A summer without Sriracha? It’s a possibility now that Huy Fong Foods plans to stop production until after Labor Day. “All orders that have been scheduled beginning on May 6, 2024, will be canceled,” the California-based hot sauce company said. That’s nearly a four-month pause on the production of Sriracha, chili garlic sauce, and sambal oelek.
This isn’t the first time Huy Fong couldn’t deliver the heat. Last year, we reported a Sriracha shortage due to droughts in Mexico (where the jalapeno peppers are sourced). This year’s culprit? The peppers are “too green.”
Huy Fong’s “red rooster” Sriracha is known for, well, being red. When jalapenos are too green, they dilute that iconic color. It isn’t just the hue that’s halting the hot sauce — green peppers are also less spicy than their more developed red pepper peers. And what’s Sriracha without spice?