called salsa, but here, all sauces are salsa) is something your mother and grandmother makes, they have the recipe and know how to cook it, not your dad (it's almost weird to see a man roasting tomatoes and peppers on a comal to make salsa). Salsa and it's consumption is matrilineal, your mom teaches you to eat spicy. My grandmother used to accompany every meal with a couple of fresh Chiles de Árbol (bird's beak chile?), taking full bites off of them like it was nothing.
Funny how America feels that eating spicy is a masculine trait.
emmmm, cool but one minor mistake, the label on "Salsa valentina" is not the country of origin its actually a state called Jalisco located in Mexico.
AGH! I totally forgot to fix this! I meant to correct myself in-video with a funny graphic but totally forgot. Will correct next in next comment-response. Thanks.
Those foreign guys are right. Uber-spicy stuff that overpowers your food seems pointless to me.
It's only once your mouth is ruined and tears run down your cheeks that you can appreciate the flavors of hot sauces, and the gain it brings to your food.
When you get used to it is not overpowering.
I buy it mostly to screw with friends. Also we play card games and the loser picks a punishment out of a hat, "Hotsauce Butthole Wipe" one of the papers you can pick lelelel.
THAT'S MY HOT SAUCE WATERCOLOUR!
Sriracha is so great because it tastes like chilis, instead of vinegar and pain. Lookin' at you Tabasco.
Is the popularity of Sriracha not an example of hegemonic struggle in action? In artistic popular culture the consumer's views are in tension with the author's views; however, in the popular culture that we see in advertising, the consumer's views are in tension with the author's perceptions of the consumer's views. The authors of the labels on American hot sauce believe that the market subscribes to traditional, American ideals of strength, bravery, masculinity, etc. However, the consumer responds by purchasing hot sauce with a relatively benign label from Asia, revealing that they do not reflect the advertiser's preconceptions of their cultural values. Instead, they are in a dialectical struggle with the author to move towards a globalised hot sauce market.
Therefore, all history is the history of hot sauce marketing.
+Blergenmeblorger This is so great.
So THAT'S how you pronounce Sriracha. I've always just kinda gurgled and then said "The rooster sauce."
That's not how it's pronounced but it's not an English word so I don't think English speakers are expected to say it correctly.
***** According to Huy Fong themselves: "Sriracha is pronounced Shree (rhymes with tree) - rA - CHa." www.huyfong.com/no_frames/guestlog2.htm
***** Just got PBS Idea Channel sauced.
PBS Idea Channel I'm on my phone. That link just takes me to comments. I heard the pronunciation(s) on a trailer for a documentary about sriracha. If I can find it I'll post a link.
Yep Cock-sauce
Mike, it's interesting you would say McIlhenry's label looks like a whisky label, since it is aged in whisky barrels. I think the company hit its mark!
AMAAAAAAZING! It is silly that I did not know this!
The same concept can be said of sour candy. They often times feature illustrations of people going crazy from how sour they are, puckering like a baby, or even flat out exploding. It's almost as if the marketing ideas of hot sauce were aimed at a more pre-teenage to teenage demographic. The pictures on these kinds of candy usually depicts older children and brings back the whole are-you-tough-enough-to-handle-it thing. Sour candy becomes a challenge to not pucker which is basically a much more kid-friendly version of the challenge to not spit out or throw up hot sauce. There are even candies built around the concept of hazardous weapons and materials just as their are weapon-themed hot sauces.
I like Sriracha precisely because it isn't all that hot and it tastes like something more than pain.
The idea of hot sauces making food a challenge is spot on in my mind. I personally love eating insanely spicy food for the same reason I love long distance running; I enjoy seeing how much pain I can endure before I quit.
I've never understood why people liked hot sauce until now. See, that actually makes a lot of sense with it being a competition or a test of endurance or whatever. I can eat exceptionally, exceptionally spicy food and not even break a sweat.. but it's also really unpleasant to me. I look at it like "Well, I COULD eat dirt, but it doesn't taste GOOD.". I never understood because everyone would just go "I dunno, I just like it." "But why? It doesn't taste good." "Well, I like it.".
Depending on your location, it could make your feels better. www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/27/spicy-food_n_1628200.html . After that your habits kicks in.
I think it must be a difference in tastes or a difference in kinds of hot sauces, because I definitely really like the spiciness AND the taste! Also - I don’t find the sensation necessarily “unpleasant;” I love how it feels to eat hot things. I think there is just a really wide gamut of how people [/their taste buds] react to spicy stuff. :)
I find it terribly sad you have not found a hot sauce you like the flavor of. I do not know where you reside, but I implore you to ruminate on your choicest flavors or aromas and let us help you find a hot sauce that will entice you on top of warm you.
Have you primarily dealt with sauces heavy on vinegar or focused on spicy uncommon peppers rather than flavor?
Sauces have a good taste, and the feeling of the spiciness feels on your tongue. Well, for some people. Taste varies a lot: some people hated overly sweet chocolate, other like bitter chocolate, some like drinking beer in medium temperature, others like it freezing cold. I myself prefer a sauce which it's spiciness doesn't burn my tongue so I can apreciate it's taste, and the taste is not so strong so I can still feel the flavor of what I'm eating.
Wow. I actually thought it was a setup in a studio somewhere. Impressive! I love "behind the scenes" looks or "breaking the 4th wall" moments in any kind of media.
I can barely eat barbecue chips, spicy food is not my thing. I remember one family vacation where my brother (who loves spicy food) bought a bottle of hot sauce. this hot sauce was called something like Triple Death Sauce or something like that, and had a sckull and fire on it, and said something about it being one of the spiciest hot sauces in the world. And we all had a turn dipping the tip of a toothpick in it, licking it, and then making a run for the fridge for the milk. It was fun, but I'm never doing that again. the nearly full bottle is still in our fridge, it's probably about 6 years old
The only thing better than hot sauce? _Aged_ hot sauce. If you had to run for the milk after a toothpick-licking, bring a cow if they ever decide to re-open it.
Does this sauce look like this?
img.auctiva.com/imgdata/7/8/9/4/6/4/webimg/549518027_tp.jpg
Boško Igić no it does not, it was a much smaller bottle. I forget what it was called, my brother has it at his place.
