• If you have a question about commercial production or the hot sauce business, please post in The Food Biz.

a few questions

C

cmwr

Ok I am going to modify this question to just one. I don't know any other way to ask this and not sound stupid :) I want to know if my current batch (or recipe) makes a sauce acidic enough to not need refrigerated. For todays batch I do not have a PH tester handy.  If I test one bottle of todays sauce by letting it sit on the counter for an extended period of time (a few weeks), Is mold all I have to worry about looking for or are there hidden things that could still be in it that you can't see (besides mold and fungus)?
 
My recipe today was a bottle of seasoned Rice vinegar, 2 small onions (caramelized with 1 tbsp olive oil), fresh peppers of various varieties (ghost, habanero, chilis), salt to taste, and a pinch of lemon juice. Seems pretty basic and I would think pretty acidic.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
I read the first post, and was coming back to answer that.
 
Oil in a sauce is usually a critical factor, but sauces containing oil/butter can be safely processed for shelf stability.  Leaving a bottle out is not a good test.  There are bad Nasties that can grow in the sauce that you won't be able to see or tell.  Botulism, and other not good things....  I make a BBQ sauce containing butter that is processed using the Hot fill Hold method.  Check out the Making Hot Sauce 101 thread for details on the different processes.
 
It sounds like the sauce is acidic enough.  What was the final yield of the sauce in ounces? and I'm assuming it was a 12oz bottle of rice vinegar?
 
I would recommend the sauce stay refrigerated unless you have it tested and the recipe reviewed by a professional food scientist also known as a Process Authority.  In the instance of the bottle taken to work, it probably wasn't out long enough to worry about things going bad coupled with a decent amount of acidity.
 
I have left some professionally made sauces out on the counter in the summer, and after about 3 days, it tanked.  The plastic bottle was all swollen and it went PFFFFT when it was opened.  Bummer, cuz that was a really good sauce, too!  It is an ongoing debate around here whether to refrigerate sauces or leave 'em out.  Just letting you know that even professionally made sauces can go bad when not refrigerated, so for all homemade sauces, I always recommend refrigerating.
 
Hope this helps...
 
Oh, and to your first question about using a canning jar- I would say it is OK to put the excess sauce in a canning jar and give it a boiling water bath.
 
Disclaimer- I'm not a food scientist.  When in doubt, refrigerate.  Or boiling water bath and refrigerate.  
SL 
 
 
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
salsalady said:
I read the first post, and was coming back to answer that.
 
Oil in a sauce is usually a critical factor, but sauces containing oil/butter can be safely processed for shelf stability.  Leaving a bottle out is not a good test.  There are bad Nasties that can grow in the sauce that you won't be able to see or tell.  Botulism, and other not good things....  I make a BBQ sauce containing butter that is processed using the Hot fill Hold method.  Check out the Making Hot Sauce 101 thread for details on the different processes.
 
It sounds like the sauce is acidic enough.  What was the final yield of the sauce in ounces? and I'm assuming it was a 12oz bottle of rice vinegar?
 
I would recommend the sauce stay refrigerated unless you have it tested and the recipe reviewed by a professional food scientist also known as a Process Authority.  In the instance of the bottle taken to work, it probably wasn't out long enough to worry about things going bad coupled with a decent amount of acidity.
 
I have left some professionally made sauces out on the counter in the summer, and after about 3 days, it tanked.  The plastic bottle was all swollen and it went PFFFFT when it was opened.  Bummer, cuz that was a really good sauce, too!  It is an ongoing debate around here whether to refrigerate sauces or leave 'em out.  Just letting you know that even professionally made sauces can go bad when not refrigerated, so for all homemade sauces, I always recommend refrigerating.
 
Hope this helps...
 
Oh, and to your first question about using a canning jar- I would say it is OK to put the excess sauce in a canning jar and give it a boiling water bath.
 
Disclaimer- I'm not a food scientist.  When in doubt, refrigerate.  Or boiling water bath and refrigerate.  
SL 
 
 
Click to expand...
Thank you. Honestly I have no problems refrigerating my sauce and this would take all the guesswork out of things. I believe it was a 12 ounce thing of vinegar yes. I ended up having enough bottles and lids barely. Like a dumb butt I threw all my lids away in the past after I emptied a bottle because I didnt think they were good to reuse. So I have a whole bunch of bottles and not enough lids. I had five brand new lids and one used lid that I washed in the dishwasher. I boiled six bottles in water for 20 minutes and then ladled boiling water on to the lids in a bowl. My batch made just enough to fill all six bottles perfectly.

329C874A-F4CC-4AEA-8A45-3A13D87C91FA.jpeg
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
(6) 5 oz bottles?
 
Be aware when working with vinegars that some are lower % acidity.  Rice vinegars are usually 4% acidity; apple cider, white, and a bunch of others are typically 5% acidity; balsamics can be 6-7% acidity.  When working with a lower acidity like rice vinegar, you may want to add a skosh more to compensate. 
 
You can purchase new caps for (pennies) from some bottle supply companies.  They may want to charge $20 shipping for $4 worth of caps, but a phone call to the office can usually take care of that.  I buy most of my bottles through Specialty Bottle because they are the closest to where I live for shipping.  They have a great office staff that will actually answer the phone and work with you.
 
 
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
salsalady said:
(6) 5 oz bottles?
 
Be aware when working with vinegars that some are lower % acidity.  Rice vinegars are usually 4% acidity; apple cider, white, and a bunch of others are typically 5% acidity; balsamics can be 6-7% acidity.  When working with a lower acidity like rice vinegar, you may want to add a skosh more to compensate. 
Click to expand...
Yes 5 ounce. I will just keep refrigerating to play it safe
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top