By Pete

Since Easter is in a couple weeks I thought I'd write my next article on the Easter Bunny!  Well, not directly but what he or she eats- namely carrots.  Carrots are used in many of our hot sauces such as our store favorites, Chili Beer and Khan's, all of our Melinda's and Marie Sharp's products, Sharkbite, White Zombie and Harry's Habanero, just to name a few.

Why carrots?  I asked the same thing!  Carrots are used mainly for flavor, to mellow the heat of the peppers, and for consistency. 

As for flavor, carrots are slightly sweet and nutty. Some people think carrots have a ginger or orange flavor.  Whatever your taste buds tell you, carrots have an especially bright orange color.  The brightness of the vegetable makes the sauce more appealing and the sweetness speaks for itself.  Surprisingly, carrots become sweeter when they are cooked to make a hot sauce.

As most of you know many sauces have habaneros in them but the heat of the sauce is not the same as eating a habanero pepper itself.  To take it one step further, I've eaten a fresh ghost pepper and it nearly knocked me on my... it was hot!! Various ingredients are used in conjunction with the chilies to add flavor and to reduce the heat level of the pepper being used.

Rather than having a runny, low viscosity sauce, manufacturers use carrots to thicken a sauce rather than chemicals such as Xanthan Gum.  Some of you may say Xanthan Gum is not a chemical.  I somewhat agree but Xanthan Gum is the end result of biosynthesis and the fermentation of glucose, sucrose, or lactose.

Have you ever noticed the Easter Bunny and Bugs Bunny are never sick?  That's probably because of all the vitamins packed into a carrot.  Vitamins A, C, and K are found in abundance as are fiber, potassium, and beta-carotene.

When you are feeling low, grab a hot sauce with a carrot base - it'll make you feel better!