When I was in college this boastful kid from Brazil said nothing in America is truly "hot" as my friend was displaying a bottle of hot sauce. I don't remember the name of it. My friend told the Brazilian kid that this sauce was so hot that nobody could eat it without it being mixed in a huge pot of chili or something. The Brazilian kid said he could take a swig of it and it would not bother him. My friend said no, this stuff is different than anything he has ever encountered. The Brazilian whipped out a $100.00 Bill and laid it on the table and bet he could take a swig. My friend pulled out a piece of celery and dipped a tiny bit on it, he put on gloves to open the bottle. He said if you can eat this I'll give you $100. Just at that time the Brazilian kid grabbed the bottle and took a swig! 5 seconds later he's on the ground writhing in pain. He rubbed his eyes and now he can't see. We had to call an ambulance to take him to the hospital. The next week the Brazilian kid said that it was hot sauce he drank, it was nuclear radioactive waste!
little note* The Valentina Sauce isn't showing it's country of origin, that's actually the shape of "Jalisco", a state inside Mexico, where the sauce is made. :D
I wish I could comment but my tongue is so sensitive that garlic tastes spicy to me if there's too much.
in New Zealand, mascot animals and people are rarely ever used because it just seems so tacky... no cereal in NZ has a fucking cereal captain man or fun, furry animal on it because we see it as pointless and we want to buy a product that is true to itself - a product that doesnt need a mascot to be good. its also why sports teams rarely have mascots (or ones that people remember) and neither does our hot sauce. there are no shops that even sell hot sauce with any sort of animal or person on it, because nobody buys them. all our hot sauces have a logo, the sauce name, and that's it.
mascots and unnecessary claims do not sell well at all in New Zealand and i feel that it is very much an americanised thing. i would say that people from my country are 'no-nonsense' when buying things. that is why our most popular breakfast item is locally-made (factory is literally down the road from the supermarket i go to) wheat biscuits that taste completely bland on their own, and the packaging is just a picture of the item, with some fruit around it (most people eat it with fruit, or sugar, or something).
seeing any commercial with a mascot gives a 'oh, here we go again, another crappy american cereal' feeling. The whole culture of New Zealand is very 'shut the fuck up and get on with it'. and so anything more than what is necessary is seen as pointless and waste of time, unless it makes the good a better quality.
I bet there are a lot of immigrant neighborhoods with various sauces and foodstuffs with animals on them.
tuffylaw immigrant neighbourhoods? they dont exist in New Zealand...
You seem to take the stance that Americans aren't aware of the "tackiness" of annoying mascots and slogans, but I think a lot of us are. There's a difference between mindless consumption of stupidity, and reveling in that which is cliche. I'm not saying there aren't mindless consumers, but when it comes to things as outrageous as a donkey sweating out bullets, blowing smoke out of its ears, and grasping its hooves to the toilet it's seated on, the tackiness of the product becomes a joke in and of itself. Not to mention America still has a "culture" surrounding mascots that's more based in tradition than actual persuasion. Mascot's were paired with products to make them memorable decades ago, that can play well with nostalgia, and it would almost be brand betrayal at this point for some of them to abandon their mascots, which might have a negative impact on "company pride".
The "no-nonsense" attitude towards advertisements in general, I will admit, is preferable in many circumstances, seeing as it is far less likely to draw in "dirty tactics" which poison our culture (basically things that claim to sell more than they actually can, like sex or being cool), but a funky animal on a box doesn't have a down side.
lyle evan i think the difference is that New Zealanders actively dont buy products with mascots, because they are seen as untrustworthy.
PJemus I totally understand and respect the NZ ways. But, that sounds boring and grey. Not because Iam into consumism, just because I love cartoons.
I love how he confirms his hipsterness in this video. I'm not a fan of them (I saw his video on it) but it's good to see ppl owning their personalities. Be proud of your hot sauce collection good sir!
I'm a Korean living in New Zealand, so this episode was really interesting. As you point out, the 'meal as a competition' idea relates back to national identity.
In Korea, there is a spicy paste-sauce called gochu-jang. I remember a TV ad for it a while back, where it showed a Korean man living overseas who would imagine putting that sauce on EVERYTHING, like spaghetti, pizza, and hamburgers, before snapping out of his imagination and realising that he didn't have any of that sauce. Despite the stunning scenery of Europe, the Korean man is seen screaming in despair.
In New Zealand, there was a TV ad for Watties' Tomato Sauce (with its own theme song!) where various shots of New Zealanders are seen putting tomato ketchup also on EVERYTHING like sushi. It was a way of depicting Watties' as a product related to New Zealand identity, and the gochu-jang is the same in this respect - and similar to American hot sauce.
It's amusing since the idea of nationalism and national identity can be considered as social constructs - Billig's concept of banal nationalism comes to mind. None of the aforementioned sauces are inherently related to their respective cultures, and you could say the same about American hot sauce and Americans. I wish I knew more about hot sauce culture, but I have a lot of reading to do :(
There've been 2 videos on GIFs and 1 on hot sauce but still none on furries? XD
That's because that is the appropriate number of videos on furries.
Mike likes to take unique perspectives on the things he makes shows about. He never just goes with the flow and talks about the topical issues of any given cultural phenomenon. For example, Mike tried to make a "How trolling can be good for you" episode, but he got super uncomfortable in the making of it. If you want furries, you have got to find a new angle on it, like (and i literally just made this up) "How are furries represent a new form of American Romanticism." I don't know if this is accurate at all, but it would have to along those lines. Y'know?
Kenny Brightwell
I'm pretty sure he's saving that topic to do it full justice. It's a pretty huge and influential subculture, yaknow?
Just be happy that this exists, personally I don't care what he puts on here or not, its all interesting isn't it?
Geez everyone, I just posted this as a half-joke, I'm not complaining.
I'm trying to think of any hot sauces that are genuinely German. Hot mustard and horseradish cream (think of white wasabi) comes to mind. Most of the labels just say "hot" or, if they're fancy "very hot", which doesn't mean what it might mean in the US. I consider them mild.
