When “Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet” by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid was published over 20 years ago, it quickly became my favorite cookbook. Drawing on their travels through Southeast Asia, the authors explained that the food in that region is designed to play off the harmonies between the four flavors in the title.
It could be argued that Southern barbecue sauces play off those same elements. What’s a barbecue sauce without a little heat (maybe from cayenne), a little sour (that’s the vinegar), definitely some salt and sweet (molasses or brown sugar or even cane syrup)?
And pepper jelly, with its combination of hot and sweet? We’ve been eating pepper jelly, from a platter of sweet/hot pepper jelly-topped cream cheese surrounded by crackers, to pepper jelly-glazed chicken wings and meatballs, for decades.
Fast-forward to 2021 when spicy/hot/sweet flavors are crowding the market. The venerable Tabasco company came out with a sweet and spicy sauce with ginger, red pepper, and pear concentrate among its ingredients. Honey harvesters like Gainesville, Georgia-based Bee Wild are producing infused hot honeys; as are hot sauce makers like Charleston, South Carolina-based Red Clay Hot Sauce.
I talked with Christina Pearson, global category merchant at Whole Foods Market, whose work focuses on hot sauces and condiments. Based in Austin, Texas, Pearson helps determine what products will be carried in most of Whole Foods’ stores.
There’s a trend for what she calls “sweet heat” in both condiments (sauces, marinades, mustard and other table condiments) and in the products in their “global flavors” category.
“Sweet heat is something that’s always evolving,” she told me. “And it usually includes fruit. ... For a long time, we saw sweet heat mostly in our barbecue sauces, but now hot honey is a big trend. Here in Austin, there’s a pizza place that has hot honey as a permanent condiment. ... And we’re working with Red Clay Hot Sauce on a few other flavor innovations. We’d really like to add a new sweet heat item that incorporates peach.”
She’s excited about Ricante, a Costa Rican company with sauces in tropical flavors such as tamarind, pineapple, mango-coconut, and guanabana (soursop), all with some heat.
She also really likes Brooklyn Delhi’s Curry Ketchup. “The tomato is the sweet fruit, but this is really savory. It’s something you could use on a hot dog, but you could add it to a pizza.”
To get back to those barbecue sauce roots, I talked with Aubrey Lenyard, founder of AubSauce. His Strawberry Balsamic and Rosemary and Spicy Peach barbecue sauces have both won the University of Georgia Flavors of Georgia competition.
He started his line of sauces with the peach sauce and one he called “original.” “It’s a very Southern barbecue sauce. I like to say it’s the kind your grandmother would have made at home.”
When he was creating the peach flavor, he wanted a sauce that reminded the user of peach cobbler, but with a little heat at the back of it. “I knew cayenne was the right pepper to go with the peach. The two just work together.”
When he created his Fiery Pineapple Mango sauce, he started with his favorite smoothie recipe and took it savory. “It just took adding serrano peppers. You get the sweet fruit up front, and then the serrano to balance it.” The sauce includes cilantro and mint as well. It’s such a fresh flavor that he’s heard from customers who use the pineapple sauce as part of their vinaigrettes.
He uses mustard, lemon or vinegar for the tart element of his sauces, and often uses molasses for the sweet. As with the peppers, it’s about finding the balance between hot, sour, salty and sweet.
RECIPES
Sweet and spicy recipes have been around for centuries with influences from Southeast Asia to the southeastern United States.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Spicy Orange Chicken
This classic dish benefits from the use of fresh oranges and other ingredients, rather than just pouring on a bottled sauce. And that makes it easy to customize. More heat? Add more red pepper flakes. The hoisin provides both sweet and salt and can be adjusted to your taste.
— Adapted from a recipe in “The Chicken Bible” by America’s Test Kitchen (America’s Test Kitchen, $40).
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Chris Hunt
Credit: Chris Hunt
Grilled Pineapple Mango Halibut
Halibut is a firm, white fish that cooks well on the grill. This recipe from Aubrey Lenyard of AubSauce plays up the tropical flavors of his Fiery Pineapple Mango AubSauce with a garnish of crushed pineapple, cilantro and citrus zest. The sauce is available at Lucy’s Market in Buckhead, Savi Provisions in Decatur and online at aubsauce.com. No AubSauce at home? Substitute another fruity barbecue sauce.
— Adapted from a recipe from Aubrey Lenyard.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Grilled Butternut Squash Pizza with Hot Honey
This is a very flexible recipe. Consider it as much an idea as a fixed list of ingredients. Try roast peppers, Brussels sprouts, cabbage or another vegetable if you’re not a fan of butternut squash. Toss the vegetable with your favorite hot sauce and then drizzle the finished pizza with hot honey.
One of the things we’ve learned about working with prepared pizza dough is that you have to give it time to relax. Take it out of the refrigerator, let it rest at least an hour, then separate it into 2 balls and begin the process of pressing out the dough. Let it relax, then stretch again. It can take another hour of stretching to get the dough where we’d like it to be.
— Adapted from a recipe from Red Clay Hot Sauce.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Hot Honey Margarita
Honey is a great addition to cocktails. Besides sweetness, honey lends a buttery quality. When you combine that with a little heat, you’ve got a winning combination. Shake the drink well to make sure the honey is well combined with the other ingredients.
This recipe comes from Red Clay Hot Sauce, and they make a spicy margarita salt they recommend for garnishing the lip of the glass. Aluma Farm in Atlanta makes a bloody mary salt that would also do the trick, and you can find lots of other options for a spice mix that combines salt and heat.
— Adapted from a recipe from Red Clay Hot Sauce.
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