The Best Gifts for Spicy Food Lovers This Holiday Season

Let’s Start Spicy Gifting

This holiday season, what better way to stay warm inside than to enjoy some hot and sizzling spicy food? For your spicy food-loving gift recipient, you can begin your gift shopping journey by getting an idea of the types of spice your loved one enjoys.

Spice comes in many shapes, forms, and flavors. If you only know that your giftee enjoys spice in general, start to narrow down what exactly spice means for them and how they like to enjoy it.

If you’re unsure, perhaps brainstorming some types of spicy foods might help. Some common types of spicy food people will enjoy are:

• Asian Dishes: This can range from Thai ground meat larb to Korean tteokbokki rice cakes or even something with more subtle spice like this Spicy Sushi Roll. A wide variety of Asian dishes contain considerable amounts of heat. If you’re looking for a quick, simple present, try getting your gift receiver a gift card or make a homemade coupon to their favorite Asian restaurant!

• Snacks: Plenty of snacks come in spicy forms for that added kick. If you know your giftee is more of a spicy snacker, try making them a gift basket of spicy snacks thatthey’ll enjoy.

• Sauces: If your friend loves to add spicy toppings to any given dish or snack, spicy sauces are a great option. There are many types of spicy sauces and condiments to gift a spice lover, one of the most popular being hot sauce, which we will expand on momentarily.

Now that you have some overarching ideas about spicy gifts, you can consider further what will please your giftee, especially when you account for their spice tolerance.

What Is Spice Tolerance?

Spice tolerance is exactly what it sounds like: how much spice an individual can handle when eating. Everyone has one, and some may have a significantly lower spice tolerance than others, while some — especially those who love spice — will be able to handle the heat.

You can assume that your spice-loving giftee has a higher spice tolerance than most. However, when gifting spicy products, it’s important to recognize just how high that tolerance is, so you know you’re getting something your gift receiver can actually eat and enjoy comfortably.

This is important because spice, although tasty and enjoyable to eat for many spice lovers, can easily become too much. So, while you may believe that your loved one has a strong tolerance for spice because they eat spicy snacks often, they may not be a match for one of the world’s hottest hot sauces.

Just consider the side effects seen in people who ate the Carolina Reaper, the world’s official hottest chili pepper. Individuals who ate the pepper experienced mouth burning, mouth numbness, and, at times, extreme side effects like vomiting.

Though some are more comfortable with the experience or less susceptible to these effects, it’s important to recognize the spice tolerance of your giftee before deciding on a spicy gift.

The Significance of Chili Peppers

When it comes to spicy gifts, peppers are a great place to start. Don’t worry; they aren’t all like the Carolina Reaper. Chili peppers come in so many different varieties suitable for a wide range of spice tolerances.

You can recognize the spice levels of different peppers by finding their measured levels of heat in SHU, also known as Scoville heat units. Scoville heat units are the designated unit of measurement used to determine the heat of chili peppers on the Scoville scale. The scale measures the number of capsaicinoids — the chemical in chili peppers that creates that “heat” sensation — in a given pepper.

The other bonus of gifting chili peppers is that there are so many different forms. While some may choose to enjoy raw chili peppers like the Carolina Reaper for the fun of it and the challenge, most people eat their peppers in the form of hot sauce or seasonings.

When you’re purchasing a present like hot sauce for your giftee, you can check the bottle for the Scoville heat units of the sauce to ensure it is the right amount of spice.

Hot Sauce Makes a Fantastic Gift

For the spice lover who needs something quick, portable, and tasty, hot sauce is a perfect choice. As a condiment, hot sauce can add a touch of spice to any food your giftee pleases. As mentioned, because hot sauce contains chili peppers, you can easily check the Scoville heat units of the sauce and thus recognize whether the heat level is right for your giftee.

Our TRUFF Original Hot Sauce is a mild start for any spice lover. It sits at a Scoville heat level of 2,500 to 3,000 SHU. For comparison, milder jalapeño peppers are typically around 2,500 SHU, but they can be as hot as 8,000 SHU. Our original hot sauce may be exactly what your favorite spice lover is looking for if their spice tolerance is somewhat lower.

However, if your spice-loving gift recipient tends to lean towards the spicier side of a jalapeño pepper’s heat, we’ve got the perfect gift for that too. Our TRUFF Hotter Sauce is even spicier than our original sauce, with a heat level ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 SHU.

For a compact, eye-catching gift that features both sauces, check out our Spicy Lovers Pack which gives your giftee options. It even includes our Black Truffle Spicy Marinara Pasta Sauce as an added bonus.

For variations on our hot sauces, feel free to check out our TRUFF White Hot Sauce which has the same kick as our original sauce, with a decadent white truffle spin on our original black truffle flavor. It also comes in the hotter form as the TRUFF White Hotter Hot Sauce. If you’re unsure which one to try, our Variety Pack is the perfect option for you.

What Are Some Hot Sauce Alternatives?

Hot sauce isn’t the only thing that can get your spice lover heated up this holiday season. Some people may not like the vinegar flavor that comes with hot sauce, or they might prefer other forms of spice. If that’s the case, we’ve still got you covered.

In terms of gifting condiments or sauces, there are plenty of alternatives to hot sauce that are just as versatile and can serve as great new additions to your giftee’s fridge or pantry.

For a spin on a more traditional condiment, we recommend gifting our TRUFF Spicy Mayonnaise. Not only does it provide your spice lover with that kick of spice, but it’s also a more subtle alternative to the more traditional hot sauce. Plus, it adds the umami flavor of black truffle to the creamy uniqueness of the mayonnaise flavor, combined with the heat.

Another option as a sauce for your spice-loving giftee is our TRUFF Black Truffle Spicy Marinara Pasta Sauce. Pasta pairs perfectly with spice, especially as a topping or addition to the sauce. For your spice lover, our pasta sauce provides not only a gift that demonstrates their love for spicy foods but a quick and easy way to prepare a meal at home this holiday season.

Heat It Up This Winter

For your spicy friend, feel free to explore the options at your disposal. Whether you’re a spice fan yourself or are merely a curious shopper, there are various ways to spice up foods with a kick of chili pepper.

To explore more, we suggest looking into some of your giftee’s past favorites. If you know your gift receiver enjoys spice, consider what they’ve enjoyed in the past and what other dishes, sauces, or snacks may be similar in spice or flavor.

In the world of spice and hot sauces, we’re here to provide you with fantastic options, thanks to our selection of condiments.

This holiday season, don’t sweat it, and keep TRUFFing on.

Sources:

Fear the reaper: reversible cerebrovascular vasoconstriction syndrome after hot pepper ingestion - PMC

Electroanalytical overview: the pungency of chile and chilli products determined via the sensing of capsaicinoids - PubMed

A gift for gratitude and cooperative behavior: brain and cognitive effects - PMC