Who has a good hot sauce?

[Cavi Mike]

That ISN'T vinegar based? Though I like heat, it's not a huge factor. I'm in search of a good flavor and though vinegar-based sauces are great with many things, there are other things where I wish I didn't have that flavor. Like a soup.

[Baraka_Guru]

You might have a difficult time finding a hot sauce that doesn't use vinegar as a carrier for the peppers. You'll find sauces that have other ingredients, such as sugar, garlic, mustard, etc., but the vinegar is there.

If you want to avoid the vinegar for things like soup, you should simply learn how to season soup with peppers themselves. Maybe experiment with homemade pepper pastes.

I suppose if you look around, you could find commercial pepper pastes as well.

Have a look for gochujang or curry paste, for example.

[snowy]

My husband is planning on making some fermented hot sauces this summer with our pepper harvest. Instead of vinegar as a preservative, you inoculate the hot sauce with a culture (typically yogurt or kefir culture; you can find these anywhere that sells cheesemaking supplies, like a homebrewing shop) and let it ferment on its own.

More info here: Fermented Hot Chili Sauce Recipe | Nourished Kitchen