But it does seem that this "everything is a challenge" approach is a very American one. It seems often enough to be a means to show your environment how great or tough you are, but it's also about showing yourself that you can overcome the obstacles inside of you (or your bowels). I'm thinking of things like "30 day nail art challenge", "crossfit" or even "the seven day juice cleanse". Overcoming yourself, enduring pain and discomfort, and finally being victorious makes it look like you Americans are on a spiritual quest. The harder it is to achieve your goal, the more valuable it is once you've achieved it. And just like hot sauce, you put this idea on everything.
"The hotter the battle, the sweeter the victory"
Dude you love hotsauce like I love mayo
Your love for the challenge and the endurance and the spice of hotsauce mirrors my own love for the soft, creamy and mouth/throat filling fullness of the pillow-luxury of dipping various foods in soothing, pleasurable and downright decadent dollops of mayonnaise, though I cannot claim to as large a variety or anything much of the labels
Outside of differing levels of fat content (Which makes the difference between mayo and salad cream) and various flavourings added to it, mayo is generally a one-stop shop where your purchase decisions are less about the type of mayo you like and more about seasoning it to taste
But just like your hotsauce love, I find it is the best addition to most food that adds the feather pillows and wooly blanket to what would otherwise be a threadbare, if very comfortable bed, elevating a night's sleep (a satisfying meal) to exceptional luxury and almost deplorable decadence, to the point where, the pain you and other hotsauce lovers enjoy alongside your hotsauce, mirrors my own masochism of shame and "feeling like a fatass" which lacks a specific term.
It's like my sister and ketchup. She used to put it on ice-cream
Have you tried the wonderful thing that is butter....
wmconorbrown
Yes I have
It's also good but, not as universal outside of the cooking process
whait I thought you loved gravy?
*****
I NEVER claimed I didn't, or anything of the kind
The best thing is homemade mayo with gambas
I also used to be "proud" of my ability to eat spicy food, it should be noted that I am from Scandinavia, and extremely spicy food is very difficult to come by there, so honestly I doubt I was ever very good at eating spicy food by Asian, Caribbean, Latin or North American standards, and realizing this, kind of ruined my pride a bit. However, since I've gotten over my admittedly petty competitive relationship with "heat", I have now started to see it as more of an ingredient that can enhance the flavor of food. I am not really a "master" of spicy food consumption anymore, but I can honestly say that I enjoy spicy food a lot more now than I used to. I definitely think that a spicy taste can improve the quality of a meal, but it is more about balance, I often try good food and think that even though it is not too hot for me to handle, it would taste better if it had a more moderate level of spiciness, just as I often try food that would strongly benefit from adding more heat.
Nice apartment, Mike!
Thanks! :D
I have finally officially watched every Idea Channel episode from the beginning! Phew what a ride. Needless to say I love your stuff Mike, keep up the excellent work :)
How did you discover Secret Aardvark? That's my hometown sauce! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET!
Keep up the good work, Idea Channel! Tackling the topics everyone else is too scared to acknowledge!
salsa Valentina doesn't have a country on it's label it's a state in Mexico. I think it's Jalisco but I'm not sure.
+YuKi Mekishiko Yep, It's Jalisco, I think that's where it's from.
Yes! It is!
wow que Hermosa eres
One of my favourite episodes. I'd love you to veer off from pop culture more often! Highly entertaining.
As a Nigerian, the theory doesn't hold that hot and spicy flavours is a complement to dishes to other cultures outside the USA. We consume hot peppers with an intensity that gives most other people diarrhea. A fellow African nation (which I will not name for their benefit) once came over to play a football match and insisted on eating our famous pepper soup the night before (which most people consume on a weekly bases). They had to forfeit the game. 99% of American hot sauce to home grown Nigerians is but a tingle on the tongue. All label art no power.
The difference with us and America is that America turns it into a sort of competition or feat while we simply consume it as the norm. American culture seems to exaggerate every achievement or goal hence the skulls, crossbones and such. A Nigerian would not think to put any such a display on their spicy food because it is a moot point... of course its spicy. Finally, I'll leave you with a proverb from the Yoruba people of Nigeria that translates to "a life without pepper is not a life worth living".
Ah, the boastful!
HyperOpinionated Is it boasting if what one is saying is true though?
Mayowa Adegboyega You don't know that it is true.
HyperOpinionated I don't know that what is true exactly?
Mayowa Adegboyega
I think the point being made is that Nigerians don't know what a life without pepper is, so passing judgement on such a life is speaking with the authority of ignorance.
Of course, I think it is a bit of deliberate misinterpretation of your obvious intent, which is only understandable when you put us non-heat loving Americans in context: we get a lot of insults, and this one isn't very original.
Pleeeeeeeeeese never, never stop doing these wonderful and intelligent videos. I am going to cry my eyes out if you do.
While I love spicy foods, I have a weird, almost inexcusable requirement: they should taste good. This is insane in my culture because most people understand spicy only as a competition, to accompany smashing beer cans against their foreheads and headbutting each other in a frenzy of macho.
But I actually enjoy spicy food. I know, it's crazy... But the right flavor of heat is *wonderful*. The experience of eating it is delicious, slightly painful, cathartic, paced, exhilarating, and ultimately rewarding. But above all? Delicious! When the flavor is wonderful and the spice correctly complements and empowers that flavor, instead of masking it with heat, then THAT is a proper spicy meal.
I'm really tired of people talking about how dangerously spicy their chili or chicken is... there's no thought required to dump more peppers or hotter peppers into food, and it doesn't necessarily add much to the experience of eating (unless you need a competition). So much spicy food actually tastes disgusting, because flavor never occurred to the cook. They were only competing for max spicy and bragging rights among competitive audiences... what a waste. (And this doesn't even get into my qualms with marketing claims of foods being dangerously spicy, when I would classify them as mild or medium at most -- that's another story. Claims do not always pan out).
If you want me to sample your chili, talk about how wonderfully tasty it is and how much the heat adds to that flavor. I'm not eating this food to win a victory or bragging rights: by all means, enjoy your victory over me. You won, you can eat spicier foods. You are the top masochistic contestant. If it means that much to you, there you are. But I'm eating spicy food to enjoy eating it.
