Forget Frank's And Texas Pete — This Trader Joe's Hot Sauce Comes From The Garlic Capital Of The World

Whether you're splashing day-old pizza or a warm breakfast burrito, hot sauce just makes hand-held food better. I always have Tapatío handy but have also been known to stock up on Frank's hottest hot sauce, along with Texas Pete or any of the other favorite store-bought hot sauces out there. But during a recent trip to Trader Joe's, I came across its Chunky Garlic & Jalapeño Hot Sauce. Two of its main ingredients, as you might gather from its name, are brined jalapeño peppers and garlic from a place that calls itself "the garlic capital of the world."

Take off the cap and hold it up to your nose and you'll get lots of garlic. Drop a little on your finger or a spoon for a quick taste and you'll get salt from the brining process. This is where the sauce loses some people, as most online who claim to detest it find it too salty. One issue I've always had with Trader Joe's sauces and salsas is that they're just never that spicy. And that's true with this one, as the jalapeños appear to be more for subtle flavor than heat. On the other hand, it's this low heat level that makes it accessible. As for the salt, it's surprisingly masked when you put it on food, and at that point, it's the garlic that leads the way. If that isn't your thing, you may want to leave this sauce on the shelf. Otherwise, don't sleep on this one — it comes from a town with major cred when it comes to garlic.

Gilroy is a small town in Northern California that loves its garlic so much that it became the town's identity. The self-proclaimed "garlic capital of the world" grows garlic and sells various kinds of garlic products from sauces to ice cream (yes, ice cream). The town also holds an annual garlic festival that brings people from all over the country together to try recipes featuring the flavor-packed vegetable. One garlic purveyor in Gilroy is The Pepper Plant, manufacturer of The Pepper Plant hot sauce, The Pepper Plant garlic sauce, and more varieties of hot sauces with garlic as the central ingredient. While not confirmed by Trader Joe's, online discussions also widely consider The Pepper Plant to be the manufacturer of Trader Joe's Chunky Garlic & Jalapeño Hot Sauce.

One last thing to touch on is the sauce's consistency. As the label states, it's chunky — so chunky the bottle cannot use that little drip cap commonly found in hot sauce bottles. In fact, its consistency is more like salsa than hot sauce. This could be why fans say it goes great on eggs and tamales but not many recommend fried chicken or pizza, both of which make you reach for the tang of Tapatío or Frank's. Overall, this Trader Joe's hot sauce is flavorful and has an interesting texture, which may be why it came in second in our Trader Joe's hot sauce ranking. It promises to give your snacks and meals a garlic punch with a jalapeño kiss.