Frank's RedHot is a
hot sauce
Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of mass-produced hot sauce exist.
History
Humans have used chili peppers and other hot spices for thousands of ye ...
made from a variety of
cayenne pepper
The cayenne pepper is a type of '' Capsicum annuum''. It is usually a moderately hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes. Cayenne peppers are a group of tapering, 10 to 25 cm long, generally skinny, mostly red-colored peppers, often with ...
s, produced by
McCormick & Company
McCormick & Company, Incorporated is an American food company that manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavoring products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses.
Thei ...
. The Original blend ranks low on the
Scoville scale
The Scoville scale is a measurement of the pungency (spiciness or "heat") of chili peppers, as recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU), based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component.
The scale ...
, with 450 SHUs, but the XTRA Hot variety measures 2,000 SHUs.
History
The Frank Tea and Spice Company was founded in 1896 in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...
. In 1917, owner Jacob Frank contracted for the Estilette Pepper Farm in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
where Adam Estilette and Frank became business partners. They mixed spices,
vinegar
Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ...
,
garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northe ...
and
cayenne pepper
The cayenne pepper is a type of '' Capsicum annuum''. It is usually a moderately hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes. Cayenne peppers are a group of tapering, 10 to 25 cm long, generally skinny, mostly red-colored peppers, often with ...
s and aged them, creating the original blend of Frank's RedHot, which entered the market in 1920.
Frank's RedHot is the primary ingredient in many
Buffalo wing
A Buffalo wing in American cuisine is an unbreaded chicken wing section ( flat or drumette) that is generally deep-fried and then coated or dipped in a sauce consisting of a vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and melted butter prior to serv ...
recipes, but was probably not used in the original 1964
Anchor Bar recipe.
In 1977, Frank's RedHot was sold to Durkee Famous Foods.
Following the purchase of the Durkee brand in 1995, it was owned by
Reckitt Benckiser
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the m ...
until 2017. Frank's is produced in
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estima ...
. In 2007,
Thanasi Foods began marketing licensed Frank's RedHot flavored
beef jerky
Jerky is lean trimmed meat cut into strips and dried (dehydrated) to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth before the meat has finished the dehydrating process. The word "jerky" derive ...
and
meat snacks. In August 2017, spice maker
McCormick & Company
McCormick & Company, Incorporated is an American food company that manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavoring products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses.
Thei ...
closed a $4.2billion deal that included
French's
French's is an American brand of prepared mustard, condiments, fried onions, and other food items that was created by Robert Timothy French. French's "Cream Salad Brand" mustard debuted to the world at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. By 1921, ...
mustard and Frank's RedHot sauce.
Advertisements
Frank's RedHot is known for its national television ad campaign depicting an irreverent elderly woman named Ethel explaining her recipes for various foods. Usually in front of a prestigious figure (e.g., the
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
), she will quip "I put that s*** on everything", much to the disdain of those around her. The expletive is always censored with a
bleep
Bleep may refer to:
* Bleep sound, a noise, generally of a single tone, often generated by a machine
** Bleep censor, the replacement of offensive language (swear words) or personal details with a beep sound
** Bleep techno, a Yorkshire-born subge ...
, and Ethel's mouth is covered with a censoring "splat".
See also
*
Condiment
A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is served separat ...
*
List of hot sauces
This is a list of commercial hot sauces. Variations on a company's base product are not necessarily common, and are not always included.
Scoville heat ratings vary depending on batch. However, many companies do not disclose numeric ratings for ...
*
Scoville heat scale
References
External links
Frank's RedHot— Official Home Page
Frank's RedHot on the ChilliWorld Scoville ScaleFranks RedHot Canada
{{Hot sauces
Hot sauces
Culture of Buffalo, New York
Brand name condiments
Reckitt brands
Products introduced in 1920
McCormick & Company brands