Ever wondered about the past life of your bottle of Sriracha? You know where it's going (on your eggs, on your stir fry, in your mouth, etc.), but do you know where it's been? I mean, really know? You can now, thanks to a video (below) by Refinery29.
The video takes spice lovers behind the scenes of the Sriracha factory to explore just how red jalapenos, which grow only four months out of the year, are minced into a fiery paste and placed inside those iconic green-lidded bottles.
First, the peppers, 21 tons of them delivered on the daily (or 100 million pounds a year), make their way into the Sriracha factory in Irwindale, California. How does one building hold so many peppers, you may be wondering? At 650,000 square feet, it's a beast of a building -- that's why.
The jalapenos are hand-inspected and washed before they're tossed into a grinder, which hashes the veggies into a paste of peppers, salt and vinegar.
The movement doesn't stop there; after that, the mixture is stored in bright blue barrels to be used throughout the year. Later, it's mixed with garlic and sugar -- plus other ingredients that the factory keeps top secret.
Sriracha bottles are made in the factory, too. They start out as small plastic vials that are then expanded, filled with the pepper sauce, topped with green caps and adorned with labels.
Are you craving sriracha? We are, too. Here's the perfect dish to satisfy your spice fix.
We can almost taste it now. Want to see the whole process in detail? Check it out below.