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fermenting Bottled my First Fermented Sauce Last night

R

Redeemer

So I am pretty pumped about this one. I had 28 days on my first ferment, and wanted to accelerate the bottling so I could taste it and tweak my process if needed. This is the batch of habaneros and orange bell peppers i started the day boere (or close to that) joining this forum. Orange bell peppers, habaneros, sea salt and water were all I put in. I used a clamp down style jar (2 of them) and went to town. Shortly after I pureed some mango and added that to the mix. No airlocks, no starters, and opening the jar are all not recommended but I was so much more a noob 3 weeks ago than now.
 
I tested the PH and it was 3.44. The flavor was close to what I was looking for, but needed a bit of salt and could use more complexity. This being the first batch I didn't alter it significantly. I cooked it up, added 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of xanathan gum, 1/2 teaspoon of ascorbic acid, and about a cup of Bragg unfiltered ACV to think it out. Gave it a good blend with the hand blender, and brought it back up to about 190 degrees. My bottles had been sitting in the oven for over an hour at 200 degrees. I sampled again and was really happy with the flavor. The heat came on very fast but settled just as quickly to a nice glow. I got 11 bottles out of it, and used the HFH method.
 
Its still a little thicker than I wanted. I ordered dasher bottles for the first, and possibly last time, using those for the HFH method. I think the dasher will need removal for serious use.
 
Lastly, I have some pics. Can anyone tell me how to upload them? I don't use image hosting services like image shack or photo bucket.
 
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If you want, you can email to me and I'd post 'em up for ya.  Send me a PM if the PhotoBucket source doesn't work out.
 
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After the images are uploaded to Photobucket, click on the IMG code (the bottom of the 4 codes shown on the right hand side) It should say COPIED....then come back to your post here on THP and Paste.   THe picture will show up directly in your THP post.  :)
 
 
 
pictures posted for Redeamer~
 
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Love the color of that one and surprised it came out a little too thick. I use about half the xanthan for about half the amount of finished bottles. I don't add the other non pepper/vinegar/salt ingredients so maybe that played a role. Good choice going with the Bragg ACV by the way
 
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Genetikx said:
Love the color of that one and surprised it came out a little too thick. I use about half the xanthan for about half the amount of finished bottles. I don't add the other non pepper/vinegar/salt ingredients so maybe that played a role. Good choice going with the Bragg ACV by the way
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Thanks! Bragg is the only way to go; it has a sweetness you don't find in other ACV and definitly contributes to overall sauce character. The thickness surprised me as well, even before adding the xanathan gum. I only added it to keep the particles suspended.
 
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JohnsMyName said:
Looks like you did a first rate job right out of the gate, nice job brother! Love the color too, looks fantastic. :)
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Thanks! And thanks to everyone for your input and support. I grilled up some chicken last night and slathered it on. Even my wife tried some, after she knew I wouldn't give up. She said it tasted great! She likes spice but feels like store bought hot sauce has a chemical flavor, which my sauce doesn't.
 
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A few days back, I bottled two more sauces. Both ferments started on 11/23 so they went 18 days. I wanted to give them longer but I want to give away sets to friends and family for xmas, and since I have two kids and a job, I can't make hot sauce the priority it needs to be in my life.
 
The green sauce (Creeper Time, as a little nod to MineCraft) is jalapeno, and at cook time I added some chipotle powder I made on my smoker. I used ACV to correct the texture, and it ended up still too thick in my opinion, but I didn't want to dilute with water. The PH was good (3.51) from the 18 days, but the flavor would have improved with more time. I think this is the last ferment I do less than 45 days.
 
The red one (Pants on Fire) is Mango, Raw Onion, Raw Garlic, Trinidad Scorpion, and Bhut Jolokia. PH was a little higher (4.19) than I wanted but again, it was an 18 day ferment, and my first time using airlocks on the jars. I used ACV, and ascorbic acid to correct the PH. Both sauces also got about 1/8 Tsp of Xanthan gum for texture. The only difference in process was the green got 4 Tablespoons of salt, and the red got 1. I would first guess the salt helped speed the fermenting process but don't think that is the case. The red had lots of natural sugar from the mango to work with, and nothing sweet was added to the green. Both sauces have a great flavor after cooking, bottling, and mellowing in the fridge, but I can do better.
 

 

 

 
 
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What is the HFH method?  I assume it is something like hot packing? 
 
Very similar process to what I have been doing but I like the use of ascorbic acid to adjust PH.  I need to go get some.  I also just ordered that pH meter.  Any tips to using it?  For some reason I always thought pH meters were prohibitively expensive so I've been dealing with strips.  My last sauces I feel have been too diluted since I'm adding too much vinegar.  I do also use Bragg though!  
 
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Hot Fill Hold ;)
 
From SL in Making Hot Sauce 101 thread...
"Hot Fill/Hold- This is the most common process for hot sauces. The cooked, heated sauce is put into sterilized sauce bottles, the bottle is capped and immediately inverted and kept inverted for a minimum of 3 minutes. This allows the (180F or greater) sauce to come in contact with the inside of the cap and will sterilize the cap."
 
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