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Bitter wang to sauce? Sometimes bitter, sometimes not.

I've made this sauce about 5 or six times now over two growing seasons. About 1/3 of those batches had a slight bitter tip to them. I follow the same process, with the same ingredients to the extent possible.

Anyone got any ideas about what could cause this, or more importantly how to prevent it? Anything I could add or leave out to help fight the bitterness without greatly affecting flavor or heat profile?

Any help will be appreciated.

VR,
Harold


1 quart canning jar packed full of rough-chopped fresh jalapenos (Red if available) (If you have fresh cayenne, substitute ½ of the jalapenos and omit the ground cayenne*)
1 quart canning jar paced full of rough-chopped Scorpion pepper
1 large onion
6 tablespoons of ground cayenne
6 cloves garlic
¼ cup lime juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup kosher salt (nonIodized)
2 14oz. cans of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup sugar
1 6oz. can pineapple juice


1. Put peppers, onions, and garlic into a large glass jar(s). Cover with white vinegar. Cap and let rest for 24hrs.

2. Drain and retain vinegar to add back during cooking process.

3. Fine chop peppers and onions in food processor.

4. Dump everything except sugar and pineapple juice into a large pot.

5. High heat until mixture is boiling hard. Allow to boil for 10 min. stirring constantly. Add vinegar as needed to maintain the desired consistency.

6. Simmer on low for 30 min stirring often.

7. Throw it all into a food processor and buzz it real good! (You may need to add a little vinegar for desired consistency and taste).

8. Run through a fine strainer to remove pulp and seeds if desired.

9. Add sugar and pineapple juice at this time

10. Bring it back to a low boil (Again, you may need to add a little vinegar for desired consistency and taste).

11. Hot can in sterile, hot, canning jars, boiling water process for 15-20 min, and store as you would any canned food.
 
Could be me WW, but I find Scorpion peppers to be quite bitter.  Also I'm sure that weather conditions (amount of rain, sun, plant stresses) also contribute to pod flavors.  
 
Recipe as written includes enough sugars to balance, so my guess would be the scorps.
 
Could be me WW, but I find Scorpion peppers to be quite bitter.  Also I'm sure that weather conditions (amount of rain, sun, plant stresses) also contribute to pod flavors.  
 
Recipe as written includes enough sugars to balance, so my guess would be the scorps.
Kind of where I'm at. After doing some searches here and researching other sources, I'm thinking I may add some carrots and maybe some water...

VR,
Harold
 
Greetings WW..
After reading your ingredients and methods...which sometimes result in  bitterness, it reminded me of when I occasionally have (had) a similar problem when fermenting chili peppers or vegetables.
After some observations and reviewing my notes and records, I determined that this condition would tend to occur when I had a ferment that seemed to stall after a few days.(for what ever reason,temp?...amount of active LAB?...,too few carbs?...the position of the full moon? ...who knows)
So I did a little research on the fermentation stages of naturally occurring LAB.....specifically what is taking place, under what conditions ...over what period of time...and resulting compositions.
What I determined ...at least in my circumstances...was that the bitterness resulted when the 2nd stage of fermentation was incomplete being interrupted or delayed and often times followed my actions that exacerbated the conditions.
 
Without getting too "heady" .. the first stage of LAB fermentation is performed by the Leuconostoc mesenteroides bacteria. One of many compounds it produces as a bi-product is mannitol.     Mannitol is a bitter flavored compound which is metabolized later in stage 2 by the Lactobacillus plantarum bacteria.
If the mannitol is not consumed in the 2nd stage by the Lactobacillus plantarum, then the bitter flavor is retained.
So...all of this leads me to propose what might be a possible solution to your situation...
First, while I'm not sure if the actual amount of vinegar you add is sufficient to retard the growth of the stage 1 Leuconostoc mesenteroides, also not sure I understand the purpose of the 24 hour resting period. That length of time on a counter in Valdosta Ga this time of year, is sufficient to allow the fermentation process to begin naturally.
But even so...I'd suggest not retaining the vinegar(which will include any natural juices leached from the ingredients by the salt AND any mannitol that might have been produced), but rather that you try straining then adding fresh vinegar for the cooking process.
Just an idea...for what its worth.
 
FYI....Here's a link to an earlier post on those LAB stages:
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/23146-fermenting-peppers-101/page-23#entry1022270
Best of luck
Enjoy
CM
 
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