Aroostook County couple spices up Maine with 3 hottest sauces

by David DiMinno January 18, 2022

FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — Aroostook County couple Jason and Jennifer Grass make and sell the hottest pepper sauces in Maine — Phoenix Fire measures in at 2.6 million Scoville units.

The Scoville scale measures the heat of chili peppers against pure capsaicin, which is 16 million Scoville units. 

The Grasses, who have been running Hill Gardens in Fort Fairfield since April 2021, have been gardening their half acre of land for about five years and fermenting peppers for three. They began making sauces as a way to preserve some of their produce from their 16 garden beds.

With a seemingly endless string of spicy food challenges and talk shows online, it’s no secret that hot sauce has become popular. There are several businesses in Maine that produce sauces, but none are hotter than those at Hill Gardens. In just a few months, the Grasses’ sauces have reached 19 stores in Maine and are shipped to other states as well. Since beginning to sell last April, Hill Gardens has expanded its market to Maryland, Texas, California and Florida.

“Not only do our sauces have heat, but they have flavor as well,” Jason said. “We have had a lot of people who say they don’t like spice, but they end up liking the sauces that we produce.”

Hill Gardens produces a wide range of sauces, from its more mild Serrano Poblano and Spicy Teriyaki sauces, to its hottest sauce by Scoville rating, the Phoenix Fire. The company has 16 licensed sauces, meaning the Food and Drug Administration has approved the sale and distribution of them. The couple hopes to license a total of 36 sauces.