Spicy pastes and sauces have captured popularity for centuries, from Japanese wasabi to North African harissa. Now, social media challenges are stoking the trend for super spicy food and transforming foods you'd never expect. Whether it’s hot peanut butter, chilli-laced chocolate or scorching gummy bears, brands are turning up the heat in bold and surprising ways.

9 Surprisingly Spicy Foods That Will Surprise You

1. Salt

Not even humble old salt has escaped being spiced up. Seasoning specialists Behrnes make a range of salts blended with a variety of peppers, from a relatively tame hatch pepper salt that goes well with eggs, popcorn and red meat, to a blazing hot Reaper version that's great on the rim of a cocktail glass. Different regions of the world have their own spiced salts. The Mediterranean version often includes oregano, lemon zest and crushed red pepper, while Indian-inspired recipes tend to contain mint, almonds and fenugreek.

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2. Jams and jellies

A delicious fusion of sweet and heat, chilli-infused preserves will elevate any cheeseboard, sandwich or glaze. While chilli jam is nothing new, the growing trend for ever-spicier food has seen heat levels increasing, as well as a wider variety of fruit combinations introduced. These days, you can find everything from mango and habanero jam to apple mixed with seriously fiery Carolina Reaper chillies.

3. Spicy cheese

Made from creamy, Californian Monterey Jack cheese blended with mildly spicy peppers, pepper Jack is probably the best-known spicy cheese. But while pepper Jack is famed for its smooth texture and pleasingly subtle heat, some far hotter options exist out there – think aged Cheddars infused with ghost peppers, Gouda combined with honey and sriracha and Muenster cheese studded with chunks of jalapeño.

4. Chocolate

If the thought of chilli-spiked chocolate appeals, US-based Pepper Joe’s Raging Reaper Chocolate Bar blends rich dark chocolate with Carolina Reaper peppers for a fiery flavour explosion. Should you prefer to consume chocolate as a treat, rather than endurance effort, gourmet brand Hotel Chocolate produces a range of taste bud–tingling treats, including Fire & Ice truffles that combine the coolness of peppermint chocolate and the warmth of chilli chocolate in a 70% dark chocolate coating. For a DIY twist, try making your own chocolate truffles studded with Sichuan pepper for a deliciously different treat.

5. Condiments

Condiments stood out as obvious candidates for a super spicy makeover, and from gochujang mayo and Jamaican jerk barbecue sauce to wasabi mustard and scorpion pepper salsa, sauce fans have plenty of options to choose from. Heinz alone produces four different varieties of zingy ketchup, including medium-hot chipotle, hot jalapeño and super-hot habanero. Its Hot 57 Sauce meanwhile is a red jalapeño take on the beloved classic and the first new Heinz 57 Sauce to be released in more than a decade.

6. Honey

Hot honey burst onto the food scene back in 2010, when pizzeria apprentice Mike Kurtz drizzled honey infused with chilli peppers over a slice of pizza and effectively created a whole new food category that’s still thriving today. While Mike's Hot Honey is the gold standard, a raft of options is available to buy, all delivering different levels of heat. You could also try making your own – drizzle it over pizza or crispy bacon, add a splash to a salad dressing, or use it to take fried chicken to a whole new level.

7. Cheese curls

Super spicy cheese curls combine peppery heat with a satisfying, moreish crunch. Whether you're looking for a slow-building burn or an instant explosion of heat, they deliver flavour in every bite. From Xxtra Flamin' Hot Cheetos at the milder end of the scale right up to Herr's Carolina Reaper Flavoured Scorchin' Hot Cheese Curls – which score 1.5 million on the Scoville scale – there's a fiery option for every cheese puff fan out there.

8. Beef jerky

Kilishi (pictured) is a centuries-old spicy dried beef popular in Nigeria. To make it, traditional methods dry thin strips of meat in the sun for several hours and flavour them with a paste made from peanuts, paprika, cayenne, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, onion and garlic. In a modern day take on this idea, some brands have started to produce chilli spiced beef jerky – American company Savage Jerky Co., for example, sells a beef jerky marinated with Carolina Reaper, which hits 2.2 million on the Scoville scale.

9. Gummy bears 

Whether you're looking for a sweet and spicy snack to graze on or a single fiery sweet to test your tolerance, a following is slowly being gained by hot gummy bears. The trend has been jumped on by brands such as Snak Club, with a range of mildly flavoured Tajin Chili & Lime gummies being offered, while at the other end of the scale, it is claimed by the Flamethrower Candy Company that its Lil' Nitro is the world’s hottest gummy bear, reportedly packing 9 million heat units into each 1oz (3g) sweet. Ouch!

Conclusion 

It turns out people want heat in absolutely everything now. What started out as a love for traditional hot sauces has turned into a massive trend where brands are putting chili peppers into food you'd never expect. A lot of this is driven by social media dares, but people genuinely seem to love the contrast of sweet, salty, and spicy. Whether it’s high-end brands putting Carolina Reapers into dark chocolate or snack companies making face-melting gummy bears, the food industry is proving that you can add a kick of chili to pretty much anything on the shelf.

FAQ

Which gummy bear is supposed to be the hottest?

That would be Lil' Nitro by the Flamethrower Candy Company. It is an absolute powerhouse, packing about 9 million heat units into just one tiny, 3-gram gummy bear.

Can you actually buy spicy table salt?

You can. A company called Behrnes makes them using different peppers. They have a milder hatch pepper salt that is great on popcorn or eggs, and a super hot Reaper version meant for things like cocktail glass rims. You also find regional versions around the world, like Mediterranean salts mixed with citrus zest and red pepper, or Indian blends with mint and fenugreek.

How hot do spicy cheese curls actually get?

They can get incredibly intense. While Flamin' Hot Cheetos are on the milder side, a brand called Herr's makes a Carolina Reaper version that hits a massive 1.5 million on the Scoville scale.

What exactly is Kilishi?

It’s a traditional jerky snack from Nigeria that has been around for centuries. People make it by slicing beef into super thin strips, drying it out in the sun, and then coating it in a spicy peanut paste mixed with ginger, cayenne, onion, garlic, and spices.

Where did the whole hot honey craze come from?

It basically started back in 2010 with a guy named Mike Kurtz. He was working at a pizzeria and decided to pour some chili-infused honey onto a slice of pizza. People loved it, he launched Mike's Hot Honey, and it ended up creating a whole new category in the grocery aisle.