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Making my Foray into Sauce

HillBilly Jeff

HillBilly Jeff

Not planning on doing this until next season.  One, I don't have a lot of frozen peppers on hand, and two, this gives me a ton of time to research.
 
Question: If I can the sauce, like I would tomatoes, they should keep just like any other canned product correct?  I mean with a hot water bath.  I don't have to pressure it like I would green beans.
 
Question: If I am canning it, do I need to worry about the ph level so much?  I mean I have been hot water bathing tomatoes forever and now they say to add some lemon juice to it.  Never had to before and never killed myself.
 
Question: Do those plastic screw on lids I see on everyone's sauce bottles actually seal if I try to water bath those types of bottles or should I just stick to half pint mason jars?
 
 
That's all I got for now.  I have all winter to research and see if this is really what I want to try.  I know I want to try it, but do I really want to try it lol.  I have a month or less to make a decision before seed planting begins.
 
Thank you,
 
HBJ
 
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HillBilly Jeff said:
Not planning on doing this until next season.  One, I don't have a lot of frozen peppers on hand, and two, this gives me a ton of time to research.
 
Question: If I can the sauce, like I would tomatoes, they should keep just like any other canned product correct?  I mean with a hot water bath.  I don't have to pressure it like I would green beans.
 
Question: If I am canning it, do I need to worry about the ph level so much?  I mean I have been hot water bathing tomatoes forever and now they say to add some lemon juice to it.  Never had to before and never killed myself.
 
Question: Do those plastic screw on lids I see on everyone's sauce bottles actually seal if I try to water bath those types of bottles or should I just stick to half pint mason jars?
 
 
That's all I got for now.  I have all winter to research and see if this is really what I want to try.  I know I want to try it, but do I really want to try it lol.  I have a month or less to make a decision before seed planting begins.
 
Thank you,
 
HBJ
Click to expand...
 
Welcome HBJ!
 
1. After hot water bath your sauce should keep just like maters and pickles - about a year
 
2. I can't say for sure.  The clean freak foodservice guy in me says YESS but the home canner says only maybe.  All depends on whats in your sauce.  Tomatoes are very acidic to start, which is why the omission of lemon juice hasn't killed you.  Additions to your sauce other than tomatoes, vinegar, garlic, maybe onion - those can lower overall pH enough that you'd want to adjust.  Google some pics of botulism and you'll understand.
 
3. Do NOT use the plastic screw ons for water bath - those are 'hot fill/hold' ONLY.  Them caps will melt in your water bath and you'll lose sauce.  There are small jelly jars you can use or do like I do and use pints - just put em in the fridge after they're opened.
 
Explore all up and around in here.  You'll find a wealth of information and good people to share it.  
 
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Jeff if you're just planning to "stow away the stash"  and not use within a week then you need to follow the guidelines for canning. The ph is vital , same with the hot sauce bottling, water bath and pressure canning.
 
If you've pickled peppers with a brine then your halfway there. Peppers need an acidic such as Vinegar, Lemon, Lime juices, Citric or Absorbic Acid.
 
The plastic lined caps form an airtight seal. Folks tend to raise the sauce at or above 190 deg for 20 min, then bottle (sterilized bottle). Inverting the capped bottle for about 10 minutes with the temp of the sauce will insure the liner or plastic cap with be sterilized...any longer and the glued liner will detach from the plastic lid.
 
I'm sure many folks will chime in here to give you pointers....and many folks will ask you questions when you've the sauce up and running.
just part of the circle...which can't be passed on.
 
Good luck with the ventures....
 
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Thank you.  Just read SalsaLadys thread and have a better understanding.  It looks like I buy a ph meter.  If I want to use the plastic lids and use the cool bottles everyone else uses, I need to make 100 percent sure the ph is 4 or below.  I plan on doing that anyway, and I think I will use half pint jars and water bathing them as well.  I will check the ph of the tomatoes next summer that I can as well.  Can't get any better than a nice sealed mason jar.
 
Now I need to come up with some recipes.  Gotta have a homemade sauce for my new smoked food :)
 
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Not really answering your question about canning, but this year I experimented with freezing my extra hot sauce.  I use heavy duty double ziplock freezer bags.  Fill them about 80%, and leave a bit of space for expansion.  I use vinigar as my sauce base, so the sauce takes a few days to freeze.  I just thawed a few bags out for Christmas gifts and they tasted exactly as they did before going in the freezer.  No more canning for me!
 
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Good info so far, defiantly follow what Ann, SalsaLady has to say. she's been in the business for quite a while and if she tell's you something you can take it to the bank.
 
Turbo, I like to freeze any sauce I don't bottle also. Just make sure you follow proper safe bottling procedures, heating to 190 dF for 10 to 15 minutes before bottling and don't allow the sauce to fall below 180 dF while bottling then cap and invert the bottles for 10 to 15 minutes. Don't want to see anyone getting sick.
 
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As far as i know the lemon juice in with mators is a newish thing brought on by all of the non heirloom varieties  lack of acidity. It wasn't needed back in the day. I add it and notice zero taste difference.
 
Slightly off topic….carry on
 
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Regardless, whether a tomato is an heirloom or not has nothing to do with the ph. The ph range of tomatoes falls between 4.0 and 4.6 with the most ripened ones at the high end of the scale. You would still need to bring the ph down to a storage level under 4.0. That's where the Lemon juice comes in a 2.2, Limes venture lower on the scale at 2.0. It doesn't take much to drop the ph, usually a tsp per pint. That is canning tomatoes only, adding other alkaline ingredients such as bell pep, celery, onions...etc, would bring the ph up.

On a high (ph) note...there are low acid tomatoes
 
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Everybody's answered your questions, Jeff!
 
But I had to comment on +1 Greg! Dang, dude, ya making me laugh all over this thread today. I will not can a tomato product without some lime or lemon juice. I mean pressure canning, which is just faster for me that water-bathing, but waterbathing works. And it makes not one bit of difference heirloom or hybrid on tomatoes; peppers need an acid since more alkaline than tomatoes.
 
Fruits can bring down pH; make a hot salsa with tomatoes, (bell peppers, hot peppers, garlic, onion--all alk), and made an exact replica of same sauce with some fresh mango and pineapple and significant pH drop (but still added lime j.).
 
Get ready to plant those seeds, Jeff! ;) Look forward to all the good stuff you come up with in 2014!! (And Greg, dang :rofl: )
 
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