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fermenting benefits of fermentation over other methods?
- Thread starter Katrina
- Start date
salsalady
Business Member
Katrina, if you want to, you can click "edit" on your first post, then "use full editor", and you can change/edit the spelling in the thread title and subtitle.
There'a a couple of fermenting threads in the making hot sauce section. As you're already familiar with the process, it might be of interest to you. Jalapeno's are usually pretty cheap in the stores, try a small batch now to see what you think.
PS- love your CI~
SL
There'a a couple of fermenting threads in the making hot sauce section. As you're already familiar with the process, it might be of interest to you. Jalapeno's are usually pretty cheap in the stores, try a small batch now to see what you think.
PS- love your CI~
SL
Hi Kat,
+1 to POTAWIE and Salsa Lady.
The health benefits are that the Lactobacillus bacteria that we use to ferment the mash with are a Probiotic. We already have it in our guts and assist us in digestion. However, only if the sauce is left uncooked as heating the sauce to the boiling point kills any and all bacteria. As the mash will be, post fermentation, at an acceptable ph, mine is usually at 3.4 right out of the fermentation jar, there is no need to add any acid to the sauce except as a flavor component thus requiring less needing to be added. This saves money in production of the sauce and more control over the flavor profile. For many it is purely a flavor issue. There a lot of people who don’t like or who prefer less of the vinegar taste in sauces. This probably comes from the over use or perhaps abuse of Apple Cider Vinegar in sauce making which has a very strong distinct taste and can easily take over anything.
POTAWIE is correct in that it mellows, meaning that is helps to soften any really sharp flavors, the sauce and allows all of the flavors to come together. This may be in part due to fermenting allowing us to age the mash for several months to years but I believe, IMHO, that the fermentation process of converting sugar to lactic acid has something to do with it too. There are also some ways that fermentation allows us to play with the flavor profile of a sauce. For instance, when I make my Jamaica Me Hot Sauce I use a lot of sweet ingredients such as Golden Raisins and Pineapple and yet it is not a sweet sauce. While the sweetness is gone though, the flavor and aroma of those ingredients remains as part of the flavor profile. This allows me to develop very complex flavor profiles that really play and dance on the tongue.
I hope this has been helpful and while not based on scientific facts it is what I have observed in my fermenting peppers.
Cheers,
RM
+1 to POTAWIE and Salsa Lady.
The health benefits are that the Lactobacillus bacteria that we use to ferment the mash with are a Probiotic. We already have it in our guts and assist us in digestion. However, only if the sauce is left uncooked as heating the sauce to the boiling point kills any and all bacteria. As the mash will be, post fermentation, at an acceptable ph, mine is usually at 3.4 right out of the fermentation jar, there is no need to add any acid to the sauce except as a flavor component thus requiring less needing to be added. This saves money in production of the sauce and more control over the flavor profile. For many it is purely a flavor issue. There a lot of people who don’t like or who prefer less of the vinegar taste in sauces. This probably comes from the over use or perhaps abuse of Apple Cider Vinegar in sauce making which has a very strong distinct taste and can easily take over anything.
POTAWIE is correct in that it mellows, meaning that is helps to soften any really sharp flavors, the sauce and allows all of the flavors to come together. This may be in part due to fermenting allowing us to age the mash for several months to years but I believe, IMHO, that the fermentation process of converting sugar to lactic acid has something to do with it too. There are also some ways that fermentation allows us to play with the flavor profile of a sauce. For instance, when I make my Jamaica Me Hot Sauce I use a lot of sweet ingredients such as Golden Raisins and Pineapple and yet it is not a sweet sauce. While the sweetness is gone though, the flavor and aroma of those ingredients remains as part of the flavor profile. This allows me to develop very complex flavor profiles that really play and dance on the tongue.
I hope this has been helpful and while not based on scientific facts it is what I have observed in my fermenting peppers.
Cheers,
RM
LOL!
Hello. The benefit to me was its sheer simplicity. I had tried several times in the past to make a hot sauce that I liked and I was never satisfied with the results. When the pods came in last year, I took the huge overflow, ground them up, mixed in the salt, and submerged them in a gallon pickle jar under a freezer bag filled with salt water.
Several months later I now have a hot sauce I'm truly pleased with.
Do you mind sharing your recipe?
Thanks- Bob
Several months later I now have a hot sauce I'm truly pleased with.
Do you mind sharing your recipe?
Thanks- Bob
OK, so I can't say I disagree with things said so far. There are some benefits. The lactic acid is a mellower flavor than vinegar, in many cases. It can also lead to extremely consistent sauces because it's all coming from a mash, which tends to have less variability than fresh peppers.
That said, I tend to believe the "snappy" flavor issues are correctable with a little work.
I love the flavor of fire-roasted peppers. For me it was all about capturing that flavor. So for me I worked hard to balance my flavors so it doesn't taste like you're sipping on vinegar with my sauces. Getting that balance was all I worked at for years.
I really can't agree that one is better than another. I really love some sauces from mash - I have a lot of them. But I think some of those can be a bit too snappy too.
But then I'm biased - I make roasted pepper sauces. Apples and oranges?
That said, I tend to believe the "snappy" flavor issues are correctable with a little work.
I love the flavor of fire-roasted peppers. For me it was all about capturing that flavor. So for me I worked hard to balance my flavors so it doesn't taste like you're sipping on vinegar with my sauces. Getting that balance was all I worked at for years.
I really can't agree that one is better than another. I really love some sauces from mash - I have a lot of them. But I think some of those can be a bit too snappy too.
But then I'm biased - I make roasted pepper sauces. Apples and oranges?