Culinology - December 2020 - 46

PETITS fours

The spicy
revolution
is spreading
Fiery flavors are exploding on supermarket shelves and
restaurant menus across the nation. Spicy flavor profiles are
showing up in everything from snacks and sandwiches to sauces
and sweets.
Two spicy standout ingredients in new offerings are ghost peppers
and Carolina Reaper peppers, two of the world's hottest peppers. The ghost
pepper appears in a new chili, donut, pizza and chicken sandwich. The Carolina Reaper
pepper lends its heat to chili, tortilla chips and chicken wings. Consumer packaged goods
manufacturers dialed up the heat in 2020, claiming to create the " world's hottest chili, " " world's
hottest chip " and " hottest ever " Cheetos product.
Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minn., in October launched limited-edition Hormel Ghost
Reaper World's Hottest Chili with Beans. The offering features Hormel's signature chili with
beans plus ghost pepper and Carolina reaper pepper.
" Chili is a dish that can be enjoyed so many different ways, whether it's straight out of the
bowl, on a hot dog, incorporated into dips and other recipes, or as a pour-on-for-a-quick-anddelicious-dinner upgrade, " said Sarah Johnson, Hormel chili brand manager. " However fans
want to enjoy their chili, for a short time they can lay stake to a pretty bold claim: that they've
tasted the hottest canned chili in the world. "
The Hershey Co.'s Paqui Tortilla Chips brand brought back its One Chip Challenge in
September with a new recipe of its " world's hottest chip, " the company said. The all-black,
individually packaged tortilla chip features the Carolina Reaper pepper and packs an added
punch from Scorpion Pepper and Sichuan Peppercorn.
Brand collaborations brought about a spate of spicy innovation. Subway debuted Frank's
RedHot Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, featuring chicken strips in a buffalo sauce made with
Frank's RedHot sauce. Blaze Pizza began serving the new Blazin' Hot Chicken Pizza, which is
drizzled with Frank's RedHot sauce.
Qdoba partnered with Cholula in October to launch Cholula Hot & Sweet Chicken, made
with grilled chicken tossed in a blend of Cholula hot sauce and honey. Del Taco debuted six
new menu items featuring Cholula hot sauce: Cholula Crispy Chicken Taco, Epic Cholula
Crispy Chicken Burrito, Cholula Loaded Fries, Cholula Egg & Cheese Breakfast Roller, Cholula
Chorizo Breakfast Roller and Cholula Bacon Breakfast Roller.
Several new offerings feature sweet heat flavor profiles, with sweet ingredients like honey
and fruit balancing spicy ingredients like chilies and peppers. In October, Dunkin' debuted
the new Spicy Ghost Pepper Donut. The classic yeast donut ring is topped with a strawberry
flavored icing that features a blend of cayenne and ghost pepper and is finished with red
sanding sugar.
Diageo, maker of Smirnoff, expanded availability of its Smirnoff Spicy Tamarind vodka in
October. Containing 35% alcohol by volume, the beverage features a sweet tamarind flavor
with notes of spicy Mexican chilies and lime.

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Culinology | DECEMBER 2020

Culinology - December 2020

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