San Leandro Times, “Spice Up Your Barbecue With Hoppin Hot Sauce,” 6/2/2022
Barbecue season is on the way so you might try Hoppin Hot Sauce to spice up a dish.
The sauce has a flavor all its own, created by John Hoppin of San Leandro. Hoppin developed the recipe over the years, taking in ideas from family dishes. It’s a blend of chilies, lemon, garlic and spices.
The hot sauce has a little lemon in it, and that came from Hoppin’s grandparents who had a Meyer lemon tree.
The pepper in the sauce is the puya pepper, a chili pepper grown in Mexico. Hoppin’s friend Celia who came to visit for the holidays from Mexico used the pepper in her tamales.
Hoppin also takes Alice Waters’ idea of fresh ingredients, California Cuisine, and started bringing his homemade sauce to dinner parties.
Eventually, by 2016, he was selling his hot sauce to restaurants in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
Two years later, he launched XX with a little extra kick, and got it on shelves at grocery stores.
Hoppin has multiple sclerosis which he says makes it difficult to work in a kitchen environment.
“But that didn’t stop me from cooking and I made Hoppin Hot Sauce to share the taste of my table with yours,” Hoppin said. “It’s all natural, all good stuff inside.”
Hoppin Hot Sauce is available on Amazon or locally at Galvan’s Market, 1275 MacArthur Blvd. in San Leandro.
Check it out online: hoppinhotsauce.com
