Features of hot spices and cooking recipes. Nutritional value and chemical composition of the sauce, benefits and harms when consumed. Tabasco recipes and interesting facts about it.
Tabasco sauce is a spicy seasoning of the national cuisine of Mexico, the peoples of Africa and the Caribbean. To give it an original taste, it is infused, like cognac, in oak barrels. The main ingredients are vinegar, salt and Mexican hot pepper, which gave its name to the product. The color can be brown, pink, red or green, depending on the additional components, but the sensation after consumption is a "fire" in the mouth, the taste is sour-spicy. The smell is fragrant, intense, sharp. Served with hot and cold dishes.
Features of making Tabasco
There are many recipes for making hot seasonings, in which infusion is replaced by boiling.
How to make Tabasco sauce:
- Classic recipe … 0.5 kg of cayenne pepper in the pods are peeled. If you want to reduce the severity, remove the seeds and partitions, no - they are limited to the stalks. Pour into the bowl of a blender or combine, add 10 g of rock salt, grind at high speed, dilute ordinary 9% vinegar essence with boiled water - 2: 1, pour 1.5 cups into a blender and mix again until smooth. They are poured into glass jars or bottles with a wide neck, cover the neck with gauze folded in several layers, or with plastic lids, cutting a hole. Leave at room temperature in a dark place for a week. When homemade Tabasco is infused, new jars are sterilized, the sauce is shifted, lids are rolled up and placed in the cold.
- Red sauce … From pods of hot pepper, 250 g, remove partitions and seeds, finely chop and pour boiling water. After 30 minutes, the water is drained, the burning mass is squeezed out. Tomatoes, 0.5 kg, are dipped in boiling water for a few minutes, peeled, cut into cubes and chopped 100 g of onions. All are mixed, placed in a deep frying pan, stewed for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Just before turning off, add 2 crushed garlic teeth, 1 tsp. salt and 1 tbsp. l. sugar, 2 tbsp. l. wine vinegar and the same amount of olive oil. Bring to a boil, stir, pour into clean sterilized jars.
- Horseradish sauce … 36 pods of pepper, without peeling, are boiled with a clove of garlic until completely softened, and then the mass is rubbed through a sieve. Add 1 tsp. horseradish root, rubbed on a fine grater, 1 tbsp. l. sugar, 0.5 tsp. salt, pour in 1 glass of water and the same amount of vinegar. Stew for 15 minutes. Poured hot into sterilized jars and rolled up.
To prepare Tabasco according to the original Mexican recipe, barrels are prepared from white oak, which grows only in Florida. Instead of barrels at home, the spice is infused with oak cubes. This ingredient is not edible, but using it helps make a sauce like in Mexico.
Pepper, 0.5 kg, is whipped in a blender with 12 g of kosher salt (there are no additives in this product) and 170 ml of water. The mixture is placed in a jar with a screw cap, closed and placed in a cellar. Be sure to open the lid in the morning and in the evening and release carbon dioxide so that the container does not explode. After fermentation, when it is over, carbon dioxide will not accumulate - pre-fried oak cubes are poured into the spicy puree. Leave for another 3 months under the same conditions. Open the jars, remove the cubes, stir in the stabilizer E415 (xanthan gum) and 1/3 tbsp. l. balsamic (white) wine vinegar, let stand for 3 hours uncovered and poured into sterilized jars. Only now they are closing with tight lids. When making tabasco at home, you can do without filler, but then the seasoning will stratify.
Composition and calorie content of Tabasco sauce
The nutritional value of hot seasoning depends on the type of pepper and the method of processing.
The calorie content of Tabasco sauce, made according to the classic recipe from different types of peppers without straining (green chili and hot red) - 35, 2 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 1.5 g;
- Fat - 0.3 g;
- Carbohydrates - 6.8 g;
- Dietary fiber - 1.2 g;
- Water - 82.2 g;
- Ash - 8.6 g.
Vitamins per 100 g:
- Vitamin A - 42.8 mcg;
- Alpha Carotene - 23.6 mcg;
- Beta Carotene - 0.482 mg;
- Beta Cryptoxanthin - 36 mcg;
- Lutein + Zeaxanthin - 573.6 mcg;
- Vitamin B1, thiamine - 0.065 mg;
- Vitamin B2, riboflavin - 0.07 mg;
- Vitamin B4, choline - 8.8 mg;
- Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid - 0.105 mg;
- Vitamin B6, pyridoxine - 0.314 mg;
- Vitamin B9, folate - 18.4 mcg;
- Vitamin C, ascorbic acid - 154.48 mg;
- Vitamin E, alpha tocopherol - 0.552 mg;
- Vitamin K, phylloquinone - 11.3 mcg;
- Vitamin PP, NE - 0.8776 mg.