Heresy! Blasphemy! The idle rantings of a madman! Silence him at once! How dare he show insufficient enthusiasm for maximum spicy! What audacity, to demand flavor over heat!
Yea, I know. I have trouble finding people who agree. I'm just soooo tired of bitter or tasteless food that only burns.
(BTW: I do add spicy for the sake of spicy when I have a cold and need to clear my sinuses, but that's when I can't taste the food anyway) ^_^
BTW, the spicy flavors that have recently seized my heart are all from a local restaurant called Holy Smokes BBQ. Their spicy fried pickles are delicious, and I love their beef brisket with white sauce. For those of you who don't have an equivalent BBQ restaurant nearby that offers really good spicy flavors... I'm so, so sorry. (but I'm secretly laughing maniacally at your misfortune)
Daniel Hale Yeah, you're the rebel alright.
I know that's sarcasm, and it would be nice if it were misplaced. But it's getting really hard to find spicy food that is more than mere spicy for spicy's sake. That BBQ place I mentioned above changed their recipes to be more flavorless and more spicy. :(
Daan Guldemont Yea, seems like something everyone would get instinctively But I've been to too many chili cook-offs where the spiciness was often maximized for bragging rights: How spicy could you make your chili, and who could eat the spiciest. Reminds me of the Simpsons episode with Insanity Peppers. :) At some point the heat kills the flavor... especially ghost peppers, they taste terrible.
Not everyone does it, but it stinks when it happens. Good news though... that BBQ place fixed their sauce so it's delicious again!
I absolutely loved this diversion from the normal Idea Channel format. Mike's apartment is great, and it's awesome hearing about something he's so passionate about! More of these please.
Also subscribed to your podcast. Very excited.
Seeing as a lot of your episodes are USA-focused (though of course as PBS is American I understand) I was wondering if you could do an episode on English/British culture, as an Englishman I think it'd be interesting to see how Americans see British art and culture.
One idea I had was on a show called "The Inbetweeners". It's one of the most successful UK sitcoms ever, had 2 films (though only 18 episodes as its English TV); yet an American remake flopped. Why do you think there is such a difference in British and American humour?
Or feel free to select some other British vs US culture clash
Ths is a brilliant idea for an episode. I would plus one it but I feel like replying to it will help other people (and more importantly, IDEA channel) see this
Do both? ;)
Some British humor translates well to American audiences. Monty Python did well here.
HyperOpinionated Exactly, that would make it an even more interesting episode. Why does some hit while others miss?
Here in Mexico in the taquerías we usually have 3 levels to measure how spicy is a sauce: "Spicy", "not spicy" & "for gringos" (usually a guacamole with a touch of chiles).
We love spicy food so much that there are some delicious habanero jam and Serrano jam (that you can buy in Coyoacan, next to the Gandhi bookstore in Miguel Angel de Quevedo, Mexico City).
Finally, for the people who aren't accustomed to spicy food, we tend to call spicy sauces "Bell sauce" because it rings when it enters and rings again when it goes out (Porque pica al entrar y repica al salir)
WHERE THE FUCK IS THE TAPATIO? HOT SAUCE EXPERT? I THINK NOT.
Have you noticed Tapatio's label looks like Gomez Addams on it
An Human I also noticed I put it on everything LOL
tokento91 It's not hot enough for a real hot sauce fan.
cbernier3 NO, it's realy frickin hot xD
tokento91 No it isn't. Tapatio is only 3000 Scoville units. Sriracha is 2200. Cholula is 3600 Scoville, tastes like ketchup to me. These are not for the real hot sauce fans, not for the chileheads. You need to eat a lot more spicy and build up your tolerance. What I would like is a hot sauce around 30,000, that's 10 times hotter then Tapatio. The hottest I have right now is 180,000. SIXTY times hotter then Tapatio. You aren't a real chilehead until you can break 10,000 at least. The serious ones get past 100,000, and there are crazy people going past 1,000,000.
Goodness, I love this show! It's extremely well put-together and always explores a sincerely interesting subject.
I might seem like an over pompous ass for saying this, but I did not know that Sriracha was hot. I use it all the time and I never thought of it as being really spicy.
its really more of a sweet sauce to me, too. but people have widely varying tolerances.
I use it for the taste, goes so well with crisps (Potato chips if you're american)
It's like sweet and sour sauce with a small bit of spice. The Thai stuff is even less hot and more sweet and sour tasting. I like the Thai type better.
Long Hair and Glasses
yes and pizza :) i grew up in south Texas, where hot chili, spicy BBQ, and Jalepenos in every recipe are part of life. in fact i'm a little surprised Texan/Mexican cuisine wasn't mentioned specifically along with Thai and Indian. i'll forgive him though, he's a New Yorker. they don't really get good TexMex or real salsa up there. (shh they think they do though, so when they try to make an exception just look pleased and smile politely.)
There was so much to take in in this episode. I am going to go back and re-watch it and then I will have like a million tabs open. For some reason all of the things that you talked about today sparked other ideas in my head and I am kind of having an information overload. So I'm gonna watch it again and then comment.
Sriracha is a hipster thing? That's completely new to me, considering that I grew up seeing sriracha. The creator himself is Vietnamese though the name is based from the location in Thailand.
I'm going to leave this article on Sriracha.
www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-himi-tran-20130414-story.html
Oh my yes. Rooster sauce used to be a pretty obscure product, and now it's everywhere...but like so many things, when it was just on that first slope upward on the popularity curve, it was definitely seen as a hipster food item. A lot of Americans liked to pretend it was this spooky foreign sauce they found collecting dust in a corner of their more eccentric supermarkets. The Oatmeal comic was the last nail in the coffin for any hipster appeal, though.
I believe the watercolor of Sriracha is the hipster thing. Sriracha itself is sold in grocery stores everywhere so hardly hipsterish on its own.
