Help... watery sauce

[baconsauce]

Hi all! Im wondering if anyone has any suggestions that could help me.
I made a jalapeno sauce the other night. The taste is very good, but im not happy with the consistency of the sauce. It turned out to be really thin and watery. Im guessing I didnt let it reduce enough?
problem is that I already bottled it and put it into the fridge hoping that it would thicken up a little as it cooled. Unfortunately it did not. Is it too late to thicken it up?
Ive read on some sites that you can pour it back out into a pot and add anything from a corn starch mix, pectin, gelatin, or even xanthium gum (which I do not have) and re-bottle.
 
Would anyone have any ideas? has anyone tried this or should I just start a new batch from scratch?
 
Thanks in advance!!

 

[Husker21]

I think reprocessing it would be fine as long as you hit the proper temperature and hold it there for the requisite amount of time.  I have no suggestions on an additive to use as a thickener.  Cooking it down will certainly evaporate the water.  All of my sauces are brought to 212 and hang out there for a minimum of 15 minutes.  You may want to go longer if you are trying to reduce the sauce to your desired thickness.  

 

[PepperDaddy]

I would think the corn starch, gelatin or pectine would be detrimental to the flavor.  If it needs a lot of thickenening, I would go w/ carrots, onions, garlic, ginger, etc.

 

[Wicked Mike]

If it were me, I'd get some xanthan gum. It has a wide variety of applications in the kitchen. It's effective in a wide range of pHs and temperatures. A small amount goes a long way, and it's cheap. It is pseudoplastic (read a little bit about shear thinning and you'll see why this is a good thing for a hot sauce).
 
I use xanthan gum in all my hot sauces, as well as any sort of emulsion (vinaigrettes, homemade mayonnaise, etc.). It's good stuff to have around.
 
My advice would be to weigh the jar of hot sauce. Pour the sauce out into a sanitized pan. Weigh the empty jar. Subtract your second measurement (empty jar) from your first measurement (jar+sauce). This will give you the mass of the sauce. Multiply that number by anywhere from maybe .3% to .6%, depending on how watery your sauce is (.3% if it just needs a minor tune-up, .6% if it's almost like straight water. That is the amount (by weight) of xanthan gum to add to your sauce. Mix it in well, then bring your sauce up to temp and hold it there as desired before storing it in a new, sanitized jar.
 
Again, that's just what I would do.

 

[Litical]

Xanthum Gum is your best bet.
 
You could also try a mixture of Black Strap Molasses, and raw sugar with a bit of coconut water then reduce it on a low simmer until it is super thick and add to your bottles if not filled to the top and shake them up...should be thicker after that but much more sweet.

 

[salsalady]

It is OK to re-batch the sauce and thicken it up either by adding a thickener or just reducing it further.  Several of the options above will alter the taste.  If you're happy with the flavor, just reduce it.
 
Pour all the sauce into a wide surface pan and simmer to reduce it to desired consistency  The wide pan will give the most surface area for evaporation and it will reduce faster.  Keep it stirred up so it doesn't stick or burn while simmering. 
 
Not sure what kind of jars you are using (woozy sauce bottles or mason canning jars?), but after emptying the sauce out, wash/rinse/sanitize the jars just like normal and use a fresh cap/lid. 
 
Re-fill the bottles/jars like usual, good to go~
 
 
Good Luck! 

 

[Wicked Mike]

Salsalady makes a truly excellent point about surface area. If you have such a vessel in heavy cast iron, go with that. It holds a lot of heat and conducts it more evenly than steel or aluminum. Avoid using copper, as it's reactive with acidic foods.

 

[Dave2000]

You have to decide whether you want it to taste stronger, or slightly weaker.  Cooking it down makes it stronger, while a thickener reduces the amount of flavor, and heat, your mouth will come in contact with, or you could cook it down some AND add less thickener.
 
I wouldn't advise using cast iron.  The pot or pan seasoning will absorb the capsaicin and taint the next few meals you cook in it.   Some who like spicy food will say that's not a bad thing but I don't want my cookware adding anything I didn't intentionally add, like my now orange tinted blender that nobody else dares to use for anything.

 

[chile_freak]

You have to decide whether you want it to taste stronger, or slightly weaker.  Cooking it down makes it stronger, while a thickener reduces the amount of flavor, and heat, your mouth will come in contact with, or you could cook it down some AND add less thickener.
 
I wouldn't advise using cast iron.  The pot or pan seasoning will absorb the capsaicin and taint the next few meals you cook in it.   Some who like spicy food will say that's not a bad thing but I don't want my cookware adding anything I didn't intentionally add, like my now orange tinted blender that nobody else dares to use for anything.

 

You have to decide whether you want it to taste stronger, or slightly weaker.  Cooking it down makes it stronger, while a thickener reduces the amount of flavor, and heat, your mouth will come in contact with, or you could cook it down some AND add less thickener.
 
I wouldn't advise using cast iron.  The pot or pan seasoning will absorb the capsaicin and taint the next few meals you cook in it.   Some who like spicy food will say that's not a bad thing but I don't want my cookware adding anything I didn't intentionally add, like my now orange tinted blender that nobody else dares to use for anything.

sorry off topic but, i too had to buy a separate blender for the home right after the first spicy blueberry milkshake incident of 2012! btw I agree just reduce a bit!