10

Fill in the blank: Franks is to America what Cholula is to Mexico what Sriracha is to Vietnam what ______ is to Italy.

One of my recipes which is a spin on Orichiette with Rapini, calls for hot sauce. I usually use Sriracha since it tastes good but I do find it's a clash of flavors sometimes. I'd like to replace it with an alternative that's representative of Italy. I have no experience with Italian hot sauces, what are the popular ones?

I know "sauce" has an additional meaning when it comes to Italian cuisine: I'm not looking for arrabiata or red sauce or anything like that. I mean something that comes in a bottle, perhaps crushed peppers and chilis with vinegar.

Improve this question
13
  • 10
    Bottled/canned foods are in general considered low class in Europe, and chances of Italians, notorious for food elitism, having a favored bottled sauce brand is close to zero.
    – Davor
    Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 17:40
  • 11
    By the way, Sriracha is American, not Vietnamese (invented by a Vietnamese immigrant who gave it a Thai name). Looks like they have started selling it in Vietnam in the past few years: latimes.com/world/asia/… Or are you saying that Sriracha tastes like typical Vietnamese hot sauces? That may be true.
    – Juhasz
    Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 23:32
  • 4
    @Juhasz I thought sriracha was a type of hot sauce and the brand sriracha is just a sriracha sauce?
    – gator
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 0:53
  • 8
    Ugh. Obscure product placement? I've lived 45 years in North America, never saw a Franks sauce before this post. I wouldn't call it quintessential. :-)
    – Jeffrey
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 12:53
  • 1
    Here in the Pacific Northwest, Frank's is definitely available. According to USA Today, "McIlhenny [maker of Tabasco] has a 17.1% market share; Reckitt Benckiser, maker of Frank's RedHot, has 11.3% and Huy Fong Foods [Sriracha] has 8%"
    – Juhasz
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 20:43

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
31

Bottled hot sauce is not much in demand in Italy. I'm in central Italy, but I think in the south where spicy food is popular, chili is added fresh or dried to a dish rather than through a bottled sauce. I did find one example from Delizie di Calabria which is a common brand: http://www.deliziedicalabria.it/notizie/145-nd-sauce-la-salsa-piccante-senza-compromessi but I wouldn't call it typical. In my local supermarket (Tuscany) the only hot sauce available is Tabasco! Again, I welcome anyone from the south to correct me if I'm mistaken, but hot sauce is definitely not a thing here.Sauce shelf, Carrefour Market, Lucca

Improve this answer
4
  • 2
    I know harissa isn't Italian, but with such close geographic proximity to Tunisia, is harissa a common condiment in Italy?
    – gator
    Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 18:29
  • 2
    I don't know if you can find harissa in the south of Italy, but I've never seen it available in central/northern Italy. I have found harissa (imported from Tunisia) in Oslo, Norway though!
    – S. Tollefsen
    Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 20:51
  • 2
    @gator no, harissa is now widely known in Italy.
    – fqq
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 1:20
  • @gator - simply, no. Distances don't work like that in Europe. England couldn't be closer to France, but look at the two eating patterns.
    – Fattie
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 12:22
16

I have family both in the very north and the very south of Italy.

In the north, spicy food is not super common but there is usually a jar of dried chilies in olive oil somewhere in the kitchen and they are available in restaurants.

In the south there is always either fresh/dried/in-olive-oil/powdered chilies on the table (at home and in restaurants).

But I don't recall seeing a bottle of "hot sauce" anywhere (except maybe some tabasco).

Improve this answer
3
  • 2
    That seems to be the consensus: chilis in oil. It reminds me of a Chinese cuisine staple: a very good Chinese restaurant near me has a little bowl of some menacingly red chili oil at every table, crushed chilis and lots of chili flakes with some spices in oil. I guess something similar is the closest hot sauce equivalent to Italy.
    – gator
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 13:14
  • 2
    Seems like chili oil is indeed the answer you were looking for. Sidenote : be aware that chili color has little to no relation with heat level.
    – ThePainfull
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 13:18
  • 1
    @gator There is a Calabrian chili paste that is basically chilis in oil crushed to a smooth paste. Not really a hot sauce, but maybe helpful! It is a little tangy and quite delicious.
    – le3th4x0rbot
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 0:52
15

The only one I know of is the Calabrese Spread/Sauce.

Whenever I see spicy food in Italy they mostly use hot chili.

Other than that, oil flavored with spicy chili.

Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    do you mean 'nduja?
    – fqq
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 16:15
  • 1
    no, nduja is a soft sausage.
    – Max
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 16:26
  • 1
    What do you mean by "the Calabrese Spread/Sauce" then? (btw, 'nduja is soft to the point that is mostly used as a spread)
    – fqq
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 16:31
  • 'Nduja is sold in jars as a paste made from the (soft) sausage and oil, and is very often used as a 'spread' on pizza. In short, it's exactly what @Max is describing here.
    – 568ml
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 9:26

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.