As much as I love to mock hipsterdom, it is true what Michael Gonzales, says, that it is the watercolour. The Sriracha itself is just an asian condiment that has become very mainstream. I remember first seeing it at a thai restaurant in a food court.
seems this Southeastern spice of Sriracha has been by been adopted by the popular counterculture known as Hipsters
It's less that the physical/concrete Sriracha is hipster, but the cultural symbol is(or was(more later)). Sriracha is a lot more than a red hot sauce made out of specific ingredients with a rooster on it; It is all those things but it is also every post, comic, or creation about it, its also every idea or association about it. Put simply it is every bit of material and immaterial culture about it or derived from culture about it.
Think of it like this; bacon in and of itself as fried pork strips is not hipster, what makes it hipster is every meme, pin, strip of bacon flavored gum, piece of art, or any other piece of culture involving it. But at that point it's become a lot more than a strip of pig meat, it has a symbolic existence that transcends (not in a new age sense) what it is in a concrete sense.
Sriracha the hot sauce created by Tran is a separate entity than Sriracha the cultural icon though they do overlap and the distinction between them is hard to find.
I would argue that Sriracha(and bacon for that matter) is no longer a hipster thing because of how diffused it is into the culture. The "Theory of Diffusion of Ideas" states that an innovation goes through multiple stages of adoption and as it goes through those stages it transforms from a creation of a few to an idea belonging to a cultures collective conscious. In order for anything to be truly hipster the idea still needs to be the property of a few or at most solely a facet of hipster sub-culture, but because of Siracha's image/popularity throughout American culture and the acceptance of it as a part of the physical object it can't be an idea owned by any individual or group of individuals.
as a recording engineer I'm super happy to hear that you have a podcast just about audio! super cool! Dude you need a cohost!
Mike... are you okay?
Doin' great! How are you?
PBS Idea Channel Doing fine thanks, in my sane, non-hot-sauce-filled flat.
PBS Idea Channel What is my profile picture from?
"They're not even paying me to say this."
Here's an idea: Why do we ship fictional characters?
Every single time I watch one your videos I learn something new. That's great and I look forward to new episodes. Thank you for not only the knowledge, but the entertainment as well. I believe if John Wayne was around today (and enjoyed/watched TH-cam) he would say, "When you sit down for a helpin' of TH-cam, you better have some 'PBS Idea Channel Hot Sauwesome' by your side."
Well put!
haha thank you
Hipster mode activate!
I remember loving sriracha sauce from when I was very young in Western Washington, bc every East Asian restaurant had it. Teriyaki, Korean BBQ, Chinese, phō, all of them. It is cool how it's gotten so much more popular in recent years.
And we called it roster sauce. And we walked FIFTEEN miles on the snow to get it... wait...
This was such an awesomely personal video for you, I love your kind of absurd passion for a condiment! Would love to see more videos about the Idea channel crew's passions and interests.
On watching this, I am reminded of a Phineas and Ferb episode where Candace defends the act of judging a book by its cover on the grounds that covers are there to help us judge books. The same can be said for food labels and clothes for that matter. What we choose to put on ourselves, our stuff, or our products is an expression of self, or a claim of self. This is especially true of products. Companies are making a claim about what they are about. Therefore, they are trying to understand what you are about so that they can know what it is that you will buy.
Speaking form Mexico, here every food item seems to have a motherly figure who "lovingly prepared this plate and you're gonna eat it or I swear to god I'm gonna shove it down your throat".
You know: mom´s love.
In the Caribbean (im from Trinidad) we call it pepper sauce. Whats funny is in America I always hear of Jamaican "hot sauce" but when any Jamaican try our special pepper sauce that we mix, blend and at times it sits like a fine wine, they run for their lives.
In the Caribbean we dont only go for the hot, but mostly the taste and of the pepper and seasoning, but even with the taste alone (and that can happen without burn) we still miss the hot pepper hot. Hot = good flavors. If it don't have good flavor then the food has to be good and we enjoy it that way.
Mike, between our mutual love of hot sauce and The Simpsons, you are quickly becoming my favorite TH-camr. First time commenting, but I've been watching for a while now. Thanks for putting these tidbits of critical thinking out on the interwubs for folks like me.
"Whiskey and a tough life on the range ain't fer everybody. Just the rugged." *spittoon noise*
I've got a new favorite Idea Channel snippet.
"The level of my hipstertude was not in question." Can I just say that I admire your level of self-awareness? It's always refreshing to see people embrace their labels instead of trying to deny them. Though, yes, we do become overly concerned with labels at times.
I'm Italian, and we have the so-called "culture of food".
We love to eat, we love to cook, we love to BUY food. Because of this, we don't really need some fancy images or cowboys of animals on our products (unless they are for children or imported from other countries), we choose to buy something because of its tradition.
For example, speaking about hot sauce, we have this spicy sausage (that can be spread on bread or even pizza) called 'nduja. It's from Calabria, in the South of Italy. If I want to by some 'nduja for the first time, I won't choose the one with the prettiest package, but the one which claims to be made in Calabria, by the same family, for the past 10 decades.
In general, Italian boxes show picturesque images of men growing plants, peasants carrying food, Tuscany landscape, usually along with sentences as "Growing tomatoes. Since 1908"
I think that this is our way to show our passion for our tradition!
PS: Sorry for my poor English!
My joke when I decline adding hotsauce and they insist it adds flavor is "when I am wincing and waving air into my mouth.. I am NOT saying TOO.. MUCH... FLAVOR!!!"For there is spicy, and then there are chemical burns. There IS a line there.
Dave's Ghost Pepper Sauce: "Works well as a grease remover" LOL
When I was younger, and when I had a thicker lining in my digestive tract, I was a massive heat freak. But it wasn't a competition. It was only made into a competition by others seeking to "prove me wrong". To me, it was 30% flavor and 70% adrenaline rush.
Mega Death Sauce was my go-to. At the time of its release, it was the 2nd hottest condiment on the planet. I loved that thing. I grew such a "tolerance" to the heat, that I used to douse everything I ate with it. Food *was* my delivery mechanism. Burritos, burgers, pizza, hot dogs, mashed potatoes, steak, salad, steamed brocolli, and, even once, green tea ice cream (it was delicious). But I could taste the flavor underneath all that heat. I loved that rounded taste of habanero, cayenne, ginger and molasses. But most of all, (the reason I put "tolerance" in quotes) I had become an adrenaline junkie.