Macronutrients per 100 g:
- Potassium, K - 265.52 mg;
- Calcium, Ca - 43.04 mg;
- Magnesium, Mg - 21.12 mg;
- Sodium, Na - 3103.36 mg;
- Sulfur, S - 14.4 mg;
- Phosphorus, P - 41.6 mg;
- Chlorine, Cl - 4775.2 mg.
Microelements per 100 g:
- Iron, Fe - 1.124 mg;
- Cobalt, Co - 1.2 μg;
- Manganese, Mn - 0.19 mg;
- Copper, Cu - 143.44 μg;
- Molybdenum, Mo - 8.8 μg;
- Selenium, Se - 0.4 μg;
- Zinc, Zn - 0.272 mcg.
The composition of Tabasco sauce contains saturated fatty, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated acids, amino acids - nonessential and irreplaceable, alkaloids, in particular capsaicin. This substance is an irritant of natural origin, has an aggressive effect on organic tissues and reduces blood clotting.
The calorie content of Tabasco sauce, which is filtered after fermentation, is only 12 kcal. It is free of dietary fiber and ash
If a person who is forced to control their own weight has a healthy stomach, then hot sauce is an ideal addition to the diet, preventing the accumulation of body fat. The spice complex has fat burning properties, causes the breakdown of fat into water and glycerin, accelerates the elimination of the latter compound in a natural way.
Benefits of Tabasco Sauce
You may be surprised, but the hot spice is a healthy product. A small amount of seasoning immediately energizes - tones the body, accelerates metabolic processes at all levels, and has a warming effect.
Benefits of Tabasco Sauce:
- Strengthens immunity with systematic use.
- Improves blood circulation and increases perspiration.
- Stimulates the production of red blood cells - red blood cells, prolongs their life cycle.
- Normalizes intestinal metabolism, increases the production of digestive enzymes. Accelerates urination.
- Has an antioxidant effect, isolates free radicals localized in the intestinal lumen.
- Briefly relieves the oral mucosa.
- Slows down natural aging and enhances regeneration functions.
- It dissolves fatty compounds and harmful cholesterol deposited on the walls of blood vessels, thins the blood, and prevents the formation of blood clots.
- Improves memory function and the ability to perceive new information.
- Improves sperm quality.
Due to its tonic and antimicrobial effect, Tabasco sauce is regularly included in the daily menu of the US and British armies. It is recommended to use it when preparing dishes for athletes. Appetite increases, the body is replenished with useful substances, against the background of active loads, muscle mass is intensively built up and reactions are accelerated.
Contraindications and harm to Tabasco
Like all multi-ingredient dishes, Tabasco sauce is a strong allergen. It should be borne in mind that stabilizers must be introduced into a store product in order to avoid delamination. Therefore, it should be included in the diet with caution.
Despite the fact that no one eats Tabasco sauce with spoons, harm from it can appear in acute diseases of the digestive system or chronic ailments of the digestive organs. Even a small sip can provoke an attack of chronic pancreatitis or peptic ulcer disease, renal or hepatic colic.
Abuse of acidity should be avoided. Symptoms of intolerance are: heartburn after eating, nausea, increased flatulence.
There is no need to experiment with the diet for hypertension, arrhythmias, tachycardia and angina pectoris, diseases, the symptom of which is low blood clotting.
Contraindications to acquaintance with a new taste are pregnancy, lactation, age over 65 and under 3-4 years. In persons of these age categories, the intestinal flora is not ready to withstand aggressive influences.
But even healthy adults should observe the "dosage", focusing on their own feelings, especially with emotional instability. Pepper eats away at the delicate mucous membrane lining the stomach, and the risk of stomach or duodenal ulcers increases.
Tabasco Sauce Recipes
Seasoning is added to meat and fish dishes, added to salads - no more than a few drops, used to preserve vegetables. Thanks to her, the taste of soups and many alcoholic beverages is revealed in a new way.
Tabasco Sauce Recipes:
- Gazpacho (tomato soup) … Tomatoes (0.5 kg) are dipped in boiling water for 1-2 minutes and peeled off. Grind in a blender with red onion, cucumber and bell pepper. Pour salt and sugar into a bowl - to taste, squeeze half a small lemon, pour in 1 tbsp. l. wine vinegar and olive oil, 1/3 tsp. Tabasco. Mix everything again. If it is a gourmet dish, strain the cold soup through a sieve to remove the pepper skins and seeds. White bread is fried in olive oil, cut into small pieces and rolled in salt and sliced parsley. Rusks are served with spicy soup instead of bread.
