Tapatío hot sauce
Encyclopedia
Tapatío is a hot sauce
, produced in Vernon, California
, that can be found at many grocery stores in the United States. It rates 3,000 on the scale of Scoville units.
"Tapatío" is the name given to people from Guadalajara, Jalisco
: the company's founders come from Guadalajara. It is exported to Mexico
, Canada
, Central America
and a few countries in Europe
.
The ingredients, as listed on the product label, are: water, red pepper
s, salt, spices, garlic, acetic acid
, xanthan gum
and sodium benzoate
as a preservative
. Tapatío comes in four sizes: 5, 10, and 32 fl oz., and 1 gallon (148, 296, 946 ml and 3.785 liters), as well as in 7 gram packets.
The product slogan is "Es una salsa ... Muy salsa" (roughly, "It's a very saucy sauce!")
In 2011, Frito Lay released a line of Tapatío flavored Doritos
, Ruffles
, and Fritos
in the United States
.
. In 1985, the company moved to a 8500 square feet (789.7 m²) facility in Vernon, California
, 5 miles (8 km) from Downtown Los Angeles
. Although larger than the first location, the new factory had a single loading dock and limited storage space, which created a new series of problems for the company. After a long search, a site was found where for a developer to custom-build a new 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) facility, which Tapatío presently occupies. The new factory has several loading docks and automated production.
Hot sauce
Hot sauce, chili sauce or pepper sauce refers to any spicy sauce made from chili peppers and other ingredients.-Ingredients:There are many recipes for hot sauces - the common ingredient being any kind of peppers. A group of chemicals called capsaicinoids are responsible for the heat in chili peppers...
, produced in Vernon, California
Vernon, California
Vernon is a city five miles south of downtown Los Angeles, California. The population was 112 at the 2010 United States Census, the smallest of any incorporated city in the state....
, that can be found at many grocery stores in the United States. It rates 3,000 on the scale of Scoville units.
"Tapatío" is the name given to people from Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
: the company's founders come from Guadalajara. It is exported to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and a few countries in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
The ingredients, as listed on the product label, are: water, red pepper
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
s, salt, spices, garlic, acetic acid
Acetic acid
Acetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3CO2H . It is a colourless liquid that when undiluted is also called glacial acetic acid. Acetic acid is the main component of vinegar , and has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell...
, xanthan gum
Xanthan gum
Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide, derived from the bacterial coat of Xanthomonas campestris, used as a food additive and rheology modifier, commonly used as a food thickening agent and a stabilizer...
and sodium benzoate
Sodium benzoate
Sodium benzoate has the chemical formula NaC6H5CO2; it is a widely used food preservative, with E number E211. It is the sodium salt of benzoic acid and exists in this form when dissolved in water. It can be produced by reacting sodium hydroxide with benzoic acid.-Uses:Sodium benzoate is a...
as a preservative
Preservative
A preservative is a naturally occurring or synthetically produced substance that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, wood, etc. to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes....
. Tapatío comes in four sizes: 5, 10, and 32 fl oz., and 1 gallon (148, 296, 946 ml and 3.785 liters), as well as in 7 gram packets.
The product slogan is "Es una salsa ... Muy salsa" (roughly, "It's a very saucy sauce!")
In 2011, Frito Lay released a line of Tapatío flavored Doritos
Doritos
Doritos is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips created by Arch West and produced since 1964 by the American food company Frito-Lay ....
, Ruffles
Ruffles
Ruffles is the name of a brand of ruffled potato chips produced by Frito-Lay. Frito Company acquired the rights to Ruffles brand potato chips in 1958....
, and Fritos
Fritos
Fritos is the name of a brand of corn chips made by Frito-Lay. Elmer Doolin was so taken with the bag of corn chips served with his lunch in San Antonio, Texas that he paid $100 for the recipe. In 1932, he started the Frito Corporation. Original Fritos ingredients are limited to whole corn, corn...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Company background
The Tapatío Hot Sauce company was started in 1971 by Jose-Luis Saavedra, Sr., in a 750 square feet (69.7 m²) warehouse in Maywood, CaliforniaMaywood, California
Maywood is a small city in southeast Los Angeles County, California. At , Maywood is the third-smallest incorporated city in Los Angeles County....
. In 1985, the company moved to a 8500 square feet (789.7 m²) facility in Vernon, California
Vernon, California
Vernon is a city five miles south of downtown Los Angeles, California. The population was 112 at the 2010 United States Census, the smallest of any incorporated city in the state....
, 5 miles (8 km) from Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
. Although larger than the first location, the new factory had a single loading dock and limited storage space, which created a new series of problems for the company. After a long search, a site was found where for a developer to custom-build a new 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) facility, which Tapatío presently occupies. The new factory has several loading docks and automated production.
See also
- Food production
- List of hot sauces
- Scoville heat scaleScoville scaleThe Scoville scale is a measurement of the spicy heat of a chili pepper. The number of Scoville heat units indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Capsaicin is a chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes.The scale is named after...
, measures the hotness or piquancy of a chili pepperChili pepperChili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...