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fermenting Fermented Habanero Sauce idea

portveyn

portveyn

Hi All!
 
I always wanted to make it. The simple habanero sauce made of
fermented pepper and salt mash, vinegar (I like apple vinegar),
and then aged on wood chips (apple wood or fancy french oak,
I don't know yet). 
 
The idea is to make a good quantity of undestructible, shelf stable,
almost never expiring sauce. Like Tabasco makes it.
 
Has anyone done something similar?
 
I have made fermented sauces and even wines & ciders before,
so fermentation is not the question.
 
The question is wood chips aging (what type, when, how much of it, how long?)
and proportion of  vinegar to make the sauce last.
What vinegar do you use yourselves?
 
Please share your exp!
 
Thank you.
Alex.
 
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RocketMan said:
When the LAB have been allowed to fully do their thing, not cut short with only a 2 or 3 day run then there really is no need to add vinegar as the final Ph is going to be well within the limits of shelf stable. So the only reason to add it is to add the the taste profile.

I've used Braggs also and yes, while softer than the cheap stuff it is still a dominant flavor that can crush some of the softer notes in a sauce. That's why I suggest care in using it, add just a little bit at a time till you get what your looking for or using a milder vinegar.

Great thing about sauce making though is the only wrong answer is not making it. We all have different likes and some people like the ACV tang in their sauces and there's nothing wrong with that
Click to expand...
 
I usually test my sauces by bringing them to work and checking how
fast the sauce level goes down in the bottle :) After a few years of doing
so I realized that roughly 50% of people don't bother to place it back
in the cooler! And some poofters don't even bother to put the lid back on!
 
The question is: at what pH level the sauce becomes immortal?
 
As for commercial "no need to refrigerate" sauces, the vinegar is always
there. And usually on the first place on the list.
 
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PH of 4.2 is I think the legal food level. For home use under 4.0 should be OK, but as a standard many of us shoot for < 3.5 pH. Also cook the sauce, sanitize and HFH when bottling.
 
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Tasted the mash and realized that's what I wanted.
Took apple wood out. Blended with vinegar and cooked.
Homogenized as well as could. Filtered. Done.
 
finalll.jpg

 
Will write the tasting notes a bit later. Busy.
 
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Tried Redeemer's sauces yesterday.
 
Here's short review:
 
WP_20160212_023.jpg

 
Pants on Fire: sweet & smooth, it has a good pepper flavor and a pleasant acidity. not too hot. with appealing color.
 
Hipster: has a unique refreshing character (like a fresh cucumber), a crisp zest to it, plus a light sweetness. the flavor overpowers the heat.
 
DancingSpices: pronounced habanero taste with balanced acidity and sweetness. healthy heat. the winner.
 
Thank you Redeemer!
 
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Would like to hear how your sauce came out.
 
Nice notes on Redeemer's, I've tried a couple of those myself! Cool to see what others think.
 
Might be fun to start a tasting group or club. We could all share sauces and give ratings and notes on them. Would be a good way to make improvements, get new ideas, and try some new stuff.  :)
 
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Let's taste it  :drooling: 
 
Tasting side by side with original Tabasco:
 
* Young, pinkish-red color. Has little pepper particles but overall homogenized.
 
* Peppery, fresh unripe tomato like aromas with pleasant yeasty notes. Not vinegary like Tabasco.
 
* On the palate the sauce has pronounced habanero character, some natural pepper
sweetness, bready & vinegary notes, and a hot finish. Hotter than Tabasco.
Tabasco tastes more mature and vinegary. My sauce lacks the aged flavor/aroma (no wood influence).
 
So the apple wood didn't affect the sauce. Will do oak next time & age longer.
I am sure the color, and aromas/flavors will change with time and will keep you guys posted.
 
Overall that's what I wanted (minus wood flavor): stable, medium-hot, "user-friendly", basic sauce with habanero flavor.
Made of peppers, vinegars (acv, rice, and distilled), water, a little salt.
 
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portveyn said:
Let's taste it  :drooling:
 
Tasting side by side with original Tabasco:
 
* Young, pinkish-red color. Has little pepper particles but overall homogenized.
 
* Peppery, fresh unripe tomato like aromas with pleasant yeasty notes. Not vinegary like Tabasco.
 
* On the palate the sauce has pronounced habanero character, some natural pepper
sweetness, bready & vinegary notes, and a hot finish. Hotter than Tabasco.
Tabasco tastes more mature and vinegary. My sauce lacks the aged flavor/aroma (no wood influence).
 
So the apple wood didn't affect the sauce. Will do oak next time & age longer.
I am sure the color, and aromas/flavors will change with time and will keep you guys posted.
 
Overall that's what I wanted (minus wood flavor): stable, medium-hot, "user-friendly", basic sauce with habanero flavor.
Made of peppers, vinegars (acv, rice, and distilled), water, a little salt.
Click to expand...
Thats a nice looking sauce. I think oak will be more pronounced than apple wood for sure. Toasted oak is what I really want to try. Thanks for reviewing my sauce too. Its much appreciated.
 
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portveyn said:
Hi All!
 
I always wanted to make it. The simple habanero sauce made of
fermented pepper and salt mash, vinegar (I like apple vinegar),
and then aged on wood chips (apple wood or fancy french oak,
I don't know yet). 
 
The idea is to make a good quantity of undestructible, shelf stable,
almost never expiring sauce. Like Tabasco makes it.
 
Has anyone done something similar?
 
I have made fermented sauces and even wines & ciders before,
so fermentation is not the question.
 
The question is wood chips aging (what type, when, how much of it, how long?)
and proportion of  vinegar to make the sauce last.
What vinegar do you use yourselves?
 
Please share your exp!
 
Thank you.
Alex.
Click to expand...
Hey man, I just wanted to add to this post. When I was at the brew store the other day, I bought a small bag of American Oak chunks; medium toast. They sell Both American and French, untoasted, medium toaster, and heavy toasted. I have them soaking in a jar of bourbon right now and am going to use them eventually when I figure out just which sauce would work best. Meanwhile, here they are.
 

 

 
Kind of hard to see. They have darkened the bourbon considerably in only a couple of days, but I think it is a good money saver over buying the barrel, and the whiskey and aging that way.
 
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Redeemer, the sweet bourbon flavor might pair well with your flagship sauce!
 
I think I will use medium toasted French oak chips/cubes for next batch. And just
habanero peppers, no fillers :)  
 
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I guess I get the benefit of being busy or forgetful mine will have been aging/fermenting for four months at the end of this week. I can't see getting a chance to open it for at least two weeks and probably in reality not until April.
 
Hopefully that toasted oak is doing its job.  The fermentation has calmed down with some nice separation in the jar.  My wife thinks that the oak cubes are forming a face looking out from inside the jar.
 
-Alden
 
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