This feels like an investigative report. In our house, we have a ridiculous number of hot sauces in the refrigerator. Let me list them 1) Cholula 2) Valentina 3) Gochujang 4) Frank’s Red Hot 5) Siracha. We also have in the pantry 1) El Tapatio 2) habanero sauce from Mexico 3) more Cholula.

I first noticed a few months ago while I was re-stocking the pantry that there were only the small bottles at the grocery store. So, I bought two instead of the one bigger bottle. Since the summer, I started noticing that there was none on the shelves at times. It would be gone and then the small bottles would be back. Now, I look every time I go to any store and it is not in stock anywhere.

Apparently, it is true; there is a Siracha shortage. If you search the web, you will see the same news bulletin that said they stopped taking orders in June because of a global pepper shortage. They were not expecting to resume taking orders until September. Being that this is November, I imagine that it is going to take time to refill the supply chain. I would expect this shortage to last for some time.

When looking to find a replacement at a local grocery store, I found two new ones Tabasco brand and Sky Valley siracha sauce. We bought the latter. Sky Valley is a brand from the makers of Litehouse salad dressings. If it were strictly me, I would have bought the Tabasco brand but I think that my wife was afraid it would be too spicy.

I can respect a company the puts off profits at the expense of quality. However what may be the case is that this market is permanently cracked open for other players. We liked the Sky Valley. It seemed more balanced and complex, not just the in your face Siracha taste. I mean this is the purpose of hot sauce, to add another dimension to the overall profile. But, I could see this brand having more than a niche usage.

Apparently, the peppers for siracha come from Northern Mexico. The claim was that climate change was the reason the harvest was not as expected. I am not sure whether I am happy or sad that this Asian oriented ingredient is using Mexican ingredients. It may be that they happen to grow well in Mexico and the supply chain is simpler. I don’t know.

I really don’t like single use ingredients. I would really prefer something more versatile. The problem is no person can agree on Mexican/Asian/Cajun. Simply put, we have these different sauces because everyone wants something different, not just inventory simplicity. And, I am guilty of buying something like Gochujang because when I make something for the first time, I want to taste how it was intended to be made. Dont get me wrong, I don’t dislike Gochujang it is just that the flavor profile is not right for many things.

End Your Programming Routine: What I take away from this is that the global supply chain is perilous. Really, this is becoming all, too routine. This has to be a huge financial hit for Huy Fong Foods. Whether this leads to second sourcing or some way of cheapening the overall recipe, it is hard to tell. It has definitely opened the door for us to try the alternatives out there.