When Life Hands you African Chillies

When life hands you lemons you can add a little sugar and make lemonade. But when life handed our multi-national team of hot sauce enthusiasts some African chillies, we cultivated our passions into an authentic African hot sauce and spice brand with a mission of preserving the continent’s endangered wildlife.

African Dream Foods is a socially conscious food company committed to bringing authentic African hot sauce and spice to the world. Our premier line of small-batch, artisanal hot sauces and spices is crafted exclusively with sustainably grown, all-natural, GMO-free ingredients (including the infamous African chillies) sourced directly from small farms in South African.

ADF products boast a vibrant range of wholesome, fresh ingredients like farm-grown tomatoes, garlic, and all-natural sea salt—but it’s the authentic African chillies that really claim center stage in each of our recipes.

Jalapeño

Jalapeños are the tried-and-true, good ‘ole boys of the pepper world. Offering a mild, front-of-the-mouth heat, many consider the Jalapeño the gateway drug for fledgling hot sauce addicts. We use the seeds and ribs (which contain most of their heat) of this African chilli to pack a nice little kick that won’t knock you out.

Cultivated originally in South America, the pepper was brought to Africa by Spanish colonists. With time, it became widely popular in fusion cuisine. These days, the jalapeño is a common African chilli and can be found in African sweet potato stew, peanut stew, and many traditional sauces. It can be stuffed, fried, pickled, eaten raw, or smoked to create chipotle.

The jalapeño’s fresh vegetal flavor is reminiscent of the bell pepper’s but with a sharper, more spirited zest. Its lighter burn makes it ideal as the headliner of our beloved Jalanasco Sauce—a milder, tangy, condiment that features a balanced ensemble of vinegar, salt, and vintage aged jalapeño peppers.

African Ghost Peppers

The ghost pepper (otherwise known as the bhut jolokia) is the golden child of the African chilli world. This mid-sized pepper stole the show in 2007 when the Guinness Book of World Records named it the hottest pepper in the world. These days, the ghost pepper no longer wears that crown. Even so, it has kept its rockstar status, remaining the central subject of viral chilli-eating challenges and YouTube videos.

At roughly 400 times hotter than your average jalapeño, the African ghost pepper is certainly nothing to bat an eye at. In fact, handling it requires gloves, as it’s known to cause severe skin burns.

Despite its scorching taste, the fiery African ghost pepper rewards anyone who can push through the slow burn with a broad palate of sweet and smoky flavors, making it an excellent addition to curries, stews, and marinades. Its warm flavor and lingering heat are exactly what makes it shine as the star ingredient of our African Ghost Pepper Sauce, an ultra-piquant sauce with balanced flavors and a slow, delectable sizzle. Although our African Ghost Pepper Sauce is not for the faint of heart, it’s a favorite among true hot sauce addicts.

African Bird’s Eye Chilli

The African bird’s eye chilli (sometimes referred to as Peri-Peri) is a small pepper that packs a big punch. At just over an inch long, this little guy delivers a slightly peppered, fruity taste that doesn’t sacrifice flavor for heat. This African chilli is hotter than the common jalapeño but milder than the habanero, making the African bird’s eye chilli a great entry-point for hot sauce addicts who want to push the envelope without going all in.

Historically, the bird’s eye chilli is the central ingredient in Mozambican Peri-Peri chicken—an internationally famous dish which balances the pepper’s fiery kick with the vibrant flavors of fresh lime, garlic, and vinegar. Using a somewhat similar lineup of ingredients, we translated the pepper’s distinct flavor into our Bird’s Eye Chilli Sauce, a cultivar hot sauce that brings an ardent, unforgettable zest to pizza, chicken, meat or fish.

African Habanero Peppers

Like jalapeños, habaneros were brought to Africa from South America by Spanish colonists during the 1500s. Since then, these bright-colored African chillies have become a staple in many of the continent’s regional cuisines, adding a tingling spark and unique aroma to many traditional stews and sauces.

They can thrive pretty much anywhere hot and sunny—but when it comes to spice and flavor, not all habaneros are created equal. What sets the African habanero apart from its international counterparts is its unique floral aroma, which makes it an especially mouthwatering addition to sauces and seasonings. In fact, that’s exactly why we chose this African chilli as the MVP ingredient in our Habanasco Hot Sauce, an ultra-flavorful, fermented tabasco-style sauce that adds a rich heat to any dish.

We’ve also incorporated the African habanero into our Habanero Chilli Salt, a mouthwatering sea-salt seasoning mixed with this African chilli that’s guaranteed to replace traditional salt and pepper in all your favorite dishes.