Oxidization?

AldenMiller · Oct 22, 2015

Last year I made some strawberry mango ghost pepper sauce. It was really good. PH was around 3.6 and I sterilized the bottles and hot bottled as I normally do.

After a few weeks in the bottle the very top part of the sauce would turn dark. Is this just oxidization? Is there anything I can do or add to prevent it?

-Alden

dragonsfire · Oct 22, 2015

Sounds like it, you sure you dont have a leak? Proper PH should prevent that.

AldenMiller · Oct 22, 2015

dragonsfire said:
Sounds like it, you sure you dont have a leak? Proper PH should prevent that.

It happened in all the bottles. If it was just one I would have thought the same thing.,

-Alden

Redeemer · Nov 22, 2015

Not sure if you fermented or not but either way, some ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) will prevent and in some cases, reverse this. And you don't need much. I would try 1/4 tsp per pint. You can buy it on Amazon, or even some grocery stores. Look for powdered vitamin C, or vitamin c crystals in the vitamin section. NOW Foods makes one. Just make sure there are no other ingredients.

total noobsauce · Nov 22, 2015

Does fermenting have a role in discoloration?
My month old fermenting hot sauce is dong the same.
Top 1" in the ball jar is browning while the rest is more orange like it initially was.
Plastic caps, silicone seals, and airlock.

Also, can anyone explain how hot fill drives oxygen out of the bottle?
It seems like there must be some oxygen left in the bottle after filling.
Or is the idea to drive most oxygen out of the *sauce*?

JohnsMyName · Nov 22, 2015

total noobsauce said:
Does fermenting have a role in discoloration?
My month old fermenting hot sauce is dong the same.
Top 1" in the ball jar is browning while the rest is more orange like it initially was.
Plastic caps, silicone seals, and airlock.

Also, can anyone explain how hot fill drives oxygen out of the bottle?
It seems like there must be some oxygen left in the bottle after filling.
Or is the idea to drive most oxygen out of the *sauce*?

Hot fill doesn't drive oxygen out, it sanitizes (which bottle and cap should already be) and creates a seal with a vacuum. When the hot liquid cool it contracts taking up less volume and creating a pressure void in the bottle sucking the tight cap on tighter. That's what the white liner under the cap is for

RocketMan · Nov 24, 2015

Do your bottles have a reducer on them or do the caps have those foam liners? If not, that could be the source of your problem and your bottles not sealing.

AldenMiller · Nov 24, 2015

No reducers and the caps do have white liners in them.

Maybe it's good that they did this. If not I'd make a ton of this sauce and insist on having tubs of ice cream to eat with it.

-Alden

JohnsMyName · Nov 26, 2015

Here are 4 different ferments I'm running right now that all have the dark layer at the upper portion. I'm assuming this is oxidation. There is no mold of any kind, so I'm not too worried about it.

Does anyone else get this in their ferments? Does it cause an off flavor or just appearance?

dragonsfire · Nov 26, 2015

Are you sure its just not the color of the liquid after separating from solids ?

SmokenFire · Nov 26, 2015

JohnsMyName said:
Does anyone else get this in their ferments? Does it cause an off flavor or just appearance?

Most all my ferments get a lil darker at the top over time. I don't think it affects flavor at all. )

JohnsMyName · Nov 26, 2015

dragonsfire said:
Are you sure its just not the color of the liquid after separating from solids ?

Yeah, it's actually solids up to the top, hard to see in the pic.

Redeemer · Nov 27, 2015

JohnsMyName said:
Here are 4 different ferments I'm running right now that all have the dark layer at the upper portion. I'm assuming this is oxidation. There is no mold of any kind, so I'm not too worried about it.

Does anyone else get this in their ferments? Does it cause an off flavor or just appearance?

I do not see any oxidation in those jars, but one way to test for sure is to remove a sample and sprinkle with vitamin C, or lemon juice. If it has oxidized, it will brighten up immedietely. If the color doesn't change, then it is just natural darkening from the ferment.

I was reminded in another thread about the high vitamin C content of peppers so I don't think oxidation is a huge concern unless there is a ton of space in your jar or you are opening it up too often.

JohnsMyName · Nov 27, 2015

We're talking about the darker color at the top of the jars where the mash meets the headspace.

I'm pretty sure the browning of fruit and veggies can't be undone. It's a chemical reaction caused by the enzymes in the fruit/veggi coming in contact with oxygen. Your right about the vitamin c (ascorbic acid) preventing, but I don't think it will undo.

That was me in the other thread.