It's on

[tims77]

started my first 2 batches for 2016......7 or 8 more to go (and this one is only half over)
 
 
on tap today: a white sauce.....assorted white supers, lots of roasted garlic, white onion and parsnip......rice wine vinegar and white vinegar......will possibly finish with a little agave once it's about done
 
 
a smoked red......a ton of smoked (in apple & cherry wood) red varieties (with healthy doses of scorpions and primos), smoked vidalia onion & garlic......cortland apple and cherry juice (i didn't locally source cherries early enough).....will finish with agave if it needs it, but the cherry juice might sweeten it enough
 
 
a few pics so far:
 

 

[Masher]

 
 
 
 
nothing but vinegar - i add xanthan gum just to smooth it out/keep it from separating, but I rely on pH to keep the nasties away......i have bottles that are 3+ years old, open, partially used in the cabinet......while some oxidation has occurred and the color has changed a little, and the flavor profiles have changed a bit, they are still good to go
 
 
i will note that my retailer is a small, local farm/community store.....good sized, they sell local meats, veggies, bake bread and other items, good beer, wine, etc
 
but they don't worry that my products aren't state certified, either.....shhhhhh

 
 
 
if i ever wanted to expand and go legit, i'd have to send an ingredients list and $25 (per recipe) to Orono to get certified by the State
 
if i made a product that had potential allergens or could go bad, I'd think about it.......but I should be able to sell half of my stock in a week all on my own, and the product is stable and well preserved by simple pH.....so.....

Thanks...just the info I was after. No plans myself but good to know if I wanted to hit a farmers market or other similar option that ph etc can be used.

 

[OCD Chilehead]

Great sauces! Look nice and tasty. I keep putting off buying bottles. Need to do something soon, I'm down to a handful of sauce left.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[salsalady]

3 days in a row......i'll take a break now until the weekend, 2-3 more batches sunday lol
 
last night it was peach-based sauce.....this one came out super hot
 
 

Looks like you are having a ton of fun and making some pretty creative sauces.  I am concerned about a couple things.  One being the picture shows bottles with the orifice reducer on and bottles with caps on.  It doesn't look like you did the Hot Fill Hold filling process which is important for sauces with acceptable pH levels.  If you haven't already, please check out Making Hot Sauce 101 for proper methods of packing home made hot sauces. 
 

 
 
 
sell them......mostly friends/acquaintances, one local retail outlet, a few local restaurants
 
 
last year made/sold 220 bottles......this year should be more like 300

The other issue of concern is that you are selling without proper licensing.  This leaves you and your family open to huge liability issues if someone "claims" they got sick on one of your sauces  I'm sure they are safe. After all no one has gotten sick yet.  But the fact that the sauces are being sold without review from a PA, being made in a home kitchen, and being sold wholesale to other merchants leaves you open to all kinds of potential problems.  For your and your family's security, as well as the safety of your customers, I strongly urge you to not sell until the sauces have been properly licensed and are made in an inspected kitchen.  And that's not even knowing if the labels are up to snuff. 
 
It's not that difficult to do, lots of folks here on THP have done it, and pretty much every commercial sauce maker started this way. [insert the YOU CAN DO IT meme ]
 
Good Luck and Have Fun!  You have some pretty killer sounding sauces. 
 
salsalady  

 

[tims77]

well i just wrote a reply and it disappeared lol
 
bottles are sterilized and filled hot, sauce is filled at well, well over 100F, bottles are inverted and then immediately shrink wrapped in boiling water - my wife snaps a quick pic in the middle of the process - those bottles are still hot when i put them away later in the night - i am guilty of a little too much head space at times, though - working on that - pH is tested on every batch
 
 
i made a joke above about "shhh", but Maine has a strong food sovereignty movement - many towns have ordinances that allow direct sales of food products without licensing - licensing would allow more retail options for me, but the one local outlet fits my needs right now, and they wouldn't sell without the protection of the sovereignty ordinances - if i expand to where sales need to increase, i'd go through the process - we are getting close, we will see how this year goes with just direct sales and out one outlet
 
 
 
 
 
just a small batch tonight - caramels, pumpkin, candied ginger and garlic
 

 
 
 
 

 

[salsalady]

Thanks for sharing about the sovereign regulations.  There are so many different regs in different regions. I've not heard of this before.  It's good to know. 
 
