Dave Hirschkopf was the first person to link hot sauce and insanity…and thank goodness for that! Besides being an industry leader in the hot & spicy biz, he was insane enough to send us a bunch of products to try. Thanks, Dave!!
Dave’s products come with the disclaimer, “Warning: This product may be addictive for those with taste buds, but don’t worry, we’ll make more.” None of the products have any preservatives, and we dare to find the bacteria that could live in any of the hotter stuff anyway.
Our funny story about Dave Insanity sauce goes like this. We went to the D.C. Chili Cookoff back in 1998. It was the end of May, but hot as hell outside. It must have been in the 90’s and very humid. Not the most perfect day to eat chili, but we did it despite the heat. Anyway, we’re walking along tasting all these chilis. We stopped at one stand that had a bunch of hot sauces out on the table as condiments. Linda got her little 2 oz. cup of chili and put about a teaspoon of Dave’s Insanity on top and promptly chugged & swallowed the whole thing. There were no stands that sold drinks for what seemed like a block. It was all she could do just to try to breathe, let alone talk. So, she didn’t. Joe didn’t understand why Linda wasn’t talking. She was way too embarrassed to tell him what she had done. Eventually, Linda began talking again, but the sweat that was coming from her had little to do with the temperature outside and EVERYTHING to do with that sauce. It is just one of the many times we’ve watched each other suffer for our love of hot sauces.
Dave had some great things to say about his sauces, his company, and what it’s like to be something of a pioneer in the hot & spicy food industry:
What gives you the most pleasure in creating & producing your products?
I like to see ideas become reality. It is great to take a concept, stretch it in different directions and then, after all the time spent, have something concrete. It feels even better when people enjoy it or it solves a problem, but you can’t win them all.
As former Marylanders ourselves, what do you miss most about the good ol’ days back at Burrito Madness?
Owning and operating a restaurant is a unique experience. Despite the long hours and the hard work of staffing and running a kitchen, Burrito Madness had that immediacy and intimacy that felt great. In a restaurant, you touch the food every day and see your customers face to face. Even though restaurants have a fast pace, there is a simplicity about the experience. If you make the food as tasty as you can for the price, you get to see people enjoy it. It was also a bonus to see some deserving souls writhe in pain from overdoing our Insane sauces. (We like to see that too!)
What led you to going from making your super-hot and/or humorous products to the diversified line that you have now?
The Super hot sauces that I pioneered are a fun idea. I am proud that we were the first super hot and that so many people have enjoyed that part of our company. Like most people, I have more than one idea. I have never viewed my company as only a hot food company. We are about creating great memorable experiences with food. I think that Insanity Sauce is memorable, but I hope that Heirloom Tomato Pasta Sauces and Porcini Spice Rubs are also special and memorable.
What gives you your inspiration in creating your products?
I guess that I tend to daydream. Somedays I get ideas that tend to start with “wouldn’t it be great if…”. Many of my ideas are products or services or government policies or charitable works. The ideas that are aren’t too weird, I evaluate for our business.
Is there anything new going on in the labs at Dave’s Gourmet? If so, what?
We are getting ready to launch several new items. These include a hot sauce where you turn the top of the bottle and it actually changes the heat level of the sauce. Another great item is a pump spray hot sauce that is also a garden spray. You can season your barbeque and keeps deer out of your garden. We are also working on a line of dessert sauces (Gingerbread Crème and Apple Pie & Ice Crème). There are also many more ideas.
So what’s in all this stuff? An Ingredient List!
Burning Nuts: peanuts, salt, habanero chile, dextrose, spices, monosodium glutamate, onion, garlic, natural flavors, citric acid, extractives of paprika, not more than 2% silica gel
Insanity corn: yellow popcorn, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, pepper, spices, natural and artificial flavorings
Hurtin’ Habanero and Honey Mustard: water, red chili peppers, honey, sugar, mustard seed, white distilled vinegar, wheat flour, salt, habanero peppers, garlic, xantham gum, lemon juice, paprika, onions, citric acid, soybean oil, natural vitamin E, turmeric & annatto spice, natural flavor
Insanity sauce: onions, hot peppers, tomato paste, hot pepper extract, salt, cane vinegar, garlic, citric acid, xantham gum, spices
Ultimate Insanity sauce: red habaneros, hot pepper extract, onions, red chile, tomato paste, salt, garlic, cane vinegar, vegetable oil, xantham gum
Hurtin’ Habanero sauce: water, red chile pepper (red peppers, salt, acetic acid), onions, habanero puree (habanero peppers, salt, citric acid), white cane vinegar, garlic, spices, salt, xantham gum
Scotch Bonnet sauce: water, scotch bonnet peppers, cane vinegar, peaches, salt, citric acid, glucose, sugar, onions, xantham gum, ascorbic acid, spices
Hurtin’ Jalapeno sauce: chayote pulp, cayenne pepper pulp, leek, salt, garlic powder, fresh coriander, cane vinegar, jalapeno pepper pulp, lemon juice, acetic acid, citric acid, xantham gum, cumin
Joe’s $0.02 Dig it…
Burning Nuts: Once taste of these and you’ll never even consider most other brands of spicy peanuts ever again. Unlike those, the heat from the habanero chile gets me to put these darlings within my reach whenever I have a taste for snacky-type food. I only wish they came in a bigger container.
