Cholula Original Hot Sauce: calories, sugar, salt and nutrition

How much salt is in Cholula Original Hot Sauce? A tablespoon (15g) delivers 0.49g of salt, 8% of the adult daily limit. Used in small quantities, sauces like this can still add up significantly across a meal.

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Nutrition by portion size

The table below shows how the nutrition changes across realistic portion sizes.

Cholula Original Hot Sauce contains 38 kcal, 0.8g of fat (0.1g saturated), 5.8g of carbohydrate (2.2g sugar), 1g of protein and 3.25g of salt per 100g. A standard hot sauce portion — Few drops (3g) — delivers 1 kcal, 0.07g of sugar and 0.1g of salt.

Cholula uses a blend of two chilli varieties for a more nuanced flavour than single-pepper sauces. At 3.25g of salt per 100g it is lower in salt than Frank's or Tabasco. A tablespoon (15g) delivers 0.57g of salt.

Portion size matters significantly for condiments. A small squeeze or single teaspoon contributes little to daily intake. But condiments are easy to apply generously: Few drops (3g) delivers 0.07g of sugar and 0.1g of salt, while 1 tablespoon (15g) delivers 0.33g of sugar and 0.49g of salt. Adding multiple condiments to a single meal multiplies this further.

Sugar

Cholula Original Hot Sauce contains 2.2g of sugar per 100g. Few drops (3g) delivers 0.07g of sugar. Sugar in condiments is all free sugar: unlike the naturally occurring sugars in whole fruit or plain dairy, there is no food matrix to slow absorption.

Salt

Cholula Original Hot Sauce contains 3.25g of salt per 100g. Few drops (3g): 0.1g (2% of the adult daily limit of 6g); 1 teaspoon (5g): 0.16g (3% of the adult daily limit of 6g); 1 tablespoon (15g): 0.49g (8% of the adult daily limit of 6g).

At 3.25g of salt per 100g, this is one of the higher-salt condiments. The salt content is relevant because condiments are often added at table after cooking, meaning the salt they contribute is on top of whatever salt is already in the food.

Ingredients and ultra-processed food

Cholula Original Hot Sauce is a commercially produced hot sauce. Its ingredients are: Water, pequin and arbol peppers, vinegar, salt, spices, xanthan gum. A blend of pequin (very hot, fruity) and arbol (medium-hot, smoky) peppers. Made in Chapala, Mexico..

Reading the ingredient list closely, it contains xanthan gum. Xanthan gum stabilises the texture and prevents separation during storage.

A home-made equivalent would typically require fewer ingredients. The processing aids are used to deliver a consistent flavour, texture and shelf life at scale that home preparation cannot match.

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Nutrition information from UK manufacturer labels and retailer databases (Tesco, Ocado, Heinz To Home, official brand websites). Per-portion values calculated proportionally from per-100g figures. NHS/SACN guidelines used for daily limits. For guidance only, not medical advice.