Purely my personal opinion, but that doesn't need to be changed. 
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Hot Sauce Color Question
- Thread starter Todd's Inner Beauty HS
- Start date
How do unripened peppers come across or can you tell in the sauce?
Usually fine as in people use green jalapenos all the time but supermarket random variety is not good for consistency. Ripened you get sweeter notes, unripened grassier. I'd rather find a good source myself for the best tasting pods than this supermarket variety.
PS. Your recipe is always going to be changing color unless you nail down the exact pepper and color. And then it will still vary slightly. But using supermarket random habs/bonnets it is always going to vary and also be a bit muted since you are mixing muted greens with yellows and reds.
It's a bit dull and watered-down Gulden's mustard looking.
What mustard do you use? Yellow, or Gulden's. Maybe it's the brown sugar making me think Gulden's but you add that also so can't tell. If it is Gulden's that is muting the color as well.
You may want to try using dry mustard in your sauce. That's how yellow mustard is made and your sauce already has the vinegar and spices so it's like the mustard is being made in the sauce instead of adding it. This keeps the commercial ingredients down and your color will pop more because you are just adding mustard, not prepared mustard.
PS. Your recipe is always going to be changing color unless you nail down the exact pepper and color. And then it will still vary slightly. But using supermarket random habs/bonnets it is always going to vary and also be a bit muted since you are mixing muted greens with yellows and reds.
It's a bit dull and watered-down Gulden's mustard looking.
What mustard do you use? Yellow, or Gulden's. Maybe it's the brown sugar making me think Gulden's but you add that also so can't tell. If it is Gulden's that is muting the color as well.
You may want to try using dry mustard in your sauce. That's how yellow mustard is made and your sauce already has the vinegar and spices so it's like the mustard is being made in the sauce instead of adding it. This keeps the commercial ingredients down and your color will pop more because you are just adding mustard, not prepared mustard.
Yeah but to me unripened annuums like Jals and serrano are the exception and when I eat an unripened chinense I do not like it that much so was wondering if it carried though into the sauce.
I think he grabbed supermarket variety often called "Caribbean Peppers" here and they mix in the ripe, unripe, sb, and hab. Like I said best to find a source to keep it consistent.
SmokenFire said:Purely my personal opinion, but that doesn't need to be changed.
I think that is the growing consensus on our end. A few days in the ice box and it has retained itself. Until the next batch is made with the color suggestions from above; the jury is still out.
Agreed, my favs are the yellow sbs...so damn yummy!The Hot Pepper said:
Continued good tips here. Thank you. Regarding the peppers: Greater Boston area produce market.....Sounds like though if my options are limited to find these peppers at a minimum I should sort them by color (ripeness) before using. Yes?The Hot Pepper said:
As far as the mustard used; basic French's Yellow nothing special. I'd be willing to try the dry as well.
Sugar is brown but I think I'm going to split it with regular on the next round too.
Turbinado sugar is really nice - might want to give that a try.
Yes you can always pick the color you want at the supermarket if you can find enough! Or pick two colors so you have 10 red and 10 yellow, etc. Ya know? Then if you go commercial it is easier to convert to weights and varieties. This may even solve your color issue! 
Yes try dry yellow mustard, it comes in a tin.
Yes try dry yellow mustard, it comes in a tin.
I can never buy just one bag of the kind they carry at costcoSmokenFire said:
Brown sugar is refined white sugar and molasses, this is another ingredient where you could separate the two or use fruit juice to sweeten, and molasses for that molasses flavor you are after.
As you can see I'm more of a single ingredient kinda guy lol. I think it helps when crafting sauces, you have more control.
As you can see I'm more of a single ingredient kinda guy lol. I think it helps when crafting sauces, you have more control.
JoynersHotPeppers said:I can never buy just one bag of the kind they carry at costco
Yup, three 6 pounders last time. It's pretty much the only sugar I use.
Agreed, I noticed the last bags i bought is lighter and now GMO free certified...not that I needed that stamp but a nice touchSmokenFire said:
Yes flavors meld and colors darken over time always best to judge your sauce after a proper processing and opening a fresh bottle in a month. This is once you nail down a recipe and have it down to grams and want to see how it ages. At this stage you are still experimenting.
salsalady
Business Member
couple of comments-
the green peppers are making the color of the sauce darker, more brown than a nice bright Caribbean orange or yellow sauce. That's based on the posted picture, which may not accurately represent the true color of the sauce due to camera/monitor/etc... I feel that using unripe chiles changes the flavor of a sauce as well as the color compared to using all ripe pods. If you can't source all ripe pods through the local store, try contacting some growers in the warmer zones for pods now. If needed, I can put you in touch with some contract growers, you can put your order in now for pods to be delivered in the fall. Clean, trim and freeze the pods as soon as you get them, then use as needed to make sauce throughout the year.
Beet powder is also available as well as using whole beets. I considered using beet juice in Fluffy Bunny, but it would of watered it down too much. I used whole beets, blendered the snot out of them in the BlendTec so it was a consistency that would work with the sauce and deliver a lot of color for the amount of beets used.
Without knowing all the ingredients, I feel like adding beets or annatto to the sauce will make it brown not red/orange due to the green pods. Maybe go back to the original recipe and remove all brown ingredients including brown sugar. What other things can you use to sweeten that are not brown? White sugar? a fruit juice? Just something to consider.
Good Luck, let us know how things are progressing~
the green peppers are making the color of the sauce darker, more brown than a nice bright Caribbean orange or yellow sauce. That's based on the posted picture, which may not accurately represent the true color of the sauce due to camera/monitor/etc... I feel that using unripe chiles changes the flavor of a sauce as well as the color compared to using all ripe pods. If you can't source all ripe pods through the local store, try contacting some growers in the warmer zones for pods now. If needed, I can put you in touch with some contract growers, you can put your order in now for pods to be delivered in the fall. Clean, trim and freeze the pods as soon as you get them, then use as needed to make sauce throughout the year.
Beet powder is also available as well as using whole beets. I considered using beet juice in Fluffy Bunny, but it would of watered it down too much. I used whole beets, blendered the snot out of them in the BlendTec so it was a consistency that would work with the sauce and deliver a lot of color for the amount of beets used.
Without knowing all the ingredients, I feel like adding beets or annatto to the sauce will make it brown not red/orange due to the green pods. Maybe go back to the original recipe and remove all brown ingredients including brown sugar. What other things can you use to sweeten that are not brown? White sugar? a fruit juice? Just something to consider.
Good Luck, let us know how things are progressing~