If you can hot pack the sauce at 180F+ that's a better temp than (well over) 100F.  Bare minimum for most commercial PA is 180F.  Some are 190F.  Based on your comments you are probably at that 190+ already. 
 
There has been some discussion in another thread here on THP about dipping the shrink bands in hot water for the heat treatment. (perhaps someone can link? please? :pray)  Using a (cheap from the hardware store or online) heat gun like what is used to strip paint or loosen linoleum is better than dipping the neck and shrink band into boiling water.  The water can  get trapped under the band and if there is any bit of food under there, it's a perfect environment for Nasties to grow.  Heat Guns can be bought for ~$30 and are a much safer option. 
 
Pumpkins, ginger, garlic....can't go wrong with those flavors!!  looks good!

 

[hoibot]

Man, those all look really tasty, nice work!

 

[tims77]

Thanks for sharing about the sovereign regulations.  There are so many different regs in different regions. I've not heard of this before.  It's good to know. 
 
If you can hot pack the sauce at 180F+ that's a better temp than (well over) 100F.  Bare minimum for most commercial PA is 180F.  Some are 190F.  Based on your comments you are probably at that 190+ already. 
 
There has been some discussion in another thread here on THP about dipping the shrink bands in hot water for the heat treatment. (perhaps someone can link? please? :pray)  Using a (cheap from the hardware store or online) heat gun like what is used to strip paint or loosen linoleum is better than dipping the neck and shrink band into boiling water.  The water can  get trapped under the band and if there is any bit of food under there, it's a perfect environment for Nasties to grow.  Heat Guns can be bought for ~$30 and are a much safer option. 
 
Pumpkins, ginger, garlic....can't go wrong with those flavors!!  looks good!
 
 
 
good idea on the shrink bands - i've never taken the temp of the sauce at bottling, but i bring it up to a good bubble, then turn it down to a simmer - i know the stainless funnel and the bottle itself will about burn my hands lol - i'll get a temp one of these next batches just for kicks, i have a laser therm i use fly fishing down in my vest
 
 
thanks, the caramel came out great color-wise; you can just taste the pumpkin on the front, but a little more ginger would have helped......the agave finish is good, it is a solid sauce, nice & hot, but middle of the pack for this year's flavors
 
 
the chocolate is coming next, and that is going to be good, i hope......going to try and create a mole-inspired hot sauce
 
 
 

 

 

[Redeemer]

 
 
 
 
nothing but vinegar - i add xanthan gum just to smooth it out/keep it from separating, but I rely on pH to keep the nasties away......i have bottles that are 3+ years old, open, partially used in the cabinet......while some oxidation has occurred and the color has changed a little, and the flavor profiles have changed a bit, they are still good to go
 
 
i will note that my retailer is a small, local farm/community store.....good sized, they sell local meats, veggies, bake bread and other items, good beer, wine, etc
 
but they don't worry that my products aren't state certified, either.....shhhhhh

 
 
 
if i ever wanted to expand and go legit, i'd have to send an ingredients list and $25 (per recipe) to Orono to get certified by the State
 
if i made a product that had potential allergens or could go bad, I'd think about it.......but I should be able to sell half of my stock in a week all on my own, and the product is stable and well preserved by simple pH.....so.....

This is what it is a about. I ferment all of mine down to a PH of 3.6 or lower, and use vinegar or ascorbic acid if it won't go that low. Same thing on the xanthan gum for stable texture. Nothing else needed. This is how an experiment / hobby turned into a robust small business and I'm having a blast. I've always loved eating hot sauce. Then discovered I love making it. But best of all is the feedback I get when people taste it. Awesome!

 

[tims77]

after one long day, i am done for the year (although I still have some random peppers ripening.....I might make a "junk" sauce and give it away lol)
 
 
i started yesterday with a blend.....lots of variety, all in the smoker with garlic and onion.....candied ginger, tumeric root, carrot, persimmon & apple all ended up in the pot along with them.....94 bottles of this one!
 

