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preservation VInegar / Pepper ratio?

Diabolus

Diabolus

I'm making just a basic hot sauce that I plan on pressure canning into a few jam jars so my batch could last me a couple of months. I would then refridgerate the opened jars. The recipe I intend to use goes something like this:

4 cups of mixed peppers (Orange habs, Fatali, Cayenne, etc.)
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. of salt

My question is the proper vinegar to raw sauce ratio. I have seen recipes that contain as low as 10% and as high as 50% vinegar content. This seems like quite the variance. I would like to avoid botulism but don't want the sauce to be overpowered by vinegar. Would a 4 to 1 ratio (or 25%) be suitable? What is the lowest percentage of vinegar needed to prevent or kill all nasty stuff?

Thanks for any help.
 
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It is based on the ph. A basic rule of thumb I use for fresh pods is to rough chop the pods,
place in SS pot, add vinegar to just below the top of the peppers, bring to a boil till peppers are soft, strain (if you don't want the seeds in)thru a tomato strainer, place in a blender,add some of the vinegar you cooked them in and whatever seasoning's you want to add.
Blend for at least 60 seconds, repeat till all peppers are blended, place back into a clean
pot, adjust thickness with any vinegar left from cooking( you shouldn't have much)add some more vinegar if neccsary to get the right thickness, bring back to a boil,
(this last step is important in keeping bacteria out) Bottle hot (above 180)
into sterile bottles, place orifice reducers(if used) and caps on the bottles and invert or lay on its side for 30 minutes or more.
 
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Diabolus said:
I'm making just a basic hot sauce that I plan on pressure canning into a few jam jars so my batch could last me a couple of months. I would then refridgerate the opened jars. The recipe I intend to use goes something like this:

4 cups of mixed peppers (Orange habs, Fatali, Cayenne, etc.)
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. of salt

My question is the proper vinegar to raw sauce ratio. I have seen recipes that contain as low as 10% and as high as 50% vinegar content. This seems like quite the variance. I would like to avoid botulism but don't want the sauce to be overpowered by vinegar. Would a 4 to 1 ratio (or 25%) be suitable? What is the lowest percentage of vinegar needed to prevent or kill all nasty stuff?

Thanks for any help.
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"What is the lowest percentage of vinegar needed to prevent or kill all nasty stuff?"

4 cups of mixed peppers (Orange habs, Fatali, Cayenne, etc.)
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. of salt

I would also like to know how much 5% viniger to add to this recipe to make it ph safe.

I will have to wait for salsalady on this one. :D
 
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Well, first off you don't have to use Vinegar in your sauce. I only use it when it adds to the flavor profile I'm looking for. Normally I get there though, well in a non-fermented sauce, using lime or lemon juice. Then if I still need to get the Ph down some more i'll add some Rice Vinegar becaues it typically has less of a Vinegary taste.

There isn't really a ratio that will nail it every time as your shooting for the Ph to be below 4.6. I try to get it below 4.0 personally. So, depending on the size of your recipe try starting with 1/2 cup to a cup of acid, lime, lemon juice, vinegar, etc... and adjust from there.
 
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IF you're pressure canning . Done properly you will have a shelf stable product without worrying about ph levels. Adjust your acid for taste not for safety reasons. Just make sure you're pressure canning and not hot water bath canning for canned food with a ph above 4.5. :) when pressure canning all nasties are exterminated with extreme prejudice.
 
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oldsalty said:
IF you're pressure canning . Done properly you will have a shelf stable product without worrying about ph levels. Adjust your acid for taste not for safety reasons. Just make sure you're pressure canning and not hot water bath canning for canned food with a ph above 4.5. :) when pressure canning all nasties are exterminated with extreme prejudice.
Click to expand...
 
You can't really put a woozy into a pressure cooker because of the plastic top, right? I was using regular canning jars and all was good, but the woozy bottles are so much prettier for when you're gifting the sauce. IAlso, adding a bit of citric acid (the same powder used in making cheese at home) can get that pH down (you really have to have a light hand because too much is a terrible mouth-feel & a ruined batch).
 
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You're correct that woozy bottles cannot be water bathed or pressure canned.  Thus the pH meter.  Love to see some pics of your finished batch LL!  
 
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