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Bitter aftertaste

Torch

Torch

Hey everyone.

I just made my first batch of hot sauce. I will post pics tomorrow but right now I'm refrigerating it till tomorrow and then I'll bottle it. It has kind of a bitter after taste. That's why I'm not bottling it yet. I'm here for advice on an ingredient to use to help with this dilemma.

First this is what I used and did.....

Sautéed :
3 TBS garlic
4TBS shallot

Then added 1lb chopped carrot. I covered pot on low until carrots were almost done.

Added:
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup lemon juice
3 limes juiced with everything except seed or skin
2 cans of crushed pineapple and juice

Cranked heat higher till a soft boil started.

Added: 21 fatalii peppers halved with seeds.

Then boiled for 10 mins
Put in blender
Added:
1cup water
1 teaspoon of sea salt
3 dashes of black pepper.

When I tried it it was really good but the after taste kind of threw everything off. Kind of tastes bitter! Not sure if that's the taste of the fatalii? How can I tweak this to maybe get rid of the after taste? I did not use any kind of sugar. Would sugar help you think?

I will wait to hear some advice and make my tweaks tomorrow and bottle. I will post pics as well.

Oh and the ph meters said the sauce was 3.16ph
Thanks
 
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In my experience, garlic can get a pretty bitter aftertaste if you fry it too hard. Maybe that's why? Also, if the garlic wasn't super fresh, the little green germ inside it can have a bitter taste to it.

Not sure how to save it tho :/

I read that you can mask it by adding a bit of sugar (carrots for example) or a dash of worcestershire sauce (or something that rounds off the taste. most likely something with lots of umami, like soy sauce or tomatoes. not sure how that will go with the hot sauce tho).

That's only for masking the taste. I'm not sure if you'll be able to save it. Divide it into smaller batches and try different solutions? It can't get worse than it is, right? :P

Anyway, good luck!

/Philip
 
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I have had success with carrot - I believe it's the citrus giving you the aftertaste. I use roasted garlic in my production sauces and that's much sweeter so I suspect the lime/lemon is the culprit?

Sugar, carrot, etc will help but you also have to watch the sweetness of the sauce. Another thought is dried peppers of some sort - the little bits & pieces tend to stick to the mouth & help to mask the bitterness a little. You can use so little that it doesn't materially effect the flavor. A slash of Agave might do it too.

I'm wondering if the pineapple is doing it. You should ask Brian of knepper's Peppers if he gets that from pineapple. Just a thought (he makes a couple pineapple sauces)
:cheers:
 
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+1 on the lime being the probable culprit. Sugar should help with the bitterness, but it should be added at the end of the sauce making process... otherwise the lacto-bacteria will metabolize it and it'll all go to acid. You don't have to add granulated sugar either... you could add a sweet fruit at the end too.
 
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Torch said:
Hey everyone.

I just made my first batch of hot sauce. I will post pics tomorrow but right now I'm refrigerating it till tomorrow and then I'll bottle it. It has kind of a bitter after taste. That's why I'm not bottling it yet. I'm here for advice on an ingredient to use to help with this dilemma.

First this is what I used and did.....

Sautéed :
3 TBS garlic
4TBS shallot

What was the setting on the stove used to sautee? If it was Med / Med High the garlic could have added to it

Then added 1lb chopped carrot. I covered pot on low until carrots were almost done.

Added:
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup lemon juice
3 limes juiced with everything except seed or skin

That's alot of acid and alot of citrus +1 LDHS I think you probably nailed it there

2 cans of crushed pineapple and juice

Cranked heat higher till a soft boil started.

Added: 21 fatalii peppers halved with seeds.

Then boiled for 10 mins
Put in blender
Added:
1cup water
1 teaspoon of sea salt
3 dashes of black pepper.

When I tried it it was really good but the after taste kind of threw everything off. Kind of tastes bitter! Not sure if that's the taste of the fatalii? How can I tweak this to maybe get rid of the after taste? I did not use any kind of sugar. Would sugar help you think?

I will wait to hear some advice and make my tweaks tomorrow and bottle. I will post pics as well.

Oh and the ph meters said the sauce was 3.16ph
Thanks
Click to expand...