- Buckwheat noodles with poultry … Cut vegetables - 2 carrots, orange bell pepper, 1 onion, fry in a pan. After 1-2 minutes, cut 2 celery stalks into the pan. Spread out 400-500 g of chicken meat, cut into portions. Salt, pepper, cover and leave over low heat. Buckwheat noodles are boiled separately, 250 g, spread to the chicken. 5 minutes before turning off add sauces - tabasco and soy. Sprinkle the finished dish with parsley and leave to infuse. Serve hot.
- Hamburger … Ground beef, 250 g, mixed with ketchup, pepper, salt and stir by hand, beating against the table. If this recommendation is neglected, the meat will remain fibrous. Dressing is prepared separately. Finely chop a white onion, pickled cucumber, stir in 1 tsp. HP brown sauce and classic tabasco, mayonnaise - 2 tbsp. l., 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce and 1 tbsp. l. cognac. Spread thinly sliced circles of fleshy tomatoes, rings of red onions on 3 sheets of iceberg, folded in a pile. On the grill, a hamburger bun, a plate of bacon, a cutlet formed from minced meat are fried from the inside. When the beef is turned over, a slice of cheddar is spread on the surface. A hamburger is made from the prepared ingredients: put salad with onions and tomatoes on half of the bun, top with bacon, a drop of tabasco, cutlet and cover with the second half of the bun.
The most popular alcoholic cocktail for the preparation of which is used Tabasco - "Bloody Mary". In a shaker (or blender, if the drink is made at home) fill up: 60 ml of tomato juice and 45 ml of vodka without any additives, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1 drop of hot and 2 drops of Worcester sauce. Salt and pepper are added to taste in a ready-made cocktail before serving. Pour ice cubes to cool.
Interesting facts about Tabasco
The name of the hot seasoning and the recipe were documented in 1868. The method of preparation was invented by Edmund McAlennie, the head of one of the US food companies, named after his last name. The main ingredient in the new dish was pepper, which grows in Indian lands - Tabasco. Its name literally translates as "the land of the wet earth." Cayenne pepper began to be replaced much later.
In 1886, the hot seasoning was available in the store in bottles with a built-in dispenser. Perfumery products were poured into such bottles and are still being poured. Tabasco sauce is currently available in several varieties by McIlhenny.
Until the twentieth century, no more than 350-400 bottles of an exclusive product were sold per year, and they cost $ 1! Until subsequent inflation, this amount was considered fabulous.
For the production of high-quality Tabasco sauce, a calendar of processes was developed not only for cooking, but also for growing the main ingredient
- Despite the fact that it is possible to grow peppers in a greenhouse all year round, seeds for Tabasco sauce are planted strictly in January.
- They move into the ground in the first decade of April.
- Harvested in August and strictly by hand, evaluating the quality of each pod.
- Salt is brought only from the mines of the state of Louisiana.
- The pepper mixture is kept in special barrels for 3 years under special conditions, turning them daily.
- The present mass is rubbed through a sieve, removing seeds and remnants of the skin, and then combined with white vinegar - in special containers made of food-grade metal with a resistant coating or ceramic vats - and left for a month, stirring occasionally.
Only after such a long preparation are additives introduced, thanks to which it is possible to obtain variants of Tabasco sauce of different varieties, differing in pungency and in application.
| Name of the sauce | Pungency, units | Application |
| Classic red Tabasco Tabasco Original | 2500-5000 | universal |
| Green jalapeno Tabasco Green | 600-1200 | for fish dishes |
| Buffalo Tabasco Buffalo | 300-900 | with smoked or fried poultry |
| Chipotle Tabasco Chipotle | 1500-2000 | to barbecue and grilled meat |
| Habanero Tabasco Habanero | 7000-8000 | Mexican and Argentinean cuisine |
| Sweet-spicy Tabasco Sweet'n'Spicy | 100-600 | to oriental cuisine |
| Garlic Tabasco Garlic | 1200-1800 | pizza and meat |
| Buffalo | 300-900 | universal |
Another version of the hot seasoning was mastered relatively recently, when sushi came into fashion. They began to make soy sauce, which is injected with Tabasco.
How to cook Tabasco - watch the video:
At home, you can experiment with spicy tastes as you wish - you don't have to follow culinary recommendations. But still, one of the rules should be adhered to: when making strong alcoholic cocktails or grog, only classic Tabasco is used. No other flavoring option is suitable for preparing a drink.
