I don't know about you, but I'm a certifiable hot sauce junkie. There's a rare food I care to eat without determined lashings of pepper sauce. When I travel I always sample the local hot sauces along with the spiciest available dishes and I love all things chili. When I'm home, I generally stick to one or two brands for daily flavouring and when I travel I always pack a bottle for those bland little places that one always seems to end up in once in a while. Sometimes I carry a minature bottle in my pants pocket to spice up dreary meals on the go and there's always a bottle stashed away in my car. No stay with family or friends is on the cards for me without the comforting backup of a couple of different bottles of pepper sauce in my luggage.

My day to day favourite, while it changes every few months is currently Tabasco habanero pepper sauce (but I usually change to normal Tabasco for breakfasts and Bloody Marys) and I tote around either a Lea and Perrins West Indian Hot Sauce, which I find a bit too salty now, or a Malawi made red flaming connoction called Nali when I can find it. Sometimes I try Texas Pete, just for the novelty of it being available in South Africa but it doesn't have any burn and when I'm in a barbeque/braai mood I tend to splurge on Nandos extra hot peri peri sauce- which is particularly good with chicken livers.

Hamburgers, for some reason, seem to go down a treat with generous smears of Florida's famous Datil pepper sauce and of course, my fridge would look naked without a full complement of no name farm stall chili and salsa relishes. Mmmm. What blows your hair back?