Huy Fong Sriracha
Shares rank 2 of 3 hot sauces by recommenders
Recommended for its balanced heat and quality, though critics say recent batches taste different and worse since the supplier dispute.
Recommended for its balanced heat and quality, though critics say recent batches taste different and worse since the supplier dispute.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 12
- approval share
- 29%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good quality product
“I buy their sauce by the boxful every year or so. It is legitimately better quality.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier” “Credit to Huy Fong for capturing the mindshare with a quality product”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Recent batches taste worse
“Modern Huy Fong is just OK.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier” “Now HF sauce sucks, I wasn't paying attention to this and got a bottle after this whole debacle, and it's horrible.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier” “the Sriracha from 7 years ago tasted totally different than today”
Comment from 14 Oct 2026 in “How tabasco became the hot sauce” - Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “An update on Steam / GOG changes for OpenTTD”
Mostly tastes of vinegar and sweetness
“just tastes like chilli and vinegar to me and I never understood the appeal”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier” “It's just slightly spicey ketchup, pretty sweet.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier” “It just tastes of "hot" and vinegar.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier” - Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier”
Supplier and sourcing controversy
“Amazing greed combined with profound stupidity about the difficulty of reliably sourcing 2 thousand acres of ripe chilies.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier” “They tried to squeeze the farmer who supplied all their peppers from their earliest days”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier” “help the market forget the earlier flavour and be grateful for a sloppier solution”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier”
Other hot sauces people recommend
The two most recommended other hot sauces, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tabasco hot sauce | 18 | 7 | 72% | 2 | — | — |
| Huy Fong SrirachaThis page | 5 | 12 | 29% | 2 | — | — |
| Cholula hot sauce | 5 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
All 18 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the Sriracha from 7 years ago tasted totally different than today”
“Sriracha tastes great to me as it's spicy but not too spicy.”
“The latest batches by them are green, and no one wants them.”
“I feel like Rooster Sriracha is the McDonalds of hot sauces.”
“I find the red one has a harsh taste to it”
“I buy their sauce by the boxful every year or so. It is legitimately better quality.”
“Amazing greed combined with profound stupidity about the difficulty of reliably sourcing 2 thousand acres of ripe chilies.”
“Modern Huy Fong is just OK.”
“I refuse to eat Srirarcha due to its use of Xantan gum.”
“sriracha is just too sweet for me”
“Credit to Huy Fong for capturing the mindshare with a quality product”
“just tastes like chilli and vinegar to me and I never understood the appeal”
“overpowering and awful and ruins a good sandwich”
“It's just slightly spicey ketchup, pretty sweet.”
“It just tastes of "hot" and vinegar.”
“Now HF sauce sucks, I wasn't paying attention to this and got a bottle after this whole debacle, and it's horrible.”
“help the market forget the earlier flavour and be grateful for a sloppier solution”
“They tried to squeeze the farmer who supplied all their peppers from their earliest days”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.