Hot sauce lovers- listen up!
Things are heating up in the kitchen- with hot sauces like Melinda’s.
The nationally- recognized company makes a variety of unique flavors and heat levels.
Here’s a closer look at the making of Melinda’s.

Spicy food is a hot trend.
Just ask Melinda’s.

"Nothing like Melinda’s on the market…our hot sauces is vegetable based…we mix the chili peppers in with that to create a balance of heat and flavor," said David Figueroa, Melinda’s founder.

Figueroa and his brother Greg says it’s to keep up with the heat wave, making the hot sauce flavors just right for the ingredient you may crave in your food or even in your drink.

According to QSR magazine- hot and spicy ingredients have increased in the last ten years.

"As peppers started to be discovered, and more peppers hit the market we started making hotter pepper sauces to the demands of our customers." said Figueroa.

The magazine reports more than half of the adult population is willing to try spicy foods- which is why Melinda’s turned up the heat.

"To put that in perspective this is 674,000 scoville units, a jalepeno is 5,000 scoville units and a regular habenero is 200-300,000 so he doubled the heat of a habenero pepper so we are able to come out with our red sevina," said Figueroa.

Melinda’s says the hotter the sauce- the better it sells.

"Our extra hot probably is one of our best sellers. Our triple X is very very popular but fast forward to today and our new sauce, all of our new condiment sauces, we can out with our green sauce and our line of wing sauces are doing very very well at the retail level." said Figueroa.

Food experts say adding the heat can spice up your health.

"They have more vitamin C than an orange, than a chili pepper, they create endorphins in your body, give you a rush like a runners high, so there’s a very euphoric feeling about eating hot and spicy peppers." said Figueroa.

But for those who don’t always crave the extra flavoring- it’s never too late to adjust.

"I think that’s the case for just about everybody, they start somewhere, they start at the mild end and all of a sudden they wake up and they are down here, you know, addicted to ghost pepper sauce." said Figueroa.