SNACK SHEET: ENJOYING THE SPICIER SIDE OF LIFE

“I’ve always been in love with spicy food. A friend told me I should make hot sauce, so I took that idea and ran with it.

ENJOYING THE SPICIER SIDE OF LIFE

Story by CYNTHIA MCFARLAND

Hot sauce was a familiar staple in her household, when Margie Arbizo was growing up in Long Beach, California, but it took time for her to find her calling. After working in fashion in Los Angeles, she moved to the Big Apple and worked in the corporate world. When she decided to focus on her real passion — food — Margie found herself back in California working as a personal chef and then a sous chef for a catering company.

“I’ve always been in love with spicy food. A friend told me I should make hot sauce, so I took that idea and ran with it,” laughs Margie, who is based in Manhattan Beach.

But not just any hot sauce would do. The market was flooded with hot sauces brimming with sodium, processed sugars, and artificial thickeners, so Margie set her sights on something different: a fermented hot sauce with health benefits.

Photos Submitted by Margie Arbizo.

She combined fiery flavors with the centuries-old process of lacto fermentation, which uses salt and lactic acid bacteria to enhance nutritional value while increasing flavor. Fermentation promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria, known as probiotics, which support immune function, digestion, and even heart health. Avoiding pasteurization amplifies the healthy characteristics of ingredients.

Martina is the spicier version of who I am.

The process involved plenty of research and experimentation. “The first batches I made were overly reactive and exploded all over my kitchen,” Margie recalls. “It took about four years before I came to the formula I like and created my original hot sauce. The habanero has additional sweetness because of tangerine, carrots, and a little honey, which also helps with the fermentation process.”

Martina’s Original Hot Sauce hit the market in late 2019, just before the COVID-19 shutdown. “Martina is the spicier version of who I am,” says Margie of the nickname she was given in middle school.

“My idea was to get into small grocery stores, but with the shutdown, no stores were looking for new products and most people weren’t shopping in person,” she says.

Fortunately, farmers markets were considered “essential,” and Margie was able to get her product in consumers’ hands. Posts by social media influencers helped boost awareness.

In 2020, Margie created more flavors: Aquachile, the mildest, and Sesame Chile, which has the most “kick.” A fourth flavor is currently in the works, featuring the delectable combination of peaches and ghost peppers. Martina’s Hot Sauce is organic, non-GMO, and glutenfree, and some flavors are vegan.

Many people think of hot sauce as a condiment, but Margie sees it as a flavorful ingredient. She spent the 2020 quarantine developing recipes and anticipates the release of her first cookbook by the end of 2021. “My life is hot sauce; it’s safe to say I eat it every day,” she says.

Martina’s Hot Sauce is sold online and in five farmers markets in the Los Angeles area. Because fermented hot sauce needs refrigeration, Martina’s Hot Sauce ships overnight with an ice pack.

Photo submitted by Margie Arbizo

WHERE TO FIND THEM

Instagram: @martinashotsauce

Website: martinashotsauce.com