Tabasco

The miracle of lacto-fermentation. Peppers crushed with salt ferment in oak barrels for three years, developing deep lactic acidity before being cut with vinegar. Its heat (capsaicin) is intense but evanescent. In cooking, it is used less to burn than to "cut" richness: a few drops in a beurre blanc or mayonnaise provide a fruity, acetic spike that awakens sleeping lipids.