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bottling Bottling Hot Sauce

JFK70

JFK70

I have been trying to find detailed instructions on how to safely bottle hot sauce so that it can be stored without refrigeration (until opening). I know that some hot sauces don't need refrigeration since they do not contain ingredients that are subject to spoilage. However I have been making hot sauce using fruits and vegetables (Fresh Bananas, peppers, onions, garlic cloves, pepper mash, etc).

After blending the ingredients I have been simmering them until they reach 180 degrees for atleast 5 minutes and then I pour the sauce into a 5 oz woozie bottle and place a new, paper lined cap on it before I submerge it back in a hot water bath for approx 15minutes.

The caps don't seem like they can take much more heat than that.

If anyone knows of any resources for me to explore or would like to offer any tips or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. I just don't want to give someone a bottle of hot sauce to try unless I am confident that I have followed safe handling procedures.

Thanks

JFK
 
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With all products, you should get a ph testing, usually under $20.00 for any testing.

Each product varies on shelf stablility, from your acidic value to the ingredients your using, each variable can either greatly increase your shelf stability or hurt it. The best thing to do is get a packet from the fda on canning.

When bottling a product, its always best to boil at 190 degree at least for 10 minutes to let the ingredients be pasturized. Some things we bottle like a margarita mix, we can bring back down to 110 degree after we have pasturized the product at 190+. For people who are just doing small batches I suggest keeping above 190 during the beginning/middle/end process to ensure safety.
 
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theDeuk said:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5228447_make-habanero-hot-sauce.html
this is the original recipe i found and tweaked a bit, and why i didn't know you have to cook it.
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First of all this is a strange recipe. Roasted sweet peppers mixed with raw habaneros. But, it does say to refrigerate for up to four months, otherwise, follow canning procedure, which is boiling/cooking. So if you plan to can this, it is a cooked sauce. There are much better recipes out there! What are you looking for?
 
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i grew my first batch of habs over the summer and decided to make sauce of it. i've already made the sauce, friends love it, now i know i have to boil it, but i want to know... WILL BOILING IT CHANGE THE CONSISTENCY/FLAVOR OF THE SAUCE? if it does i would like to add whatever needed to keep the flavor/spiciness the same as it is now. thank you so very much. hopefully this is the last question i have to ask you guys. thank you hot pepper.
 
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theDeuk said:
i grew my first batch of habs over the summer and decided to make sauce of it. i've already made the sauce, friends love it, now i know i have to boil it, but i want to know... WILL BOILING IT CHANGE THE CONSISTENCY/FLAVOR OF THE SAUCE? if it does i would like to add whatever needed to keep the flavor/spiciness the same as it is now. thank you so very much. hopefully this is the last question i have to ask you guys. thank you hot pepper.
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Will it change a cooked sauce? No, sauces are simmered. I assume you cook your sauces, I've never eaten a raw hot sauce. Raw would be more of a relish or pickled product.
 
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Try to put some olive oil on top. Nothing else. Just to shut of from the air. We don't mix with fruit, but my wife chops the peppers raw, and adds just enough olive oil to cover them. Wonderful taste and we keep it at room temp. The jars empty pretty fast, but we do have a few "forgotten" treasures that are over a year old and still haven't colored green. Give it a try.
 
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i don't understand why my question is so unclear. i haven't cooked anything yet. if you want to call it a relish... fine. it tastes like a tastey hot sauce to me. so, knowing that i haven't cooked my "relish" yet in any way. meaning, fresh ingredients blended together to a puree; WILL BOILING/COOKING IT CHANGE THE FLAVOR/SPICINESS/CONSISTENCY OF THE SAUCE???? i want to know, because if it brings down the spiciness i would like to add more peppers to keep it tasting the way it does in the state it is now. i've asked this question 4 times and have yet to receive a straight answer. i'm not a master hot sauce maker, obviously. i've blended a bunch of s**t together and want to give it to my friends in bottles. i know to sterilize the bottles themselves, and now i know if it's not cooked it's not hot sauce. so next step, i'm going to boil it, then bottle it. WILL BOILING IT CHANGE THE FLAVOR/CONSISTENCY/SPICINESS? THANK YOU.
 
