Featured on Season 24 of Hot Ones. Spanish in soul, koji in technique. Fermented red habanero, roasted koji, sherry vinegar, and olive oil. Smoky and savory with a floral lift from the oil. The koji is what makes it different from every other habanero sauce on the shelf.

• Use on: Steak, potatoes, roasted vegetables, anything off a grill
• Don't use on: Delicate fish, sweet desserts

Fermented in handmade onggi vessels by potter Adam Field. Gochujang and doenjang form the umami backbone. Loquat and black garlic vinegar carry the brightness. This is a cooking sauce — stir it into stews, fold it into mayo, glaze it over short ribs. Don't waste it as a finishing splash.

• Use on: Ssam, rice bowls, grilled mushrooms, leftover meats
• Don't use on: Italian food, anything dairy-forward

Scotch Bonnet, fresh ginger, lemon, olive oil. The cleanest, brightest sauce in the lineup. Built around a real jerk marinade but balanced enough to use as a finishing sauce. The lemon keeps it from going syrupy like commercial jerk sauces tend to.

• Use on: Jerk chicken, summer grilling, sheet-pan dinners, grain bowls
• Don't use on: Anything already citrusy (will compete)

Scovie Award winner. Louisiana-style pepper mash backed by tangy sumac and Acadian herbs. Tart, citrusy, savory, gentle enough to use like a table sauce. The sumac is the move — it gives the sauce a lemony lift that traditional Louisiana sauces don't have.

• Use on: Beans, gumbo, eggs, seafood, roasted vegetables
• Don't use on: Asian dishes (the herb profile fights with it)

Scovie Award winner. Pineapple, tepache, fermented orange habanero, pizza spices, honey. Built explicitly as a Hawaiian pizza hot sauce, but better on burgers and grilled chicken than its name suggests. Funky, fruity, gently spiced.

• Use on: Pizza, burgers, grilled chicken, late-night leftovers
• Don't use on: Mexican food (cuisine fights with the tepache)

The most unusual sauce in the lineup. Toasted Pasilla Mixe chiles, raisins, sesame, miso, black garlic. Earthy, cocoa-tinged, deeply umami. Inspired by traditional mole but pourable. No actual chocolate — the cocoa notes come from the toasted chiles and the time.

• Use on: Tacos, enchiladas, grain bowls, roasted veggies, braises
• Don't use on: Delicate raw applications (it needs heat to bloom)

The hottest sauce ONIMA makes. Fermented Trinidad Scorpion peppers and roasted koji, with sherry vinegar to balance. The koji gives it body and umami the other ultra-hots don't have — it's actually edible, not just punishing. Use a drop, not a pour.

• Use on: Noodle soups, grilled meats, tacos, dares with friends
• Don't use on: Anything you can't replace if you over-pour