fermenting Fermented Hotsauce PH - can it be too low?

[Bomonti]

Hi there, done a six week ferment and the ph is seemingly at 2.7, is this too low? Is there any need to add vinegar/lime if its so low? Added some sugar to make it a bit sweeter..

 

[MikeUSMC]

Too low? Not that I'm aware of. Only reason I'd add vinegar to a sauce with a pH that low would be for flavor purposes, or to adjust the viscosity. If the flavor is where you like it but the viscosity isn't, you could skip the vinegar altogether and add preboiled water to thin it out without altering the flavor. Just be sure to keep checking the pH as you add the water, since adding water will raise the pH level (probably slowly). Neutral water has a pH level of 7.0, so keep that in mind!

 

[The Hot Pepper]

I think Bomonti is confused about the direction pH needs to be. The lower the better for food safety, so if 4.5 is considered the cap, 5, would need adjustment, 4, would not.