I had a problem. And the day I saw one of my friends go to the hospital after a hot sauce eating competition involving two bottles of Dave's Ultimate Insanity (which wasn't even half as hot as my usual)... I realized I should probably stop. But I didn't. I continued for a while after. And it was at the worst time in my life to have realized I was beginning to get a trifecta of ulcers. On a camping trip in Sequoia National Park...
The adrenaline rush was not something to be savored that weekend... Nor was the state of my bowel movements and internal inferno...
It's been 12 years since that day, and I've since recovered. I eat spicy things from time to time, but the last time I had any of my old alma infernum, Blair's Mega Death Sauce, I only had a drop, and I realized I could never go back, literally. It felt like getting hit by a molten ton of bricks.
I offer this as words of warning. I see your collection. And I saw your Blair's hot sauce set. I'll just say, enjoy the highly spicy ones in moderation. Extreme moderation. Like once-or twice-a-year moderation.
Every culture has its odd excessive behaviors: drinking, smoking, "medicines", body adornments, etc. But I think America has truly made an industry of the belittling advertisement. If you don't drink this beer, you won't be able to become the most interesting man in the world. If you don't buy this muscle car, you'll be laughed at, you idiot.
Hot sauce is just cheap to make, and easy to sell to those who are easily taken to being belittled. It's pure an simple. If you can't handle this, you have to reassess your importance in the world.
Which is why Huy Fong Foods is an enigma. Huy Fong doesn't advertise. It never has.
All hail Sriracha.
Thank you so much for reminding me of Reasonably Sound. I found it very intriguing and advanced, yet tranquil and relaxing.
You concluded that the labels demonstrate America's views of food as an affirmation of awesomeness, but I think it speaks to American culture as a whole. Our politics based on competition and one-up-man-ship while campaigning (though this is hardly an isolated phenomenon), and our romanticizing of burly self-made men support this sentiment.
Yay! Thanks for telling us about your podcast! I'm subscribing to it.
I was sitting on TH-cam thinking... it's been a while. And then suddenly a wild Idea Channel appeared. So, yeah. Great episode. For once I have an anecode to share.
My buddy Dan and I went to Texas for SXSW (same one we met Mike at) and at this particular SXSW we went to a little venue which was hosting a group selling "Nuclear Tacos".
We're both English, from England. Our cuisine is not known for its spiciness. We have plenty of Indian food over here but even that is fairly underwhelming when it comes to spice.
We waited in line for like 15 minutes and finally we got the option between three different spicinesses. Dan chose a taco with the medium spice. I, seeing Dan's choice, chose the exact same taco with the exact same level of spiciness... but with a drop of the HIGHEST LEVEL OF SPICE.
Before we both went to munch on our spicy lunch, we headed to the beverage stall. Dan took a beer, thinking it would be like an Indian back home. I was a little more cautious, getting a coke which would be more appropriate for when the food gets too spicy.
As it turns out, I had made the right move. *Well done me* [/sarcasm].
Thanks to my sensible choice of drink i was soon the victim of desperate robbery. Dan and I both took a bite out of our respective tacos at the same time and yet he continued, and then quickly dispensed with his beer. It didn't take long before he was gagging for a thirst-quenching and he grabbed my coke, leaving me liquidless for at least 10 minutes, mouth burning from the sauce.
So from what I can tell, this is what hot sauce brings out in anyone:
* The competitive spirit
* Betrayal
Nevertheless, I hope you understand!. Good episode!
Dan
Mike need need needs to go on Hot Ones!
He's not famous enough, sadly 😭
I live in the American heart of spicy food, Louisiana. I find a lot of hot sauce that comes outside of this state is not about taste or "enhancing" your food rather then just being "lol so hot." My favorite is probably Crystal hot sauce.
One thing I would love to ask you is your thought on 'creole seasoning shakers'. Examples being Tony Chachere, or Slap yo Mamma. (not store bought creole seasoning you get in the spice isle you cook with, I mean the Louisiana substitute for salt and pepper found on every table in the state.) They seem to be just as, if not, more popular in my neck of the woods than hot sauce. They don't take the place of hot sauce, more just complement it. You can never not have one without the other, like salt and pepper. People are always discussing the best combo of sauce to shaker. In combination of my collection of sauces AND shakers I probably have more bottles then you. Everyone and everyplace makes and bottles their own. The shakers have similar label designs as the sauces but they seem to have a branch the hot sauces can't really obtain, like a more "elegant and lady like" design the local mom and pop stores sell and just a down and dirty "I made this in my shed" design. I don't know how common these shakers are outside of the deep south, I know Tony's can be found all over but trust me when I say that rabbit hole is just as deep and complex as hot sauce. Great video!
Is it just me or do you as well find it really cool that he's one other youtuber that actually responds to the comments?
I don't even like hot sauce but I think this is my most favorite Idea Channel video yet.
I'm glad you mentioned the fact that sriracha is a type of hot sauce, not just a brand. I found a bottle of actual Thai sriracha a few months ago at my local Asian market, and there's actually quite a difference in texture, and it's actually a little sweeter as well.
Whoa! I was not expecting a mention of Hot Pepper Gaming. Mike NEEDS to be a guest on that show!
Thank you for mentioning that everything with Sriracha in it ends up tasting like Sriracha. This is why I never, ever use Sriracha as a garnish or condiment, but instead for doing things like coating chopped chicken pieces, which then goes in something else. It's a great sauce, but the reason many people seem to use it ends up being the main reason why I wouldn't.
Personal preference. :)
I put it on Asian-style dumplings (potstickers) and fried rice.
It's good for breathing life into bland Chinese take out or last night's pizza.
Not culinary excellence by far, but it serves enough of a purpose for it to be a staple.
Dakrith
I don't disagree. It strikes a much better balance between flavour and heat than other popular hot sauces, and it's still totally worth having.
