Hey you pepper heads,
Wanted to get some opinions on adding oil to sauce that's not pasteurized. Basically, if your sauce is a low enough pH, can it be left alive while adding a bit of oil and still inhibiting bad stuff from growing while in the fridge?
First, I am merely a hobbyist. My family and I are the only consumers of my fermented sauces and other creations, so I don't need to comply to any commercial standards, but I do everything as clean and sterile as possible. In my first season, out of 20 ferments, not one has gone bad. That said, I like to add some canola oil (and vinegar) to my sauce. Hardly much, though, perhaps 1-2 tbsp per quart (of oil, I use much more vinegar). I understand that adding oil to a ferment can be bad since it can create a hydrophobic area where bad bugs can grow. But, when blended up into sauce where the pH is already much lower, I'm not sure.
How I make sauce, too, it really does not separate so much. It all kind of stays together even without gums, halfway between a liquid and a fine paste, and always in the fridge. When I finish a ferment, and process it into a sauce, it is immediately bottled without any significant heat (i.e. cooking or pasteurizing), and then immediately into the fridge where it really gets better every week. We pull it out when we want it, and enjoy it. Some even a couple months later, to no ill effect yet.
Anyways..not trying to spread misinformation on what NOT to do, but how do you guys feel about this? Sketchy practice or reasonably okay? I wouldn't let it go for years, but for use within 2-3 months, it seems to be no problem so far, but do not want to take that for granted.
Cheers,
Alex
Wanted to get some opinions on adding oil to sauce that's not pasteurized. Basically, if your sauce is a low enough pH, can it be left alive while adding a bit of oil and still inhibiting bad stuff from growing while in the fridge?
First, I am merely a hobbyist. My family and I are the only consumers of my fermented sauces and other creations, so I don't need to comply to any commercial standards, but I do everything as clean and sterile as possible. In my first season, out of 20 ferments, not one has gone bad. That said, I like to add some canola oil (and vinegar) to my sauce. Hardly much, though, perhaps 1-2 tbsp per quart (of oil, I use much more vinegar). I understand that adding oil to a ferment can be bad since it can create a hydrophobic area where bad bugs can grow. But, when blended up into sauce where the pH is already much lower, I'm not sure.
How I make sauce, too, it really does not separate so much. It all kind of stays together even without gums, halfway between a liquid and a fine paste, and always in the fridge. When I finish a ferment, and process it into a sauce, it is immediately bottled without any significant heat (i.e. cooking or pasteurizing), and then immediately into the fridge where it really gets better every week. We pull it out when we want it, and enjoy it. Some even a couple months later, to no ill effect yet.
Anyways..not trying to spread misinformation on what NOT to do, but how do you guys feel about this? Sketchy practice or reasonably okay? I wouldn't let it go for years, but for use within 2-3 months, it seems to be no problem so far, but do not want to take that for granted.
Cheers,
Alex
