It is ironic that as many hot peppers as I use in our kitchen, my family has an aversion to capsaicin, the natural chemical compound that gives chili peppers their heat. Nonetheless, hot sauce is part of who I am. My origin story comes from the first year I served in the military in West Germany.

It was Sergeant Juan San Miguel who introduced us to hot sauce in 1977. His wife could render any vegetable hot. We carried it around in gallon jugs, in our M113 armored personnel carriers. Today I made it like we did almost fifty years ago.

Fresh produce from the garden — tomatoes, a jalapeño pepper, cloves of garlic, and onions — all rough chopped and thrown together in the blender. Set on the slowest setting then chop for 30 seconds. Add more jalapeños for more heat.

Now we call it salsa, but this recipe is the best.

Years later I continue to use jalapeño peppers, garlic, tomatoes, and onions for salsa. I experimented along the way and this year created five new condiments based on an abundant pepper harvest. From left to right in the photo, they are, a relish made from previous year’s pickled jalapeño peppers, daikon radish, fennel and sweet pickles; a condiment made with last year’s pickled peppers, plus carrot, onion, and garlic; a jalapeño mash with garlic and onion in vinegar; a take on Juan San Miguel’s recipe with added sweet bell pepper and tomatillos; and finally a fermented jalapeño pepper blend with some apple cider vinegar added afterward. The fermented condiment has the best flavor by a distance.

I don’t know where this story ends, except with too many hot peppers, powders, and condiments. I’m okay with that for now.