Good evening(morning?) David....as I posted to Dave Anderson, we have been using this stuff for years, because of my Chinese(Asian) cooking, and we have found that it is hot, but because of the oil, which is soy oil, it does not have the greatest flavor by itself. However, when added to a dish, which is what it was meant to do, it does add, without detracting from the flavor of the dish, heat, from the chiles infused. This stuff was originally devised in Szechuan/Hunan/Yunnan provinces, because that is where the heat in Chna is in the food. The hot oil is intended to be used last, like sesame oil, to impart flavor to the dish, and not for cooking, as in peanut oil. As I mentioned to Dave, I have been using this for many years and it seems to keep forever(almost) I have thrown out one rancid bottle, although how it became rancid is beyond me, given the amount we use it! Hope this helps...Cheers, Doug in BC