I’ve had it with hot honey. It’s been on the scene for years now, but I really started seeing it pop up around 2018. Despite how many times I’ve tried it (many) and the vast variety of foods I’ve put it on (several), it’s never hot enough. Not even close. And as much as I like sweet and spicy paired together (please don’t make me call it “swicy"), it rarely matches up with the flavor profile of what I’m eating. I’d like to propose that you leave hot honey behind, and instead try a condiment that delivers flavor, heat, and a bit of sweet: hot ketchup.
To clarify, I’m not a fanatic spice-head. This isn’t coming from a person who pops habaneros as a snack. I like heat as a complement to a dish’s flavor, and I frequently use hot sauce or add chilis to my food. However, the minute spice becomes a distraction to my enjoyment, it’s too much. I know everyone has different tolerances, but truly, hot honey can’t effectively provide long lasting heat. This is no fault of honey.
Honey is a special gift, but it’s never going to make you feel spice the way other sauces will. Honey is mostly composed of carbohydrates in the form of sugars and a wee bit of water. Sugar can actually alleviate the effects of capsaicin (the spicy oil found in hot peppers) by functioning like a painkiller. Which means honey will actually make hot peppers feel less spicy to the pain receptors in your mouth. Hot honey is an oxymoron.
If you must have hot honey, look for the brands that actually have a pepper mash that you can see. When you eat it with food, you’ll probably crack into one of these pieces as you chew and get a burst of fire. I recommend Melinda’s Ghost Pepper Hot Honey. The heat is short-lived but strong, and if that works for you then you’ll enjoy this one.
Luckily, hot ketchup is here to help. It's been my condiment of choice in these early days of summer. I’ve been using Rao’s Arrabbiata Ketchup which has a surprisingly forceful kick. Hot ketchup is a far better vehicle for heat delivery because it sticks to food, the flavor is more flexible, and there’s not enough sugar in it to mute the spice. Honey has little in the way of structure, so it easily dribbles off food, while ketchup is spreadable and stays put for the most part. The flavor of ketchup is much less divisive. I know several people that hate sweet and savory paired together, but ketchup reads less like candy and still scratches the itch.
Now that outdoor grilling season is here, I think spicy ketchup should be the champion condiment of the summer. Put it on all the things you’ve tried to enjoy hot honey with. Add it to your barbecue sauce recipe, use it as a marinade, spread it on pizza, and obviously it should go on your hot sandwiches. If you’re wondering how you’ll ever make your blueberry pie à la mode spicy again (all two of you spicy dessert folks out there), maybe just reach for the hot sauce.