 
 

finished 2017 up with 38 bottles of chocolate - this one smelled GREAT in the pot, and in the long run (next year) is going to be a great one with a few tweeks: more flavorful chocolate peppers, and heavy stretching with the outside ingredients - the pot smelled amazing, but the peppers still dominated the taste (I'm careful the first time around)
 
this one came out good, but next year, look out....
 
 
mole inspired hot sauce......chocolates, tomato, tomatillo, onion, garlic, allspice, clove, cinammon, thyme, raisins, onion and mexican chocolate.....
 

all told just under 450 bottles (unofficial) - my crew needs to label and hand letter each bottle, and we'll be ready to go!
 
 
thanks for putting up with me.....

 

[tims77]

the final lineup......
 

 

 

[Grass Snake]

Nice line-up, looks like everything came together beautifully. Keep up the good work, might see your stuff on the shelves one day..

 

[Genetikx]

Beautiful colors, excellent job! Would love an opportunity to taste some of what's doin there. Very well done my friend.

 

[Redeemer]

after one long day, i am done for the year (although I still have some random peppers ripening.....I might make a "junk" sauce and give it away lol)
 
 
i started yesterday with a blend.....lots of variety, all in the smoker with garlic and onion.....candied ginger, tumeric root, carrot, persimmon & apple all ended up in the pot along with them.....94 bottles of this one!
 

 
 

finished 2017 up with 38 bottles of chocolate - this one smelled GREAT in the pot, and in the long run (next year) is going to be a great one with a few tweeks: more flavorful chocolate peppers, and heavy stretching with the outside ingredients - the pot smelled amazing, but the peppers still dominated the taste (I'm careful the first time around)
 
this one came out good, but next year, look out....
 
 
mole inspired hot sauce......chocolates, tomato, tomatillo, onion, garlic, allspice, clove, cinammon, thyme, raisins, onion and mexican chocolate.....
 

all told just under 450 bottles (unofficial) - my crew needs to label and hand letter each bottle, and we'll be ready to go!
 
 
thanks for putting up with me.....

 

Got pods....?
That's a nice spread.
 

 

[Genetikx]

Picked up a few bottles from Tim... Good lookin out bud

First and foremost my lighting does no justice, these are a little brighter than they appear...

Got them just over a week ago and have only tried the smoked yellow. Correction, finished the smoked yellow this evening. I've had it on pizza, Mexican, Italian, and a few other dishes, very very good. Took to a restaurant with my extended family. A couple people asked me if it was hot...i said, "yea, kind of, but nice and sweet too with some smoke." They took small drops and asked how I could possibly eat something so hot. To me, it adds a really nice flavor and heat to anything I would typically put sauce on, and adds a touch of sweet and smoke that I don't normally deal with... As far as sauces go. Interesting stuff and could go thru at least 20 bottles a year. The sweet comes from the pineapple, but I don't know that I'd guess pineapple was in it if I wasn't already aware, if that makes any sense. Anyhow Tim, it's a winner

I'll update you on the other blends, will probably crack one open tomorrow.

 

[tims77]

Glad you liked - I haven't had the smoked yellow since it was in the pot.
 
Getting a little flavor/depth/sweet from whatever I add in without really being able to identify where it comes from is exactly what I go for, if that makes sense lol
 
 
I want the peppers to be first and foremost, and what whatever else I add to add to, not overpower, the peppers - this was the first time with the smoked yellow recipe, I'm glad it came out well.....
 
the blend with the red shrink wrap is last years, should be interesting to see how it held up - smoked red, yellows, oranges with a few chocolates thrown in.....garlic, onion, carrot.....
 
 
this year's blend is similar with the peppers & the smoke, but this year got persimmon & fresh tumeric root, so it is a different vibe
 
 
 
and yes, i have everything still available except the white
 
green & caramel stocks are almost in the single digits, too - green is one of my faves this year

 

[Genetikx]

I have just a little bit of the '15 blend left. Trying to take it easy on it because it'll be a sad day when it's gone.

Tim, your sauces are really nice. Excellent heat, interesting smoke/sweet in the few I had and most importantly, flavor of the pepper shines through. I wouldn't mind keeping some stock in the cabinet on a permanent basis.

 

[tims77]

thank you for the kind words, i am glad you like them.....
 
i'm down under 175 bottles left from this year's batch, so sales have been good lol
 
my one retailer has bought 65 bottles so far, and has under 20 left.....
 
almost out of a few other colors; once people need to re-up they should all pretty much go
 
 
 
time to start the '17 grow lol