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theDeuk said:
i grew my first batch of habs over the summer and decided to make sauce of it. i've already made the sauce, friends love it, now i know i have to boil it, but i want to know... WILL BOILING IT CHANGE THE CONSISTENCY/FLAVOR OF THE SAUCE? if it does i would like to add whatever needed to keep the flavor/spiciness the same as it is now. thank you so very much. hopefully this is the last question i have to ask you guys. thank you hot pepper.
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after reading the recipe it seems to me that is more of a relish. Hot sauce is cooked for a period of time. It must reach a minimum temp of 180 degrees for approx 10 minutes to kill and organisms or bacteria. You also have to adjust the ph level as well. The bottles must be stealized as well (boil the bottles for 10 minutes) Once the sauce has been cooked you pour it into HOT bottles and seal useing safe methods.

As for consistancy....that can be adjusted by cooking it without a cover for a thicker sauce or cover it while you cook it for a thinner sauce (you can always add a lil water if needed I try not to)

As for the flavor...when you cook a sauce I feel that helps to blend the flavors more evenly. I really haven't noticed a big change in the overall flavor...if anything it is better flavor after you cook it....I find that after my sauce is cooked and bottled the flavor gets better as it sets!!!!
 
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theDeuk said:
i don't understand why my question is so unclear. i haven't cooked anything yet. if you want to call it a relish... fine. it tastes like a tastey hot sauce to me. so, knowing that i haven't cooked my "relish" yet in any way. meaning, fresh ingredients blended together to a puree; WILL BOILING/COOKING IT CHANGE THE FLAVOR/SPICINESS/CONSISTENCY OF THE SAUCE???? i want to know, because if it brings down the spiciness i would like to add more peppers to keep it tasting the way it does in the state it is now. i've asked this question 4 times and have yet to receive a straight answer. i'm not a master hot sauce maker, obviously. i've blended a bunch of s**t together and want to give it to my friends in bottles. i know to sterilize the bottles themselves, and now i know if it's not cooked it's not hot sauce. so next step, i'm going to boil it, then bottle it. WILL BOILING IT CHANGE THE FLAVOR/CONSISTENCY/SPICINESS? THANK YOU.
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Let's forget hot sauce or relish for a second. I can answer it really simply this way. Taste fresh squeezed orange juice. Taste pasteurized orange juice. Yes, there is a difference.
 
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thehotpepper.com said:
Let's forget hot sauce or relish for a second. I can answer it really simply this way. Taste fresh squeezed orange juice. Taste pasteurized orange juice. Yes, there is a difference.
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B-I-N-G-O :clap:
 
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May I throw my hat in the ring?

theDeuk said:
i don't understand why my question is so unclear. i haven't cooked anything yet. if you want to call it a relish... fine. it tastes like a tastey hot sauce to me. so, knowing that i haven't cooked my "relish" yet in any way. meaning, fresh ingredients blended together to a puree; WILL BOILING/COOKING IT CHANGE THE FLAVOR/SPICINESS/CONSISTENCY OF THE SAUCE???? i want to know, because if it brings down the spiciness i would like to add more peppers to keep it tasting the way it does in the state it is now. i've asked this question 4 times and have yet to receive a straight answer. i'm not a master hot sauce maker, obviously. i've blended a bunch of s**t together and want to give it to my friends in bottles. i know to sterilize the bottles themselves, and now i know if it's not cooked it's not hot sauce. so next step, i'm going to boil it, then bottle it. WILL BOILING IT CHANGE THE FLAVOR/CONSISTENCY/SPICINESS? THANK YOU.
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I have some ideas that I would like to add to this discussion as I have been right where you are. Wanting to make a safe, tasty and cosistent product. First, If you cook anything it will change the flavor. period.Example: If you make a batch of fresh salsa with all garden fresh ingredients, and then put it in a pot and boil it, It will change the flavor and consistency. It seems to lower the heat from chiles slightly. it certainly changes the texture and consistency. so you need to figure out what you want it to taste like before..... then make the changes needed to retain that after cooking. I recently took a food science course at the university here in Oregon. Corvalis. In the course Two things taught were critical in making and bottling hot sauce BBQ sauce etc.... AKA Low PH/ High acid foods You need to get the product up to 190 degrees. It needs to be put into hot bottles at 190. Once the cap is on you turn it upside down in the box. This allows the 190 degree product to sterilize the cap and liner. It needs to be below 4.6 PH to be safe (not allowing bacteria to grow). However, since 4.6 is the cutoff #, The FDA wants BBQ and hot sauce to be at 4.0 going in to containers. You can buy a PH tester that will give you a good accurate reading for about
$ 85.00 you can get ph paper but for food and sauces it's hard to get a reading as the products has color to it. With the above criteria met you have bottled product that does not have to be refridgerated and has a shelf life of 2 years. I hope this helps, Dave
 
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