How Sriracha Is Made (23 gifs)

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Equipment does some of the work though. This year, the farm will grow 48,000 tons of peppers, according to owner Craig Underwood

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That would take up a field about the size of lower Manhattan, south of Houston Street

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After sorting, a conveyer belt hoists the peppers onto trucks. The farm sends about 30 semis to Huy Fong Foods daily

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Vietnamese refugee David Tran founded Huy Fong Foods, located in Rosemead, Cali

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Once the chiles leave the trucks, processing starts

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They look like red quicksand funneling into factory machines

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First, a windmill-like device washes the chiles, removing any dirt or chemicals

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Then they enter a grinder

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Kind of looks like ground beef, doesn’t it?

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After that, industrial, blue barrels store the chile-mash

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Later, the mixture gets a dose of garlic and sugar. Below, the sauce cooks while churning

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Then, packaging begins. The old factory (not shown) could produce about 70,000 bottles daily. Huy Fong Foods’ new facility, howe

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Factory machines also take care of the the final touch, those signature green caps

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Aside from the 17- and 28-ounce bottles, the company plans to sell 9-ounce and gallon-sized containers too, according to Tran

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Surprisingly, the company doesn’t advertise for any product. Fans, however, often pick up the slack. This dancing chicken comes

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Still, Huy Fong Foods has no trouble selling the special sauce. "The past 30 years, the economics sometimes up and down. For me, I feel nothing. Every day, every month, the volume increase," Tran said.

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Most importantly, Tran wants to keep the price low for his “chile friends.”

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And they use it on almost everything