My Mom Owned a Hot Sauce Shop — This Is the Iconic Bottle She’s Had in Her Fridge for 20 Years

Of all the hot sauces in the grocery store, there is one that always reminds me of my mom: Cholula’s Original Hot Sauce. She’s been using it for at least 20 years and says it’s the absolute best. She should know: My mom, along with my dad, used to own a hot sauce cart in the local mall when I was little. 

Naturally, we had shelves upon shelves of hot sauces in our basement when I was growing up, but that Cholula hot sauce always earned a spot in the fridge. Here’s why. 

The original hot sauce contains Piquin and arbol chiles, as well as garlic powder, salt, and apple cider vinegar. It’s a fairly mild sauce that will make your taste buds tingle, but won’t have you running to refill your water glass. You can grab a 12-ounce bottle for just $6.39 on Amazon. 

I’ve known that my mom is a big fan of Cholula’s Original Hot Sauce for years, but I never really knew why until I asked recently. She finds that a lot of other popular hot sauce brands are just spicy and don’t necessarily offer much flavor. Cholula is “a perfect blend of tanginess and savoriness,” she says. 

She puts it on so many different dishes, like tacos, eggs, fish, fajitas, and taco salads. She even looks for it when she goes out to eat. “I love seeing it on the table at restaurants,” she says, adding that if there are other brands of hot sauce on the table, she’ll often ask her server if there’s any Cholula on hand that she could use instead. 

Even one of her favorite Food Network stars, Ree Drummond, is also a fan of the hot sauce. My mom said she regularly sees her using it in recipes when she’s watching The Pioneer Woman. If it’s good enough for my mom and Ree, it’s absolutely good enough for my fridge. 

Buy: Cholula Original Hot Sauce, $6.39 for 1 (12-ounce) bottle at Amazon

What’s your favorite hot sauce? Tell us about it in the comments below.