Savory Hot Pepper Sauce and the Recipe for Sweet Memories

Childhood memories are funny things. They can be evoked by sights, smells, sounds, but the one sense that will evoke a childhood memory without fail is that of taste. Such much of what we associate with our childhood is tied up in memories. Nothing tastes better than it did when Granny or Aunt Mae or even Mom cooked up those memories put it out on the table.

For me, the memories associated with good food (and, yes, sometimes bad) are many, but the one that stands out and has never been topped by anyone is the taste of my grandmother's fried apple fritters. Was it the huge cast iron skillet she used to prepare the fritters or was it the dried apples she used in the apple filling? Whatever it was that came together to make her special apple fritters, they were magic to me and sadly, that recipe for magic has never been duplicated. Though I have come close and will continue to try to get it to the right taste. (The recipe below is close to what she made. I'm still experimenting.)

Could the missing ingredient be her love?

In some families that childhood memory is tied to savory hot pepper sauce that seemed to find its way into most of the Panama and Island flavored foods and onto the tables of family kitchens. Who would know?

And while everybody knows that the key ingredients of the recipe are vinegar and peppers with just the right amount of garlic and mustard, the magic happens in the way it's blended together. And just the right touch of love.

One recipe for the traditional savory pepper sauce has been carefully preserved and the preparation is carried on by the granddaughter. This happens often in families. Special recipes are passed down through generations, the memories along with the recipe.

Sunday dinner wouldn't be as special if the curried chicken didn't include the savory pepper sauce. And how about the chili. That dash or two, maybe three, of the savory sauce provided just the right glow to aid winter warmth. http://www.naomisavorypeppersauce.com/ is the big flavor in the bottle.

That subtle pepper sauce flavor comes through on everything from meats to vegetables. As a savory hot pepper sauce, it goes into the recipe while cooking. As a garnish it is left on the table, leaving the intensity of flavoring - and that extra kick - up to the taster. If it wasn't on the table, it was asked for in short order.

Try the sauce on wings. It offers a different flavor and a kick that is like no other.

That little bit of magic, that little bit of special memory in a bottle, is being preserved and will no doubt be passed on to become part of the next generation's memories.