I rarely have Tabasco. I don’t think it’s very good. It’s too watery, too much vinegar, not enough heat and the flavor is too sour forward. I also like my hot sauces where all the sourness comes from the lactic acid from fermentation. I’m not sure if Tabasco adds vinegar after the fact, but it feels like it does.

Another thing I really like in hot sauces is the slight carbonation fizz you get from the still fermenting hot sauce which isn’t in Tabasco or for that matter in anything you can buy in stores.

Making hot sauce at home is extremely cheap and very easy. I have a lot of hot sauce maybe more than a gallon a month and if I wanted to buy that in stores I would be spending hundreds or thousands. The stuff I make it home probably costs $20 in ingredients for the entire month.

The steps are simple get a 64 ounce mason jar get a fermentation lid for it. Fill it up completely to the top with chopped up peppers. Add a 3% salt solution to it all the way to the top. Get a glass weight to push all the peppers down and ensure they’re under the solution. You can add a clove of garlic if you want and then just let it sit for 7 to 10 days and then blend it. If you get fuzzy mold at the top, throw it away, but you will almost never get mold if you ensure that all the peppers are fully submerged.