Source of the Sauce Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aleppo pepper

The Aleppo is also known as the Halaby pepper, it's considered to have a moderate heat level of about 10,000 on the Scoville scale. Its robust taste is fruity with hints of cumin, giving it a distinct and different flavour. It is mainly used in Middle Eastern cuisine.

Answer: Paprika

Paprika is made from the Capsicum annuum variety of peppers. The peppers are firstly cleaned, dried and then ground to a fine powder. Paprika is grown in most places in Hungary but the finest come from the region of Szeged. There are several varieties of paprika ranging from delicate to very hot. "Különleges" or special quality in English, is the most commonly used, with the mildest taste, it is sweet and is the richest in colour. "Édesnemes" or noble sweet, is the most well-known variety throughout the world, as it is the one that is exported most frequently.

It has a mild spicy flavour with a wonderful aroma, considered to be the best of all paprika spices. The hottest and most fiery paprika is known as "Eros" or hot; it is a light brownish yellow in colour, with a very strong hot pungent flavour.

Answer: Harissa

Harissa is an Arabic word which means to break into small pieces or pound to a pulp. Traditionally it was always made by hand in a stone mortar known as a soudi. Recipes for harissa vary from region to region; in most cases different spices are added to give it a more specific flavour in accordance to their palates. It is mainly used for lamb or beef and in soups, giving them a spicy hot touch.

Answer: Tabasco

Tabasco is manufactured solely by the family owned McIlhenny Company, on Avery Island, Louisiana. Edmund McIlhenny, originally from Maryland, moved to Avery Island in the mid 1860s, where he started to produce his pepper sauce in 1868 from the Capsicum frutescens var. tabasco peppers.

Originally the sauce was produced by mashing the ripe red peppers, and mixing it with Avery Island salt, this paste was then let to sit and macerate for 30 days. Then he added white wine vinegar to the paste and let the mixture marinate for at least another 30 days, before it was bottled for sale.

The bottles tops had sprinkler fitments, not allowing the sauce to pour out as he said that "his pepper sauce was concentrated and best used when sprinkled, not poured".

The original Tabasco recipe has been handed down from generation to generation, with little changes, except now the sauce is macerated for three years in oak barrels.

Answer: Wasabi

Wasabi mainly comes from the roots of the two main cultivated plants of the W. japonica 'Daruma' and 'Mazuma', although there are other varieties that are also used. Wasabi is grown exclusively in Japan, and is difficult to cultivate, making it an expensive spice to produce.

It is made by grating the fresh roots to a very fine textured pulp. Due to its high cost, the true fresh wasabi is not found very frequently outside of Japan. An imitation is used in sushi bars, made by mixing horseradish, mustard powder and chlorophyll for the green vegetable pigment; this usually comes in tubes or in powder form. Wasabi is mainly served with dishes containing raw fish.

Answer: Worcestershire sauce

The first and original condiment known as "The Original & Genuine Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce" was first produced in England in 1837. The condiment was invented by two pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, and is mainly used to give flavour to meat and fish dishes.

The main ingredients in this spicy sauce are vinegar, anchovies, tamarind, onions, garlic, onions, molasses and salt; the mixture is then left to age for 18 months. The complete production process and all the ingredients of the sauce are kept a secret.

In many countries the sauce is known commonly as the "English sauce".

Answer: Sambal

Sambal is mainly used as a condiment to spice and heat up a dish, any variety of peppers can be used to make this sauce. It is used mainly throughout Southeast Asia as well as Netherlands and Suriname. In its simplest form, it is just a mixture of chili peppers and salt, although there are more than 300 varieties in Indonesia alone, depending on the region.

The more elaborate ones contain onions, lime, garlic vinegar and oil among their ingredients. The one that is used most commonly is known as Sambal Oelek. "Oelek" is the mortar that is used to create the sambal in Indonesia.

In general all sambals add a dark hot, fiery flavour to the dishes.

Answer: Yes

Mole is very popular in the southern and central regions of Mexico, although it is eaten all over the country. The word "mole" is used as a common name for a number of sauces that can vary substantially from region to region, usually one of the main ingredients of the sauce is a variety of hot peppers.

The most well-known moles are black, red, yellow or pipián. The black mole (mole negro) is the hardest to make, it has a very distinct flavour from the other moles. It is always made with dark bittersweet chocolate, almonds and charred chili peppers as well as leaves from a plant known as hoja santa (holy leaves). Red mole (mole rojo) is very similar but doesn't contain chocolate and is usually quite hot and spicy flavoured.

Answer: Aioli

Aioli, is mainly used in Spain and France, but can also be found in other Mediterranean countries. Its main use is to accompany fish. A simple aioli is made with garlic, olive oil and eggs, but depending where you are, it might have mustard and lemon juice. The sauce can go from mild to hot and spicy depending on the amount of garlic used.

Bechamel is a white sauce, Carbonara is used on pasta, and Madeira is made with Madeira wine from Portugal.

Answer: 10.3 million to 16 million

"Blair's 6AM Reserve", is produced by New Jersey based Blair's Sauces and Snacks Company. They specialize in deadly hot sauces, introducing their Death Sauce range in 1989. The 6AM Reserve is based on pure Capsaicin crystals, with a mixture of extremely hot chili peppers. The sauce is only produced as a limited edition and each bottle is signed by Blair Lazar, the company founder. If by any chance you do get a hold of a bottle, extreme caution should be taken. (It is about 3,000 times stronger than Tabasco!)