Speaking of which, that's another general trend of American hot sauces. Either it really isn't all that spicy but tastes ok, or it gets fairly spicy but tastes like garbage. As though people figured nobody would be able to taste it anyway so they just didn't care how it tasted.
it's good with noodle soup
Yeah I can definitely attest to the fact that Americans view hotsauce as some kind of challenge. I'm a Mexican American and one thing that always strikes me is when I go to Mexican restaurants in America that have hot sauce labeled as more or less authentic by spiciness. I swear I actually saw a sauce rack with the hottest labeled "mexican" and the least spicy labeled "gringo." Which is funny because in Mexico food is spicy but its not like a war to make things spicier, (for the most part) there isn't some "winner" where you've reached "true" spiciness.
my partner just received more than 810 real #followers Currently with the site *INSTAPHAMOUS [.] COM*
Have you heard of the hot sauce Mad Dog 357? My sister got my a dad a bottle of the collectors addition for the stuff. The collector's addition is 600,000 scoville units (I assume you know what these are), as opposed to the regular sauce's 357,000. If this isn't an American hot sauce by your description, I don't know what is. It's got the warning label declaring itself exempt from damages after opening or gifting. With it comes a tiny spoon inside of a bullet-shaped casing. Not only is it spicy, it has a really great flavor with it two. That tiny spoonful is enough for a whole burger, which means that bottle is going to last a long time. It also makes a great marinade or addition to soup that doesn't make the dish that spicy.
Speaking of podcasts, Mike Rugnetta: Whenever I listen to "Welcome to Night Vale" and hear Cecil talk, I picture your face as the one talking.
SECRET AARDVARK!! This sauce has been my favorite since moving to Portland, OR (where it originated), but how can we keep it a secret if you keep telling people about it?
The only sauce I recognized among the ones you showed was _Valentina_ . It was so bizarre to see the same bottle which is on my fridge on your channel.
I'm by no means a sauce expert, but at least I'm a sort of _Valentina_ aficionado. What I can tell you is that the label is mostly a symbol of regional and cultural pride. _Valentina_ is one of the few successful exports from my state (the sate's shape being the red blob you see in the label), and so that brand usually advertises itself as a sort of ambassador from Mexico into other countries. It shouts "look at me! Proud and firm while in foreign land!"
Quite an adorable little bottle
I really enjoyed this episode, didn't even know it but i appreciated the change of scenery
I really enjoyed this episode. Most of the time the subject material more directly or indirectly involves the interwebz or internet culture a bit more. I appreciate the departure, and would be interested to see your take on more obscure subjects like hotsauces.... I have no suggestions though, I'll save that for someone else :D
Sriracha has a distinctive flavor though. Some of these hot sauces are simply about enduring the pain, but the good ones like Tabasco and Sriracha bring the flavor.
I too love hot sauce, and having carried it around with me since freshman year (high school) I've realized how much other people do to. I'm constantly being asked "can I have some" I guess it's on of those things you remember you like when you have it.
I think I'll always like what Idea Channel does, no matter what format
Having worked at a place that regularly had "Da' Bomb" available, I can confirm that stuff really is pretty rough. Not unconsumably hot, i held the restaurant record of how much i could stand, but it's not something you use every day. I actually cleared out the restaurant during lunch rush because i dropped a bottle, and made the ABSOLUTELY FUCKING STUPID decision to mop it up usign a bottle of HOT water, thinking it would help get the oils off the floor better. Yeah, technically it DID, but mostly by aspirating it into the air. I basically maced the whole place, and cleared us out for about an hour. My boss was a mix of super pissed at ruining the lunch hour, and too busy holding his sides from laughter (OUTSIDE the main door) to be all that mad as i was the only one made to stay inside and finish the cleanup.
That said, a good dollop in curry or chinese food is a great spicy additive!
I @#$%ing hate how people in the USA treat eating as a challenge. I say this as a US-born, European-bred, US resident. Even when waitstaff - excuse me, servers because "waiting" isn't active enough to be an acceptable job description here - asking "Do you want a box or are you still working?" *I AM NOT WORKING*. I am eating, dining in fact. It's called a restaurant because it's supposed to restore you, not deplete you. Do you realize how much healthier we'd be as a nation if people just slowed down enough that they could actually digest their food as they're eating? Why must eating always be digestive shock and awe? The only people we're beating are ourselves.
I like this. It's a fun idea. I have little thoughts in similar veins all the time, but you really formed it up into a complete argument and analysis!
As someone who's been consuming hot sauce and spicy food since I was a toddler, I've gone beyond the challenge of finding "the spiciest" food/add-ons. I more or less have hot sauce and spices for the flavour now (almost any habanero hot sauce + cayenne pepper powder is really good). It's also helps me win at pepper & salsa eating contests.
Hey, this was really interesting! Especially because I love spicy food too! As someone from the southwest that is now living in the midwest, I generally enjoy spicier food than those around me so I've come to be the spicy expert among my friends.
My expertise is less hot sauce and more salsa, however. While I do love a good hot sauce, I'm more of the opinion that spiciness should complement the food, not overpower it. When I first went of to college in the midwest, I was shocked at my inability to find decent salsa (my college was in a small, predominantly white little town surrounded by corn fields, not a bastion of culinary experimentation). I actually had my Dad ship me my favorite salsas when I discovered that the local grocery store only stocked Pace (Pace is fine, I guess, my family calls it "cooking" salsa much as you have wine you use in cooking, not to drink. I have some in my fridge right now for this purpose). In New Mexico where I grew up, the salsa section of the grocery store is quite extensive and full of locally made salsas that you can buy.
I bet there are some patterns to the types of labels, but I don't have enough different salsas at my apartment right now to really make generalizations (I only have four types at the moment, and that's too small a number, I think). I think a lot of my favorites though either have very simple labels with the name of the salsa and bright colors (generally green for mild, yellow for medium, red for hot) or they show a painting like image of a landscape or adobe village or something (again with the green/yellow/red border or background to indicate spiciness). I wonder if the sorts of labels you see vary based on region? I'll probably start paying more attention now.
Ah, food. It's always SO full of meaning, it's incredible.
I'm a Brazilian living in France, and the cultural differences when it comes to food are really fascinating. One thing that strikes me is how traditional methods and ingredients are valued here: old-fashioned labels and names, lots of products which feature a grandmother, plastic packaging made to look like paper, even a revival of "old vegetables" that have become rare... I think all of this can be found elsewhere too (basic baby-boomer nostalgia), but I've yet to meet outside of France the "pur beurre" indication (pure butter) or the proud claim that this cheese is 45% fat.
