Beware. No Wimps Allowed. Belizean Heat. These are the monikers that adorn some of the hottest hot sauces you will ever try. But they’re not the hottest. That would be Red Hornet, a sauce so hot even the official tasters at the factory have to take a breather to collect themselves.
Here at Marie Sharp’s factory, they make what is the best hot sauce in the Caribbean: an impressive range of almost 20 different sauces that will wow — and sometimes terrify – your palate.
But the Caribbean’s best hot sauce actually started by accident. It was the early 1980s, and Sharp was working as a secretary at a citrus farm; her husband inherited a 400-acre farm, and a local doctor came to her and asked her if she could plant some peppers for him.
Never one for wastage, she experimented with the extra peppers she had grown, conjuring up a carrot-based pepper sauce in her kitchen. The result was what would eventually become Belize’s legendary sauce, with a 1981 founding date.
The sauces get their differing intensities from different balances of “pepper mash” in each blend.
The hottest of them, Red Hornet, is a mix of traditional habanero pepper and a locally-grown scorpion pepper, a combination that is not for the faint of heart — or tongue.
They’re all marvelous, with a dynamic, bold flavor and a heat that, regardless of the intensity, is wonderfully balanced. It’s truly a knockout hot sauce.
A tour of the factory includes a tasting of 32 different varieties of sauces, jams and chutneys: you’re handed a plate with a bag of crackers and a checklist. It’s a culinary tour de force.
Dee Dee, who leads the tours, is a friendly, enthusiastic spokesperson for the brand. For her, the favorite is the huckleberry hot sauce; after a long night out, the next morning might require some of the really hot stuff, she says.
My favorite was the garlic habanero, and in the group tasting we participated in the mango was another hit.
The factory also makes a range of jams and chutneys — and actually makes some rather interesting fruit-based wine.
In all, about 100 people from the local community work here, with Sharp making an emphasis on hiring single mothers. It’s one of the shining lights of the vibrant community of Southern Belize, a spectacularly beautiful corner of the country tucked between the jungle and the sea.
“Anything she doesn’t use for hot sauce, she turns into wine,” Dee Dee says, pointing to cashew, jackfruit and apple varieties. After all, when your mouth is on fire, you need something to wash it down.
While a visit to the factory in Hope Creek is the best way to experience it, you can actually find Marie Sharp at retailers like Walmart and Amazon in the US.
So what’s the secret in the sauce?
“It doesn’t just have heat,” Dee Dee says. “It has a lot of flavor. Our secret is in the flavor.”
Are you heading to southern Belize? The best way is to fly to Belize City and drive, with the trip taking between and hour and a half and two hours. The best jumping off point is the town of Hopkins, about half an hour from the factory, a lovely little beach village with a host of beach shacks, eateries and bars all set along the sea. (You can find good Belize options here at Google Flights).
