New Hot Sauces and Peppers Heat Up Menus, Packaged Goods

While Sriracha, the Thai garlic and chili sauce, has taken the culinary world by storm – showing up in likely and some very unlikely places such as on pizzas and subs – other peppers and hot sauces are trending upward as well.

Sriracha has also found its way into sweet and savory snacks, including chocolate, popcorn and salty snacks, and it continues to grow, up 80 percent on restaurant menus in the past year, according to Datassential’s MenuTrends. In general, spicy flavors are becoming more popular overall.

SmartBlog on Food & Beverage predicts that some of the following spices might become what they called “Sriracha 2.0.” And of course, many of these flavors will find their way into packaged specialty food products, if they have not already.

• Gochujang, “with its flavors of tangy, sweet, and spicy from fermented soybean powder, salt, red pepper, and rice, is traditionally used on bibimbap, roasted meats, seafoods, soups, and stews, but progressive chefs are adding it to burgers, sandwiches, and on-trend ethnic mash-ups like Korean tacos.”
• Harissa, a “complex chili pepper paste, sometimes called the ‘ketchup of North Africa,’ Harissa is up 114 percent on restaurant menus over the past four years. It is made with a blend of hot peppers, oil, and spices. It can be used as both a condiment and flavor enhancer, spicing up everything from pizza to stews and curries.”
• Togarashi, “part of the ‘amped up Asian’ trend, where chefs like David Chang update traditional Asian dishes with more in-your-face flavors, Japanese spice blends like shichimi togarashi (or ‘seven spice’) combine chili peppers with bright citrus peels, crunchy sesame seeds, and umami-rich ingredients like nori to add spice and crunch to vegetables, noodles, seafood, and even French fries and popcorn.”
• Shishito peppers, sweet, mild-flavored peppers from Japan “have been slowly trending on menus for the last few years.”
• Habanero/Serrano, two of the fastest-growing peppers on menus, “these peppers can up the heat ante on menus, whether a little (serranos often rate just above jalapenos on the ‘Scoville’ heat rating system) or a lot (habaneros are one of the hottest peppers readily available, and are usually tempered with a sweet or creamy addition).”
• Ghost Peppers are the up-and-comers with only 40 percent of consumers familiar with these peppers. “Though their extreme heat may limit their adoption, some operators could use them to create attention-getting ‘stunt foods,’ like Red Robin’s ‘Fiery Ghost Style Tavern Burger,’ topped with a ghost pepper sauce, introduced in 2012.”
• Sweet Chili. “With savory and sweet flavors trending on restaurant menus (think chicken and waffles), sauces that blend sweetness with spice are showing up at more restaurants.” Sweet chili sauce is up 69 percent on menus vs. four years ago.

SmartBlog on Food & Beverage also predicts spicy mayos/aiolis will come on strong as some chefs temper the heavy heat of some of the above peppers with creamy mayonnaise. “In fact, spicy aiolis are one of the fastest-growing hot flavors on menus today, while spicy mayos are up 70 percent at restaurants” compared to four years ago.