Some good suggestions above and I really like the Agave Nectar idea or maybe a touch of honey but alot of these things can work themselves out with just a bit of time to allow all the flavors to marry and get happy together. Before dumping it all back into a pot and adding a touch of this and a touch of that I'd just let it sit for say 2 weeks and then try it again and see if the flavor is still off. Then add something else to it. JMHO

Cheers,
RM
 
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stickman said:
+1 on the lime being the probable culprit. Sugar should help with the bitterness, but it should be added at the end of the sauce making process... otherwise the lacto-bacteria will metabolize it and it'll all go to acid. You don't have to add granulated sugar either... you could add a sweet fruit at the end too.
Click to expand...

It's a cooked sauce, no fermenting going on. Let it sit for a few days, taste it and see what type of sweetener to add. Maybe even brown sugar, if you can taste any of the saute.
 
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:cool: I just thought it might confuse some of the new people, might not understand there's a difference between fermented and others. I should of worded it a little more gently, didn't meant to sound rude. That's what happens when I post before coffee... :lol:
 
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Oh, also forgot to mention - before bottling be sure to get this sucker back into a pot & up to 190 degrees!

Maybe goes without saying but the fact that it's in a tub in the fridge means opportunity for nasties - for sure pasteurize before bottling.
:cheers:
 
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salsalady said:
:cool: I just thought it might confuse some of the new people, might not understand there's a difference between fermented and others. I should of worded it a little more gently, didn't meant to sound rude. That's what happens when I post before coffee... :lol:
Click to expand...
S'alright...I agree we need to be clear... we can't be poisoning an unsuspecting public can we? ;)
 
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Ok thanks everyone!!!!

My plan of attack is to wait 2 weeks. I'll taste it then and hopefully it will be much better. If not I will add either agave nectar or brown sugar. I may have to ask about how much to use. I have no experience with agave nectar. Not sure if we're talking tablespoons or cups. Thanks. I will wait to post pics until I'm satisfied with the taste. The color and the consistency of the sauce looks really nice though. Next time ill stay away from all the limes!!!

Thanks again....

I'll update in a few weeks.
 
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"How much" is in the eye of the beholder.

Get it in a pot, heat it up. Add a little At a time & taste it (spoonful in a up => fridge => taste when cool) - keep doing that until you're satisfied with the flavor.
:cheers:
 
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Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:
"How much" is in the eye of the beholder.

Get it in a pot, heat it up. Add a little At a time & taste it (spoonful in a up => fridge => taste when cool) - keep doing that until you're satisfied with the flavor.
:cheers:
Click to expand...

Spoonful in a up? Let me make sure I understand. Put a table spoon in the pot cold. Then heat it up to a simmer. Then refrigerate it, then taste it later? So I have to keep refrigerating it every spoonful I add? This can take days if I understand right. I was hoping I could just add a spoonful at a time and keep adding as needed until satisfied all in one session.
 
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Torch said:
Spoonful in a up? Let me make sure I understand. Put a table spoon in the pot cold. Then heat it up to a simmer. Then refrigerate it, then taste it later? So I have to keep refrigerating it every spoonful I add? This can take days if I understand right. I was hoping I could just add a spoonful at a time and keep adding as needed until satisfied all in one session.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure (s)he means that you put everything to a simmer and then take a spoonful of that and put it in a cup, then in the fridge to cool. then you can taste it. Add some sugar/agave to the pot and rinse and repeat until the taste is awesome.
 
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Bingo - sorry. The idea of heating a spoonful at a time over several days is hilarious though. Just picturing you all bleary-eyed after being awake for 72 hours cursing my name. :rofl:

Yeah - heat ALL of it - past simmer - you want it hot. Like ~160 degrees. Add your [agave/sugar/carrot/whatever] a little bit at a time, stir, heat & then sample a tbsp that's been cooled. (it much harder to get a "fair" eval of the flavor when hot)

Keep doing this until awesome taste ensues.

The thought is that you can always add more - you can't take it out. Less chance of ruining the balance this way.

Once you've got the taste right, up the heat another 30 degrees to 190, and bottle it hot as per standard pasteurizing/bottling. (e.g. turn bottles upside down, etc)

Good luck! :cheers:

Ps - "spoonful in a cup" - sorry, stupid phone.
 
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