Tabasco sauce

For the first time in my life, I have tried Tabasco sauce. It’s 10 shekel for a small bottle, so not super cheap but not crazy…

My husband made a pepper salad (finely cut pepper, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, black pepper) that smelled like salsa. So my first experiment with Tabasco was with that.

My first impression was “vinegar!” and I thought it might have been the salad’s fault. Having tried it again, plain, and on a piece of chicken, plus having read a bit about it online, I can confirm that the vinegar was the Tabasco’s fault.

The first second of tasting Tabasco is upsetting. There’s a strong vinegar kick and you’re already regretting your decision to try this. The second second, the vinegar is fading and the heat is kicking in. By the third, assuming you’re a hot-spicy fan, you’re in a happy place. The heat diffuses nicely all over your mouth.

Two minutes later, you’re craving the taste of Tabasco and trying desperately to come up with some excuse to eat it with something so you can have another hit.

Limited by the ingredients available in my apartment – for example, a lot of sauces call for various creams/cheeses and we’re currently out of stock – my solution to the aforementioned craving was to throw together the following:

Couscous
A hit of Tabasco
Cut small sweet potatoes and onions, fried together.

I don’t feel this recipe properly redirected the Tabasco’s acidity. I think I’m going to have to try it in a soup, next.