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cooking Cooking a hot sauce vs vinegar based non-cooked

Rusty's Fire

Rusty's Fire

Hi there,

First thanks for all the great info I have already found on this site!

I have read quite a bit and will admit some surprise at how many cook their sauces before bottling. I even got a little scared and went down in the basement and looked at my jar of sauce from a year ago! It was fine - still nice red orange without any funky fur, smells, or layers.

I have made several batches of sauce over the years, mainly with caynennes and or habaneros. Here is my basic recipe:

In an Oster blender I put about half really well cooked carrots (small ones from the garden) cooled and half peppers. Then I fill with vinegar until the peppers are totally covered, about 3/4 up the blender. Then I squeeze the juice from 1 lemon in and blend to a fairtheewell. Then I put it in clean mason jars or clean used woozy type glass bottles. That's it. I am not big on garlic, onions, spices in my sauce as that flavor is already in all the food I cook!

I have had it last for years this way even at room temperature, even after being opened.

I have given away bottles in the past and plan to do so even more now for gifts and all.

The reason I am posting is that I am concerned about the fact that I do not sterilize the bottles (other than scrubbing and the dishwasher) and I do not cook the sauce. Should I be worried? Does the fact that I use so much vinegar mean that I need not worry about sterilizing and cooking?

My fear was that cooking would affect the 'freshness' of the sauce, the hotness, and the color as well.

Many thanks,

Rusty, Maine, USA
 
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Welcome to THP. Glad you're getting some good info here.


I am not a food processing authority, but I'd give you the opinion that the vinegar is your saving grace. You are basically pickling the chiles. And it's a big benefit that the carrots are cooked.

With that much vinegar, cooking is probably not necessary. If you are curious, you could take some of the sauce, puree the snot out of it, and then pH test it. Even with simple pH test strips from the drug store or garden center, if it gets you in the range of less than 4.0, you are on the right track. Make sure the test strips you use read in the 3.0-5.0 range.

:welcome:
salsalady
 
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Thanks Salsa Lady - will do! Also I am already in debt to you for the label solution. I was concerned about inkjet labels as they run so horribly when they get wet. I called Staples copy center and can get them to color laser 10 on a sheet for $1 so that should work out much better. They even supply the labels so I don't have to buy a huge stack.

thanks,

Rusty
 
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Rusty, I think you have 2 things in your favor here. First as SL said your using a good portion of vinegar and that's going to bring your ph down nicely. Second you said that your washing your bottles and running them through the dishwasher. If your using the heated dry cycle then your are sanitizing them very well and that is wnough to kill any nasties that might be on them. You should also run anything that is going to come into contact with the sauce right before it goes into the bottle but, if your following hot packing guidelines and heating your sauce to 195 degrees F before bottling and not allowing it to fall below 185 without reheating it. Then anything on those implements is goping to be killed by the heat.

Cheers,
RM
 
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To me it's not a sauce until it's cooked. I've never gone to a restaurant and had a raw sauce on my food. That would be what we know as salsa. You cook it for a smooth consistency, and so the flavors meld.

Worried about freshness? Don't cook it down in a pot. Use as wide a saute pan as possible and just put a thin layer in at a time. It will cook but not "cook down" and overcook, like in a pot. That's an Italian trick for a really fresh tasting tomato sauce.
 
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Thanks everyone. Being from North Carolina originally (not Maine :) folks just crammed some whole cayennes in a bottle, filled with vinegar, slapped it on the table and called it good!

We are currently cooking down the sauce. I will report back the results.

Basically it is about 2 gallons of vinegar, about 10 pounds of assorted cayennes and habaneros, about 8 pounds of well cooked carrots, and some squeezed lemon juice. This blended down in small batches and put in a big pot.

thanks,

Rusty
 
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Hi folks,

Our sauce was a great hit. My son (actually the Rusty in Rusty's Fire) sold all 140 bottles he made at this event:

Common Ground Fair - YEZ

Thanks for your advice!

Here he is:

rustysauce.jpg
 
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I would at least bring the sauce up to proper hot-pack temps and properly sterilize the bottles in boiling water or in your oven, dishwashers are generally not reccommended
 
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Rocket - all ingredients had to be organic and grown in Maine (except the lemons). So the sauce had only apple cider vinegar added (rather than water). And, following advice here, we also cooked the sauce to temp and sterilized bottles, caps, etc. to make sure it was safe.

The cider vinegar gives it a nice zing.

Yes Rusty learned much about enterprise, expenses, organizing materials, etc.

thanks
 
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That's a great experience for a kid and he looks like he's having fun with it.....lovely color on the sauce and it looks like a nice consistency too. Job well done all round :cool:
 
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That's awesome! Great to see the kid out there, and to sell 140 bottles...NICE!


in 10 years, when he's the next hot sauce guru, we can all say, "we knew him when~~~" :lol:
 
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We are back in production for this year! We just got through putting up 144 bottles and the labels are going on now. We used about of each: 3 gallons apple cider vinegar; 15 pounds red hot wax type larger peppers; six pounds habaneros; 1 pound bhut jolokia; 2 pounds mixed cayennes, etc.; 17 pounds of carrots; 10oz lemon juice; dash of salt.

It is WAY hotter this year.

thanks again for all your help,

Will and Rusty
 
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Why SL, are you commenting from the peanut gallery?

As I find myself in a strange state, with no garden, and without the proper cookware to make sauce without having a huge mess, I have actually bought a number of hot sauces.

Perhaps my comment will be the catalyst for a second line for those of us who are not big fans of vinegar. Then little rusty can sell his hobby sauce to an even larger audience.
 
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Sorry, Rusty and crew for the little side track. I hope you guys Sell Out again! Have fun!
 
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