Red-hot, white and blue

Spicy display ignites taste buds on the Fourth and beyond

Marty Meitus, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 4, 2007 at midnight

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When people ask, "Hot enough for you?" we have the answer.

Yes.

And it has nothing to do with the weather.

In honor of the Fourth of July, we've selected 13 hot originals - for the 13 original colonies, you history buffs - to fire up taste buds for your celebration. From piri-piri sauce to hot wings, we have a melting-pot-inspired list that will add a little heat to your summer.

How hot are they? So hot you'll want to keep a case of cold beer or a pitcher of margaritas standing by.

Danielle Edmonds, cooking director at the Whole Foods Market at Belmar and teacher of a variety of classes, prepared some of our hot and spicy foods. Other suggestions came from the Savory Spice in Denver and Littleton and several cookbooks, including Peppers Peppers Peppers by Marlena Spieler and Hotter Than Hell by Jane Butel.

Mexican cooked green salsa vs. Mexican cooked red salsa

The cooked green sauce is based on jalapeños and tomatillos, while the more potent red uses serrano chiles and tomatoes. If you want less heat, remove the veins and seeds of the peppers.

Hot wings

Some like them fried, some like them naked - heck, there are whole restaurant chains devoted to the subject. My personal favorite: fried wings with a little Frank's Hot Sauce, mixed with melted butter and a splash of vinegar.

Jamaican jerk

Jerked foods originated in the multicultural climate of Jamaica. The jerk seasoning mixture must include chile peppers, usually habañero or Scotch bonnet, allspice and thyme. More flavors are added depending on the whims of the cook. The spice is applied to meat or poultry, which is then grilled. The Savory Spice blends its jerk seasoning with Red Savina habañero chile powder, one of the hottest chiles around.

Piri-piri sauce

At last month's Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Emeril Lagasse kicked it up a notch with piri-piri sauce in a seafood dish. It's named for the piri-piri pepper, an African bird's-eye chile. Because the piri- piri is difficult to get fresh, there are numerous versions, using any hot peppers. At the Savory Spice in Denver and Littleton, piri-piri is made with dried hot chile pequins.

Indonesian sambals

The hot condiment of Indonesia, a combination of hot chiles and any number of other ingredients, including something to temper the heat, such as brown sugar, that are varied to suit the dish. Some popular bottled and jarred sambals can be found at the groceries and specialty markets to accompany curries or grilled skewered chicken dishes.

Bhut Jolokia

The hottest pepper, it's taken the place of the Red Savina habañero as the leader in the world of hot peppers. Dr. Paul Bosland of New Mexico State University verified the heat of the pepper, developed in India, at more than 1 million on the Scoville Heat Unit, compared with the Red Savina at 580,000. (Jalapeños rank between 2,500 and 5,000.) The Chile Pepper Institute at NMSU (chilepepperinstitute.org) has seeds available for the chile-head willing to cough up $5.

Thai green chile paste

Use too much of this chile mix in your Thai food and get ready to gulp down a bucket of water. The Thai red chile paste is milder.

Caribbean hot sauces

There are a few zillion hot sauces out there, but look for the Caribbean ones that have habañero peppers as the base - they'll be hot enough for everyone.

Habañero, Scotch bonnets, bird's-eye chiles (in order of heat):

After the Bhut Jolokia, these chiles are ranked hottest - and are more readily available.

Harissa

The Tunisian hot chile paste is served as a sauce and used in cooking in North African and Moroccan cuisines. Popular with ground lamb and couscous.

Indian curry

Indian curries are usually classified as North Indian curries and South Indian curries. North Indian curries use dried chile peppers; South Indian ones use fresh chile peppers and are much hotter, using chiles, coconut milk and tamarind. Curry powder is freshly ground in India and may have up to a couple dozen spices in it.

Szechwan

Refers to either the regional Chinese cuisine known for its hot, spicy dishes or the Szechwan pepper, which is a component of five-spice powder. The pepper isn't related to peppercorns - it comes from an ash tree rather than the fruit of a vine - but is hottish and pepperlike.

Firecracker shrimp

There are two interpretations of this dish. One involves wrapping a shrimp in a spring-roll skin with the tail protruding to look like a firecracker. The other entails marinating shrimp in a chile sauce.

Put out the fire

How do you combat the heat while eating a hot dish? Skip the water and reach for the milk. Dairy products - including ice cream, sour cream and yogurt - are cooling. Water, according to Pepper Pepper Pepper, merely spreads the heat around. Beer, vodka and tequila also are neutralizing. To cut the heat at the source, add a bit of sugar to the dish.

Prepared food courtesy of Danielle Edmonds, Kristen Weiss

and Whole Foods Market Belmar.

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