Insanity corn: There is a shortage of good hot popcorn out there, and this fills the need precisely. It has some heat which is cumulative, but not lethal compared to other of Dave’s products. The flavor was good enough that even our 2 year-old was chowing down as fast as he could shove kernels in his mouth.
Hurtin’ Habanero and Honey Mustard: One great thing about this mustard is that it doesn’t taste like a typical mustard, and has this great balance of habanero and honey that doesn’t seem to favor one over the other. It’s positively delectable with meat, veggies, or whatever use you might find for mustard.
Insanity sauce: The signature sauce of Dave’s line of sauces. It has overpowering heat which hits you about the time your tastebuds are grasping for the taste of the sauce. It’s what one might call stupid hot, as in you are stupid if you eat too much of it with its pervasive heat.
Ultimate Insanity sauce: Let’s face it, I can’t disguise that this sauce has ummm…limited uses. It’s an extract sauce, and a mega-powerful one at that. I like extract sauces, and use them…but one bottle is likely to last quite a while. Taste a little on the tip of a toothpick and you will see what I mean. BEWARE!
Hurtin’ Habanero sauce: Definitely a step down in heat from its brethren sauces, it is a pretty straightforward habanero sauce with lots of that characteristic taste. It’s not fancy with a long list of ingredients, but it works great as an everyday hot sauce when you want to add a little heat.
Scotch Bonnet sauce: Further proof that scotch bonnet peppers are NOT habaneros. Less heat than the Hurtin’ Habanero sauce with just a hint of peachy flavor, it’s pretty tangy. I liked it as an accompaniment to any kind of grilled chicken.
Hurtin’ Jalapeno sauce: Probably the sauce that I thought had the best taste of this bunch, accentuated by chayote pulp and leek. It tastes very green, and that’s a good thing. A little tart, but endows great flavor to all the food that it touches. Yummy!
Linda’s $0.02 Far out…
Burning Nuts: These are the best nuts I’ve ever tasted. *ahem* Let me rephrase…I LOVE Dave’s nuts. Um…OK…well, this isn’t exactly working for what I want to say. All right…these peanuts are hot, tasty and best served with some cold beer. They go down a little too easy, so be sure to buy more than one if you like hot nuts. Yes, I’m done. 
Insanity corn: Our toddler loves this stuff. I’m not saying that I don’t. I’m just saying that it’s so good that it passes a toddler’s palate. That really DOES say a lot. Much like the nuts, it goes quickly…too quickly. It makes you wonder how to take the regular market popcorn and tailor it to get the same taste, but you really can’t. If you’re a popcorn fan, you must try this.
Hurtin’ Habanero and Honey Mustard: I LOVE this mustard, though it wouldn’t be my first choice to use on a plain ol’ hot dog. I like this mustard used IN other products. It’s amazing added to other sauces to spice things up. Try it in egg salad or deviled eggs and potato salad. It’s just so flavorful that it punches up the plain everyday meals and makes them extraordinary.
Insanity sauce: So, Joe and I tried a TINY bit of this on a cucumber. Yes, a cucumber. We both put the cuke in our mouths at the same time and as soon as that happened, Joe said, “Dumb-ass.” He was talking about both of us. After a few spoonfuls of ice cream we were able to talk about the event. (This is not the first time that I have erred in using Dave’s Insanity Sauce. Review the story of the 1998 Chili Cook-off above.) Anyway…I really do like this sauce, but it has to be used in moderation. That’s a word both Joe and myself confuse sometimes, but it must be done.
Ultimate Insanity sauce: Admittedly, I was not brave enough to try this outright. We do use extract sauces around the house, especially when we’re making large quantities of something like chili. I’m pregnant right now and I just didn’t want to be set on fire. Sorry Dave. I’m already going through a bottle of Tums per week and was running short.
Hurtin’ Habanero sauce: Normally I’m not a big fan of Habanero sauces because many producers go for the heat and forget about the flavor. Not this bad boy! It certainly goes for the burn, but it hardly lacks flavor. I’ve liked adding this to soups. It’s been a cool spring and soups have been a main staple around here. This bottle is very close by the stove.
Scotch Bonnet sauce: The flavor of the Scotch Bonnet pepper just pops right out as soon as you try this. It’s not masked by other ingredients, which I just adore. It’s a very unique pepper flavor and gives you a break from all the regular sauces. I like the saltiness of it as well. I tend to add this to bland food. It boosts the salt content and natural flavor of the foods you are eating while adding that unique pepper zing. Any veggie preparation is begging for this stuff.
Hurtin’ Jalapeno sauce: I’ve been a huge Jalepeno fan this pregnancy. This sauce just rocked my world. I feel the same way about the salt content that I did about the Scotch Bonnet, and it’s ability to stay true to the Jalepeno pepper flavor. There’s just no mistaking this for anything other than pure Jalepeno. I’ve enjoyed adding this to chicken burritos and rice preparations. Next up is trying it with black beans and rice. This stays close to the stove as well. Baby bug thanks you for this one, Dave. So does the Tums company.
Don’t just take our word for it! Here are some online reviews of these sauces:
www.geocities.com/alienzombie13/hot_sauce.html
www.saucerater.com
www.geocities.com/jgano2/hot_sauce_guide.htm
www.feelingsaucy.com/
Want to review Dave’s Gourmet sauces for yourself? Go here and leave your own opinion:
www.rateitall.com/t-1125-hot-sauces.aspx
Recipe Ideas
Dave has a number of mouth-watering recipes listed on his website. You can find them at:
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