Hello. I have just started making hot sauce and I wondered if any of the people on the site are using a juicer to refine the first cooking of the peppers, etc.? I just used a masticating juicer for my last batch but not sure if it's the right thing to do. My first batch was cooked and then blended but it came out too thick for what i was hoping to make. The next batch I used the blender again but this time I used a hand strainer over top of a bowl and strained it by hand. It was very pulp free but took a while. Then I put it into another stainless pan and boiled it until it was reduced to the consistency I wanted. Then I thought about using the masticating juicer that I have to filter it like the strainer. This worked about as well as the hand strainer but was so much faster.
My process is to cut up the peppers (I use Haberneros, some bell, some fresh carrots, a bit of onion, about six cloves of garlic, some fresh ground cloves, and fresh ground cumin.) Then I kind of roast them in a large skillet on top of the stove in a few drops of oil. when some colour starts to happen I take the pan outside and put it over a high burner hotplate and then add plain white vinegar to cover all of the ingredients with about 1/2 inch of liquid higher than the rest. I let it boil on high and stir occasionally. This will go for about 30 to 45 minutes and I might ad a little more vinegar half way through. I let it cool down so that I can pour it into the juicer without melting parts and then strain it with the machine. Then I put the liquid in another pan on the inside stove, add a little honey if needed and then let it boil for about 15 minutes until it's reduced. I might add a little more vinegar if it gets to thick. Then it goes into a clean bottle (this was before I read about the importance of sterilization, etc.) I'm ordering a ph meter today.
I just wonder about letting the unstrained sauce cool down a bit before using the juicer (not as low as room temperature).
I also wonder about adding honey to the second cooking phase (will it be a problem for sterilization)?
And I wonder about adding vinegar half way through the final 15 minute cooking phase. Does that added vinegar need more time to boil?
Thanks for any feedback !
Sorry for the small novel.
My process is to cut up the peppers (I use Haberneros, some bell, some fresh carrots, a bit of onion, about six cloves of garlic, some fresh ground cloves, and fresh ground cumin.) Then I kind of roast them in a large skillet on top of the stove in a few drops of oil. when some colour starts to happen I take the pan outside and put it over a high burner hotplate and then add plain white vinegar to cover all of the ingredients with about 1/2 inch of liquid higher than the rest. I let it boil on high and stir occasionally. This will go for about 30 to 45 minutes and I might ad a little more vinegar half way through. I let it cool down so that I can pour it into the juicer without melting parts and then strain it with the machine. Then I put the liquid in another pan on the inside stove, add a little honey if needed and then let it boil for about 15 minutes until it's reduced. I might add a little more vinegar if it gets to thick. Then it goes into a clean bottle (this was before I read about the importance of sterilization, etc.) I'm ordering a ph meter today.
I just wonder about letting the unstrained sauce cool down a bit before using the juicer (not as low as room temperature).
I also wonder about adding honey to the second cooking phase (will it be a problem for sterilization)?
And I wonder about adding vinegar half way through the final 15 minute cooking phase. Does that added vinegar need more time to boil?
Thanks for any feedback !
Sorry for the small novel.
