I made some tropical fruit habanero sauce last night. Wanted to share and ask questions:

[ProjectileTeeth]

Here is my recipe (questions after):

26 habaneros
10 serranos
1 ghost pepper
1 mango
Juice of 2 limes
12 oz of pineapple juice
3 cups Apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
3 carrots

Unmeasured:
Smoked paprika
Dash of liquid smoke
Salt
Olive oil

Put olive oil and salt on peppers and stuck them in the oven until they browned a bit

Cooked onion and carrots on stove in olive oil until soft, then added minced garlic, salt and paprika.

Then I dumped the peppers and the rest of the stuff in the pot, brought it to a boil, then turned down the heat and let it go for 30 minutes.

Food processor>Strainer>Bottles



So, Im pretty happy with the results, but I want to make it hotter (without cheating like adding Daves Insanity Sauce or something). I was thinking of making another batch of hot sauce with just habaneros, vinegar, water, and salt, and then dumping the sauce I made yesterday into the new sauce to blend the flavors. I like the sweeteness of this sauce, but it doesnt have enough kick. Then again, I dont want to potentially ruin it.

Also, I have no way to test the pH, but from your experience do you think this would do fine sitting on the shelf, based on the ingredients?

Also, as you can see, I used large Grolsch style bottles. I want to give some away, but not entire huge bottles. My sister bought me some reusable plastic squeeze bottles, and Im wondering how I should sanitize them. I am afraid to put them in boiling water. Any tips?

 

[Edmick]

I make a sauce thats really similar but mine has 4 cups apple cider vinegar and my ph is just under 3 so you're PROBABLY ok there but only way to know for sure is to test it. You can find cheap ph meters on amazon for around $15 and they work just fine in my opinion. As far as the plastic bottles go, I would avoid them if possible because you can't hot fill them but as far as sanitizing them goes, you could use a no rinse acid sanitizer like star-san.

 

[ProjectileTeeth]

As far as the plastic bottles go, I would avoid them if possible because you can't hot fill them but as far as sanitizing them goes, you could use a no rinse acid sanitizer like star-san.

Okay, we have something like that at work, and luckily, Im giving this to some coworkers.

My birthday is coming up, and Im adding a pH meter to my list (all Ive asked for so far is a food mill and hot pepper seeds).

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Never guess pH and decide to chance it. That is not safe or fair to anyone that tries it.

 

[ProjectileTeeth]

I have some test strips, and it looks to be a pH of between 4 and 5. But I dont know if thats the color of the sauce influencing it, or not. Either way, I put all 3 bottles in the fridge after bottling the sauce, so Im okay for now.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

That's the problem with strips, the ballpark reading.
 
Hanna has some good meters. You want to make sure it is for liquids and has temperature compensation, because heat throws off the reading, so it compensates.

 

[ProjectileTeeth]

That's the problem with strips, the ballpark reading.
 
Hanna has some good meters. You want to make sure it is for liquids and has temperature compensation, because heat throws off the reading, so it compensates.

Those dont look affordable, at all. Im getting married next year, and unless I were planning to make a business out of this, thats a serious kick in the wallet for a hobby that I just picked up a couple months ago.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

https://hannainst.com/hi98107-phep-ph-tester.html

 

[salsalady]

Hanna has some for less than $100.  Good investment if you plan to play around with sauces on a regular basis.  Or just keep refrigerated.  The ones that can be used on heated sauces are $$$, the flip side is to keep a small dish/ramekin in the freezer, put a tablespoon of the heated sauce in the frozen cup and it will instantly cool the sauce so you can do a reading while processing/cooking and make adjustments if needed.
 
For the heat, you can make more and mix with the first batch.  If you will be keeping it refrigerated, the sauce can be dumped out, heated and then refilled in the bottles.  If it is to be bottled using hot fill hold, the bottles need to be cleaned and sanitized and use new caps.
 

 

[ProjectileTeeth]

https://hannainst.com/hi98107-phep-ph-tester.html

I organized their products by $-$$$ and that wasnt even on the list! Thanks for the link!

 

[ProjectileTeeth]

For the heat, you can make more and mix with the first batch.  If you will be keeping it refrigerated, the sauce can be dumped out, heated and then refilled in the bottles.  If it is to be bottled using hot fill hold, the bottles need to be cleaned and sanitized and use new caps.
 

Even when I just boiled the bottles yesterday? What could happen between yesterday evening and today, if I were to cook up more sauce, combine, and refill without re-sanitizing? I take your word for it, but I want to understand the risks, better.

Edit: also, the caps. These are plastic and rubber. Could I just wash them with dish soap? I didnt boil them the first time; added them straight out of the packaging after boiling and filling the bottles.

 

[salsalady]

When using woozy bottles and caps (the typical hot sauce bottles) the hot fill/hold processing method creates a vacuum.  That, combined with a low pH makes a safe environment.  When the bottles are opened and dumped out, there's potential for contamination to get into the bottle.  Dumping out the sauce makes a mess on the threads, has to be wiped with a cloth, cloth might get a bit of something inside the bottle....Lots of different scenarios.  So the SOP when re-using bottles and re-batching is to wash-rinse-sanitize and use new caps. 
 
If the sauce is going back into the bale bottles and refrigerated, then it's not so critical.  Dump it out, mix with the new stuff, make sure it's all heated up properly, back into the bottles and refer it.
 
More detailed information in these 2 threads including why caps should not be reused.-
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/29501-making-hot-sauce-101/
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/49801-chile-pepper-weights-measures-and-other-things/

 

[salsalady]

When I've seen products in those bale top bottles, the plastic/rubber stoppers are not used for actually sealing the bottles.  They typically use a regular crimp-top beer cap and leave the stopper for use after the bottle is opened.
 
 

 

[ProjectileTeeth]

Thanks, everyone! This community rocks. Im so grateful to pick your brains and have you share your knowledge and experience.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

When I've seen products in those bale top bottles, the plastic/rubber stoppers are not used for actually sealing the bottles.  They typically use a regular crimp-top beer cap and leave the stopper for use after the bottle is opened.

 
You never had a Grolsch???
 

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Maybe in Twisp they save half beers!

 

[salsalady]

In illinois they save half beers! Just ask geeme! :Lol:



OK to.get back on topic!!!!!

I would not suggest a hobby saucer to rely on a bale stopper. It's just an opinion. Folks are tree to do what they feel comfortable with.

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

Pretty much any brew shop has those bottles and replacement parts. You can even buy just a new gasket for them. Watch Aldi ads during the summer months. They offer a French sparkling lemonade in those bottles cheaper than you can buy just the bottle at a brew shop and they are EXCELLENT bottles made in France . The lemonade is pretty damn good too.
 

 
This is the same stuff sold under the Lorina brand name.