consistency jalapeno sauces are coming out too thick

teepus · Mar 15, 2014

I've been making various sauces, and following recipes, for quite a while. It seems that most of those I make with jalapenos are ending up too thick. The consistency looks great upon completion, but then the next day, or next week, they are way too thick. This even happens when I follow recipes to a "T". I don't have this problem when making sauces from habaneros, scotch bonnets, cayennes, etc.

Any of you have ideas or suggestions? It may sound stupid, but with the thicker flesh of jalapenos vs other peppers, could it be the blending speed, blending time, wrong setting? It's very disappointing to taste a great concoction, put it away for a week, then see this coagulated "paste" in a bottle. Some pour better than others, but the frequency of the jalapeno based ones thickening means it must be something I am doing.

JoynersHotPeppers · Mar 15, 2014

I am not a sauce maker and I am sure others will provide guidance. If I were to guess, the pepper itself plays a large role. The other peppers you listed are thin walled without much flesh and the exact opposite of the meaty Jalapeno.

teepus · Mar 16, 2014

I'm wondering if the jalapeno vs the other types of peppers involves a fermenting issue. The last batch became overly thick, after one day, still has bubbles in the bottle, making me think it's a fermenting issue, or mixing/blending issue. I'm pretty sure it's related to the thicker flesh; however, I follow recipes and in no way did the author of the recipe intend the sauce to be as thick as my jalapeno based have come out. Puzzling to me? I keep thinking another drink will help me resolve the issue, but to no avail. At least I get to have another drink while I tell my wife, "I'm thinking"!

teepus · Mar 23, 2014

surely some sauce wizard out there has experienced and conquered this issue. Help me out. jalapenos are so prevalent it's the easiest pepper to find fresh here in hot old Houston, so I have to master this puzzling problem. It goes back to Nancy Kerrigan's "why me". Am I the only one who has this problem with Jalapeno sauces turning too thick after a day? Could this be a pH issue?

SmokenFire · Mar 23, 2014

Any chance there's tomatillos in the sauce recipe you're making? If so then I have had the same experience; the sauce seems to almost gel after a night or two in the fridge. If you're NOT using tomatillos in these recipes then I can't help you as I've not experienced that. Perhaps a food mill or chinois or fine filter would help? pH shouldn't affect the thickness.

Barring that and with no idea of the kind of jalapeno sauce you're looking for I will offer this simple vinegar based one that never gets too thick:

1 lb jalapenos, stemmed
2 habaneros, stemmed (optional)
3-8 cloves garlic, peeled (to taste)
2 cups white vinegar
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)

Throw everything in a blender. Give it a whirl till everything is choppity chop chopped. Pour out into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer sauce for 20 mins. Turn off the heat and let cool for about 15 mins. Put the still warm sauce through a food mill (or fine strainer) and into another saucepan, pressing to get the smooth pulp through. You want some of that pulp getting through; the fine particulate helps give your sauce some body. Bring the milled sauce up to a slow simmer and cook down till your desired thickness (I usually cook for about 15 minutes after the simmer is reached). Once you're happy with the thickness pour the whole lot back into the blender (or use an immersion blender) and blend the snot out of it. This last step is important to help stop separation. Careful about blending hot liquids!

The final product can be water bath canned and/or frozen and/or stored in the fridge for a month or so. When it gets cold it will still separate, but give it a shake and its good. The sauce itself is very similar to commercial green hot sauces; tang from vinegar, followed by creeping medium heat. Great on eggs and anything in a tortilla, really good on most everything else.

PrimeTime · Mar 24, 2014

teepus said:
surely some sauce wizard out there has experienced and conquered this issue. Help me out. jalapenos are so prevalent it's the easiest pepper to find fresh here in hot old Houston, so I have to master this puzzling problem. It goes back to Nancy Kerrigan's "why me". Am I the only one who has this problem with Jalapeno sauces turning too thick after a day? Could this be a pH issue?

umm...

recipe….?

OhioGrown · Mar 25, 2014

whenever I made a Jalapeno based sauce, it was usually just peppers, enough vinegar to cover them in a sauce pan, and some salt, maybe some lime juice. I usually lightly boil the mix for a good 20 minutes or more, until the peppers are really soft, then blend, boil again and then bottle. I also remove the seeds before the whole process and cut the peppers into smaller pieces to make the whole process faster.

RocketMan · Mar 25, 2014

Not knowing the exact recipe zi really can't point to any 1 ingredient and say Oh, you shouldn't have used so much of that. Thickness of a sauce is usually pretty easy to control simmering longer to make it thicker or adding water to thin it down. You said that it didn't gat thick till after it had been in the bottle for a while. What I see as having happened is you probably had it that thick however the sauce was still hot when bottling do it acted thiner. Once it cooled you got to see what the true thickness of the sauce was. I would try bottling it while the sauce is noticeably thinner, take good notes of times and settings so you can replicate it, and see if it comes out at the thickness you desire.

JMHO

RM