origins of chilli sauce

Chilli sauce is a known favorite all around the world, with many households usually having a bottle of sriracha stocked in their pantry. Something you may not know is that the earliest origins of chilli sauce can be traced as far back as the Aztec civilization.

Chillis naturally occur in one place: Central America. It’s believed to be one of the earliest plants cultivated by humans, and the Aztecs have been using it as early as 7000 BCE. Their version of hot sauce probably involved grinding up chillies and mixing them with water and herbs. The Aztecs additionally used the plant to pay taxes, give tributes, as punishement and for medicinal purposes.

The pepper became globalized after the expedition of Christopher Columbus, who landed in the Americas on an expedition to finding spices in India. Today, every culture has their own versions of hot sauce, such as Peri Peri in Mozambique and Bird’s Eye Chilli Sauce in Southern Africa.

Hot sauce was first commercialized in 1807 with a bottled Cayenne sauce sold in Massachusetts. By the mid 1800s, the hot sauce industry was growing with introductions of a bird pepper sauce and tabasco sauce. By 1872, the first cookbooks with hot sauces in their recipes were emerging.

By 1912, hot sauce had become so popular that the Scoville scale was invented to keep track of spice levels. In this scale, Scoville heat units are used to determine the degree of dilution with water for a hot sauce.

In Singapore, the history of chilli sauce is connected with the iconic Singaporean chilli crab. The dish supposedly originated in the 1950s when chilli and tomato sauce were first added to a steamed crab dish. The modern version of the chilli crab now incorporates eggs, sambal, vinegar, tomato paste and lemon juice. Char Yam Tian, who is credited with inventing this dish, first sold it from a pushcart before opening the Palm Beach Seafood restaurant in Singapore.

Today, chilli crab is a proud staple of Singapore’s culinary scene. And the good news is that you can soon try an authentic Singaporean chilli crab right here in the heart of London. Keep an eye out for Mei Mei’ incoming summer menu featuring chilli crab.

In the meantime, bring the bold flavors of chilli into your own kitchen and recipes with our carefully curated chilli sauce, found at www.meimeigoods.com.