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I have a lot of hot sauce in my fridge—nine bottles at last count, including varieties from Trinidad, Peru, New Orleans, and the corner store. I am a fan of the nuanced heat a good hot sauce can bring. I enjoy trying new bottles and collecting varieties from around the world.
But despite the myriad bottles I riffle through on a daily basis, more and more I find myself reaching for one humble bottle: green pepper Cholula.
Cholula is not a particularly cool hot sauce. It's not obscure—you'll spot it in most any grocery store. Plus, in my experience, green hot sauces are usually derided by hot sauce fanatics as being lesser than their red counterparts.
But I don't care. In fact, I'd forsake many of the hipper, more esoteric bottles in my fridge before I'd give up Cholula. Because green pepper Cholula provides an ideal amount of heat to most any finished dish and it adds good nuanced flavor while doing it.
That nuanced flavor comes from a mix of two green chiles: jalapeños and poblanos. (Most run of the mill green hot sauces are made only with jalapeños.) The green jalapeño provides fresh, grassy notes, while the poblano rounds out the undertones, providing an earthy sweetness underneath the heat. There's a bit of garlic in green pepper Cholula, too. And of course there's the necessary hot sauce ingredient, vinegar, which provides a nice bright kick—but is also not overpowering like it sometimes can be.
I use green pepper Cholula with nearly any cuisine. Unlike harissa, gochujang, or even Sriracha, the flavors in green Cholula don't feel tied to a particular flavor profile. I've dashed it over Indian curry, fish tacos, baked pasta, and breakfast sandwiches. I mix a few shakes of it with tahini and yogurt to dollop over Mediterranean grain bowls. I also thin that combo out with a bit of olive oil and use it as a salad dressing. The bottom line is that Green Cholula enhances every dish I've put it on, and I've never regretted a dash of it. I can't say the same for the Caribbean hot sauce in my fridge (which is very flavorful, but also scorchingly hot).
But, most importantly, I've discovered that without question, it's the absolute best hot sauce to top pizza. Imagine pickled jalapeños—but better and in liquid form. In fact, I have this particular hot take: green pepper Cholula is the only hot sauce that's good on pizza. Other hot sauces take over—they're either too hot or too sharp. The worst thing a hot sauce can do is solely provide heat without contributing any depth of flavor. Green pepper Cholula adds complexity, brightness, and just a little kick to pizza, without usurping its flavor completely.
Oh, and want to know one more thing I love about Cholula? It may sound superficial, but I love the look of it: The bottle is glass and the cap is made of wood (although there is a plastic insert). The packaging is as nicely designed—if not more so—than any trendier hot sauce on the market.
Several weeks ago I received an artisanal green hot sauce in the mail. I tried to like it, but ultimately found it lacking the character of my old faithful. So now I'm back on the GC. I have a bottle in my fridge and another packed in my desk along with all my other work lunch essentials. Other hot sauces may come and go in my life. I may even like them. But I know that no new-fangled, extra-spicy sauce will ever get in the way of my number one.
