A Brief History of U.S. Commercial Hot Sauces

Dave DeWitt Chile History, Making Salsa and Hot Sauce Leave a Comment

by Dave DeWitt and Chuck Evans  Much of what we know about now-extinct brands of hot sauces comes from bottle collectors. There is not a great body of material on the subject of collectible hot sauce bottles, but we are indebted to Betty Zumwalt, author of Ketchup, Pickles, Sauces: 19th Century Food in Glass, who dutifully catalogued obscure hot sauce …

Carnival Foods of the Caribbean

Dave DeWitt Caribbean, Cooking with Chiles at the Holidays Leave a Comment

By Dave DeWitt To truly appreciate the foods eaten in the Caribbean, whether at carnival time or not, one has to know a little about the history of carnival and the foods of the Caribbean. History of Caribbean Carnival Carnivals are a regular event in most if not all Caribbean islands, and many carnivals are a major tourist attraction. It …

Yo Soy un Chiltepínero!

Dave DeWitt Cooking with Chiles, In the Kitchen with Chile Peppers, Making Salsa and Hot Sauce, Mexico and Central America Leave a Comment

 By Dave DeWitt Above, the Sierra Madre, Home of Chiltepins My amigo Antonio swears that the motto of the Sonoran bus lines is “Better Dead Than Late,” and I believe him.  The smoke-belching buses were flying by us on curves marked by shrines commemorating the unfortunate drivers whose journeys through life had abruptly ended on this mountain road.  We waved …

A Multi-Cultural Holiday Feast

Dave DeWitt Cooking with Chiles at the Holidays Leave a Comment

By Nancy Gerlach, Fiery Foods and Barbecue Central Food Editor Emeritus, with Recipes from the Fiery Foods and Barbecue Central Staff     Recipes: Hot Cranberry Drink Ginger Pumpkin Bisque Chile de Arbol Christmas Salad Smoked Prime Ribs of Beef Green Bean Smoked Casserole Potato Latkes Red Chile Pumpkin Chiffon Pie To me, it hardly seems possible that another holiday …

Don't let your turkey transform into a fireball!

Deep-Fried Cajun Turkey for Christmas

Dave DeWitt Cooking with Chiles at the Holidays Leave a Comment

By Mike Stines, Ph.B. Despite the three-day process, it’s well worth the effort to cook turkey this way. Created in the South, this method of cooking a turkey is gaining popularity all across the country. This process produces a succulent turkey and if the oil is at the correct temperature, a crisp, not greasy skin. Turkey fryers—a heavy-duty stand with …