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preservation Jamaican Gravy Question

cayenneman

cayenneman

A few years back I saw Andrew Zimmern with a Phillipino family in the Caribbean and they had a hot sauce called Jamaican Gravy. This is basically the recipe;
2 TBSP allspice berries
2 cups habanero peppers, whole
~1/2 cup Sugar/honey to taste
6 Cloves Garlic
2 shallots (Stuff'em Bigboy)
20 sprigs thyme
~1/4 cup soy sauce to gravy color.
1 quart Vinegar

I have made it several times and it is wonderful. Recently though I started questioning if it was okay to leave the garlic and the peppers in the liquid for an extended amount of time. I have started thinking I could just make one big batch and let it marinate for about then just remove all the solids and bottle, but all the stuff in the bottle makes it visually appealing. Anyway, anyone have advice on this of info on the safety of storing this at room temp?
 

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Interesting. What is the main liquid?

Edit- found online...use a rum bottle with a bit of rum in it, stuff the other ingredients in the bottle, fill bottle to the top with boiling hot white vinegar.

In reply to the question, since it is staight vinegar, i would say it is safe. I would also suggest putting a slice in the peppers so the vinegar can get to the inside of the pepper. If in doubt, put it in the reefer.
 
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Uh Oh! It's done all wrong, you used a gin bottle instead of a rum bottle! ;) :lol:
 
I'd give the bottle a shake first to "sterilize" it all around with rum/whatever alcohol. Other than that, I agree as well. Looks good!
 
Then I would sterilize the bottles first. I thought this was something you added to a bottle with a little booze left in it.
 
Not sure I'd call it a hot sauce. Looks more like an infused vinegar. How is it used?
 
The Hot Pepper said:
Then I would sterilize the bottles first. I thought this was something you added to a bottle with a little booze left in it.
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Yeah, i always sterilze any bottles I use. 👍 Also I found this from the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources...
The only thing with that is it says "stored in the refrigerator." I bottle it in woozies for other people sometimes and have never refrigerated it, so I'm still a little confused.
 

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I agree with Downriver. It is an infused vinegar. Looks like the peppers wer cut and not whole, which is a good thing. Since it is straight vinegar, the veggies will get permeated with the vinegar's acidity, making them safe. Most pickle recipes use a vinegar/water brine. Using straight vinegar makes it more safe.

I think you are all good.
 
You could dehydrate all the ingredients so when you put them in they act like a sponge. A large clove of garlic should eventually "pickle" but who knows how long that will take? With no salt in the recipe you don't have the power of osmosis like you do with a brine. With a brine or at least a little salt osmosis occurs which would pull the water out of the garlic (veggies) meaning vinegar goes in. The water travels to the salty side to try to dilute it and it all ends up evening out.
 
Never mind! It has soy sauce. That will certainly be enough. I agree with the above.
 
DownRiver said:
Not sure I'd call it a hot sauce. Looks more like an infused vinegar. How is it used?
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It's actually jerk sauce ingredients. I bet it's really good. I'd try it on my callaloo greens. It's not unusual in the Caribbean or even in the South here to put some peppers in a bottle and call it hot sauce.
 
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