The "pur beurre" is found on biscuits and cookies, and it really just means there's no margarine or other vegetable oils in the product: the only fat used is butter. Still, it's a peculiar way to phrase it, and anything with that phrase on it would just rot on brazilian shelves.
Not related to labels, but France is also the only place I know where we talk about the food we're about to eat, about the food we just ate, and then *while* we're eating we talk about other foods we've eaten in other occasions. Much love for the eating, here. :)
I have to say I find it juuust a little bit sad that "competition culture" would be so fundamentally widespread across american culture. While I do see it from "out here", I wouldn't have said it was such a defining trait of the US. Oh well.
Also, hooraaaaay for the new podcast!!
Being from Kansas City, Barbeque Sauce labels are this, in large. Though they do intersect with hot sauce labels for the spicier varieties, there remain common themes: animals, usually pigs, often consuming the flesh of their brethren (one sauce, Night of the Living Barbeque Sauce, combines both pigs and outlandishness--cartoon pigs chase a cartoon griller and his steer, saying 'it's hot!'--though no actual cani-pig-ism). An interesting subset. I think labeling in general can say a lot about the culture or market in which it is produced.
I would really like to hear more of Mike's thoughts on sub- and counter-cultures. That would be super interesting.
All I know is that last year, when Facebook started doing those Year In Review auto-posts, my most successful post was a bowl of soup with a Sriracha pentagram drawn on it.
I see a lot of what you were saying, on the cultural side, and even the on the personal side. I was always a fan of spicy food, but I wasn't a fan of heat for heat, I was brave but not looking to be challenged, I enjoyed the nuanced flavors different spicy sauces would impart. My roots were Tabasco, jalapeno chips, and jalapeno laden nachos. Born and raised in Texas hot sauce is imported from far and wide to be put through the gauntlet. Not to mention the entire sub-genre of Texas chili that is SUPER SPICY Texas Chili.
But, I have to say on the "America" side of the culture divide I think we aren't primarily challenge or risk takers, neither are we melodramatic. I think we are exuberant in our love of experiencing new, unique, and foreign things. Americans love their simple american food but most every american I know loves when a new culture becomes represented in their area with a new restaurant or a new neighbor moves in down the street and invites them to a BBQ and you get to look forward to what new twists will we see?
I think americans are just born with an inherent amp set at 11 for things of novelty, and uniqueness and the experience. We see hot sauce as a story to experience from the ingredients and where they hail from and how they're prepared, to the peoples who bring them to us and the dishes they are served in and with, to the new directions americans will imperiously take these sauces and spices exploring uncharted culinary waters.
Buffalo wings went from butter, garlic, and tabasco to downright scary combinations right quick. The wings are just an accepted universal medium for the myriad spice stories to be found in the sauces. Same is true of many ethnic cuisines, fusion foods, and for those of us lucky enough to have them, food truck experiments.
I think the labels show our willingness to be playful, to try new experiences and challenges, but also appreciate the craftsmanship and culinary art involved. Many sauces exist solely to impart heat, but so many more exist to give us truly unique and nuanced flavors. America shows here its inherent truism, we have a place for everyone, and we will gladly experience your culture and flavors even with the dramatic flair of labels, become a part of us and make your unique flavor a part of ours. I would love to try the secret aardvark, I hope to be able to find it and experience what you have experienced in it. I think that is what america brings to the hot sauce game. We will try anything, and whether its a challenge, a flavor, or a story, we're gonna ENJOY it.
Woot woot. Love the mention for Valentia. It is from my hometown of Jalisco,Mexico.
A friend turned me onto Sriracha about four years ago. I'm not normally one for hot and spicy foods, but this "rooster sauce" stuff impressed me by actually tasting like fresh peppers, rather than just a liquid-state delivery system of pure heat (like many hot sauces seem to be).
I had to pause the video so I could get my fave and play along at home...
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(1) But first, Tabasco is actually aged in barrels. Some years ago the Scotch Malt Whisky Society commissioned a barrel of whisky aged in a former Tabasco cask. More of a condiment than a beverage, it was "Undrinkable!"...
(2) I don't know if it's widely distributed or just a regional brand, but my fave is Sontava! (I didn't add the exclamation, it's just part of their name.) It's main ingredients are simple: habaneros, carrots, lime juice and salt. Triple X if you just want the "hot," and Double X if you want to taste the other ingredients. Produced in Belize for a local company. The label features mainly the disk of Aten - the face of the sun in the Spanish style - against a dark leafy jungle...
My favorite thing is Siracha on mac & cheese. I love the combo of creamy, and spicy that's usually only found in asian food. I also put sriracha on my avocados. Don't judge me. Try it.
I had a stir fry frog dish at a Szechuan join in NYC once. It was roughly 50% frog and 50% extremely hot peppers. The red from all the peppers overwhelmed my vision.
I don't care much for hot sauce, and don't really use it myself, but this might be my favorite episode of PBS Idea Channel.
*You've been filming in your apartment this whole time?!* My life is a lie. I mean, I knew there was stuff behind the records, but I thought you had a separate studio...but you just do this stuff at home! MIND BLOWN
I would like to mention that this form of marketing is not only found on Hot Sauce packaging. My favorite example being Salt and Vinegar chips.
In a conversation with friends while living in Japan we came to the conclusion that the best way to discover a countries attitude toward food was to explore its variations on other foods. E.G. Japanese Mexican food comes as small dry burrito with good quality ingredients served on a small plate with a slight drizzle of sauce. The focus is on the quality of ingredients and their subtle flavours and the food is rarely spicy. It's also expensive as hell. In contrast, American Japanese food borrows heavily from wasabi and tempura (the Japanese deep fried technique). It adds in piles of flavourful sauces that disguise the taste of the ingredients and then throws a bit of avocado in everything. The act of eating the food is more about saying "look at me I can eat raw fish!"
This means that there are not only Japanese, French, Mexican foods, but also Thai French food, Mexican Chinese food, and Korean Indian. I've found that I prefer Japanese French and Italian but American Indian and Mexican. I also love thoroughly love the Thai take on everything.