Frank's RedHot is a

hot sauce Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa (sauce), salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of Mass production, mass-produced hot sauce exist. History Humans have used chili peppers and other ho ...

made from a variety of

cayenne pepper The cayenne pepper is a type of ''Capsicum annuum''. It is usually a 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 a curved ti ...

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 food service businesses. The ...

. The Original blend ranks low on the

Scoville scale The Scoville scale is a measurement of spiciness of chili peppers and other substances, recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU). It is 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 ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. In 1917, owner Jacob Frank contracted for the Estilette Pepper Farm in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

where Adam Estilette and Frank became business partners. They mixed spices,

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

and

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, 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 the hot sauce that was used in the original 1964

Anchor Bar The Anchor Bar is a bar and restaurant in Buffalo, New York, located north of Downtown Buffalo at the intersection of Main and North Streets.

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, currently branded as Reckitt, formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition prod ...

until 2017. Frank's is produced in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. In 2007, Thanasi Foods began marketing licensed Frank's RedHot flavored

beef jerky Jerky is lean trimmed meat strips which are dehydrated to prevent spoilage and seasoned to varying degrees. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent microbial growth through osmosis. The word "jerky" derives from the ...

and meat snacks. In August 2017, spice maker

closed a $4.2billion deal that included

French's French's is an American brand of prepared Mustard (condiment), mustards, condiments, fried onions, and other food items, best known for their popular yellow mustard. Created by Robert Timothy French, French's "Cream Salad Brand" mustard debuted ...

mustard and Frank's RedHot sauce.

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 most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

), 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 subgen ...

, and Ethel's mouth is covered with a censoring "splat".

References

External links

Frank's RedHot
— Official Home Page
Frank's RedHot on the ChilliWorld Scoville Scale (archived December 14, 2016 from the original)
{{Hot sauces Hot sauces Culture of Buffalo, New York Brand name condiments Reckitt brands Products introduced in 1920 American brands McCormick & Company brands

History

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See also

References

External links