Pepper oil and vinegar for a fundraiser

mikeinsc

mikeinsc

Cliff Notes-
School club fundraiser.
Need source of cool bottles with caps.
Will frozen pods work for use in oils and vinegars.
Give up your recipes.



The Horticulture club at the college is doing a fundraiser soon. One of the items they want to sell is chili vinegar and oils in conjunction with other decorative items like wreaths, table centerpieces,etc. I have a fair amount of plants that are still going strong enough to make some bottles. I work in a kitchen that is DHEC certified and have plenty of vinegar at said kitchen that I could donate to the cause. The bottles will more than likely get the traditional raffa tied around the neck like so many chili oil bottles I see in stores. Some I'll dip in wax.

Does anyone know if frozen pods will hold up in vinegar or oil? I have a lot of frozen pods that could be used if they'll last.

Grapeseed and Safflower oils do not solidify when refrigerated so I'll use those when making a flavored oil.


I could really use some help finding some recipes as well as a bottle source. Something like SKS bottles but with more variety.
 
http://www.specialtybottle.com/glassbottles-2.aspx
Specialty bottle in Seattle, and they have no minimums- here's some cool ones-

swing top
http://www.specialtybottle.com/swingtopbottlesmi.aspx

corked-
http://www.specialtybottle.com/corkedbottlesmi.aspx

rounds and squares
http://www.specialtybottle.com/saucebottlesmi.aspx

cool square 17 oz
http://www.specialtybottle.com/quadra17oz500mlsquareglassbottlewcap.aspx




Hopefully someone will chime in about the oils. One suggestion I know of for the vinegars is-
a friend of mine does a LOT of herb and flavored vinegars. She puts the "stuff" in the bottles and then fills them with boiling vinegar. I'd suggest piercing the pods or cutting a slit in the pods so the vinegar can get to all the surface area of the chile.

She uses white wine vinegar and red wine vinegar.
 
For oils you just want to cook the oil with the peppers at a very low temp. to infuse it. I suggest plain vegetable oil or canola oil. Of course any will work.
 
I wouldn't use previously frozen pods to infuse oil due to the risk of botulism. Oil is an oxygen free environment. C. botulinum is an anaerobic bacteria so if spores are present on the pod that goes into the oil, they can grow and produce the neurotoxin that causes botulism. There have been quite a few recent cases of botulism from people tossing fresh garlic (like peppers, they are low acid) into oil and leaving it at room temp for prolonged times. Garlic comes from the ground, which is where botulism spores are prevalent, but I still wouldn't risk it, especially if you're going to be selling the oil to other people (huge liability risk). If you do infuse fresh hot peppers into oil, make sure you keep it refrigerated, and consume as much as you're going to use within about 7-10 days. Botulism intoxications are extremely rare when you think about how many people preserve food at home, while there are only about 25 cases of foodborne botulism per year, but as it has a mortality rate around 10% and necessitates the use of a ventilator for a couple weeks, it is an avoidable risk that shouldn't be messed around with. If you want to make a shelf-safe infused oil, use dried peppers as the bacteria needs moisture as well as an anaerobic environment to thrive.
 
I've been in contact with the SC DHEC regarding the food safety aspect of it all. They will be forwarding some information from Clemson University that they use as a guideline.

Will post the info later.
 
I am making some garlic fire oil as I type this. Pics to come later. I chopped four fresh pods (a bhut, two scoprions, and a 7-pot) in half along with a head of garlic cloves. I am cooking it in the oven with a quart of peanut oil at 200F.
 
This is what the guy sent to me. It's info on a food safety class but I don't see any direct info regarding the actual process required. Maybe I'll just stick a label on it that says for display only and use vinegar just in case someone decides to try it.

http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/food/food_safety/business/hgic3861.html


http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/departments/fnps/outreach/workshop_schools/better_process_control_school.html


http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/departments/fnps/files_documents/2011_bpc_school_brochure.pdf


http://www.gmaonline.org/file-manager/Events/Bro_BPCS-011411.pdf


http://www.gmaonline.org/file-manager/Events/Bro_BPCS-011411.pdf


http://agriculture.sc.gov/content.aspx?MenuID=98
 
here's a video for you, addresses most of the issues talked about above, including botulism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npe73YriVfw&feature=related
 
Not sure if my version meets safety requirements or not, but I do cook it at 200F for about two hours, strain it and only make it in small batches that I will use within a month or so. Here are the pics of what I did/do.

100_9705.jpg


100_9706.jpg


100_9707.jpg
 
I'm not a process authority or food scientist person.

But based on what I know of food safety, I think the following would be a good proceedure-



Clean and sterilize the bottles ahead of time, make sure they are COMPLETELY dry! Make sure the bottles are at least room temp (not COLD) when they are filled with the hot oil. For even better results, warm the bottles in the oven on very low, 150F-200F, before filling with hot oil.
Use only perfect, clean pods, no stems. To keep the pod looking nice in the jar, split the pod down one side so the oil can get into the pod and onto all of the surfaces of the pod while it cooks.

1-Heat the oil and pods to 200-220F, use a candy thermometer to monitor the temp. Simmer/heat on very low for 30min-2 hours.
2-Strain out the pods, set aside.
3-Return the oil to the pan and return to min. 200F.

Put a couple of the cooked pods into each bottle. Not too many! They're just for decoration!

4-Fill the bottle with the HOT (200F) oil, cap it and invert it so the hot oil can sterilize the inside of the lid.



Make the oil right before the event, label it to "refrigerate after opening, use within 30 days of opening"

This process is the same basic process as is used for tons of hot sauces. Hot fill and invert. When the oil cools it will create the seal. It all comes down to what you feel comfortable with. If you have any reservations about the food safety of doing a chile oil, then don't do it. If you feel comfortable, then go for it.
 
Botulism is so rare, you're probably more likely to die of a fire while making the oil...

But anyway - wouldn't it be trivially easy to simply heat the oil to 250F for 3 minutes - which will kill it? Oil isn't like water where you have to use a pressure cooker to bet up to those temps.
 
Ive just made a pepper oil - an attempt at a Brazilian condiment; I posted the info on here, the thread is titled "Malagueta" pepper oil attempt; the stuff I had was great, I'm hopeful mine will be good too; I'll let you know in a couple weeks.
 
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