Hey folks! Recently made a new batch of sauce, which was my third custom recipe. This one is all red habs, along with some ground cherries, white wine vinegar, and some honey. Definitely maxing out my personal heat tolerance, but my stepdad loves it.
Forgive the stream-of-consciousness here, but I'll just dive right in...
A vague version of my recipe:
16oz red habeneros (stemmed but not seeded - I wanted orange SBs but couldn't find any)
5oz ground cherries (aka cape gooseberries)
1/2c white wine vinegar + 1/2c distilled white vinegar
1tbsp honey
some spices
I blended everything together pretty thoroughly in my new Ninja before simmering on the stove. Didn't simmer for long, so I doubt much liquid was lost to evaporation. Then passed it through a mesh strainer (trying to squeeze every last ounce of liquid before discarding pulp), put it back on the stove, brought it up to 212F (didn't mean to bring it that high, but no biggie), then hot fill/hold. Consistency is a little thicker than tabasco, but definitely thinner than sriracha. PH meter was dead out of the box, so unsure on pH.
My yield was three 5oz woozy bottles. It feels like I'm doing something wrong... I mean, I know there are economies of scale to be had for bulk production, but after ingredients and packaging, it cost me ~$4.00 per bottle, which doesn't seem like it would be a viable product. And this cost doesn't include the heat gun, the pH tester, the blender, etc.. Or my time. So with that in mind:
I used a heat gun to apply shrink bands, but I wasn't pleased with how seemingly random the results were. Maybe I'll just get better at it over time, but what are some tricks others have discovered for applying shrink bands that consistently look good?
Thanks for reading this, and thanks in advance for any wisdom you're able to impart to a newbie. I'm really enjoying reading through the ocean of information on this forum!
Forgive the stream-of-consciousness here, but I'll just dive right in...
A vague version of my recipe:
16oz red habeneros (stemmed but not seeded - I wanted orange SBs but couldn't find any)
5oz ground cherries (aka cape gooseberries)
1/2c white wine vinegar + 1/2c distilled white vinegar
1tbsp honey
some spices
I blended everything together pretty thoroughly in my new Ninja before simmering on the stove. Didn't simmer for long, so I doubt much liquid was lost to evaporation. Then passed it through a mesh strainer (trying to squeeze every last ounce of liquid before discarding pulp), put it back on the stove, brought it up to 212F (didn't mean to bring it that high, but no biggie), then hot fill/hold. Consistency is a little thicker than tabasco, but definitely thinner than sriracha. PH meter was dead out of the box, so unsure on pH.
My yield was three 5oz woozy bottles. It feels like I'm doing something wrong... I mean, I know there are economies of scale to be had for bulk production, but after ingredients and packaging, it cost me ~$4.00 per bottle, which doesn't seem like it would be a viable product. And this cost doesn't include the heat gun, the pH tester, the blender, etc.. Or my time. So with that in mind:
- Is this why craft hot sauce can cost $10+ per bottle?
- Is it feasible to produce hot sauce like this in bulk without growing your own peppers?
- I know mashes exist... is there a significant difference in flavor when using "someone else's mash" vs fresh peppers?
- Is this why some people use superhots and then add volume with carrot? You still get to put "ghost pepper" on the label, but only need a small quantity of peppers to make a sauce that's still too hot for most people.
I used a heat gun to apply shrink bands, but I wasn't pleased with how seemingly random the results were. Maybe I'll just get better at it over time, but what are some tricks others have discovered for applying shrink bands that consistently look good?
Thanks for reading this, and thanks in advance for any wisdom you're able to impart to a newbie. I'm really enjoying reading through the ocean of information on this forum!