preservation Preservatives or other bug prevention in sauce making

[hot stuff]

So far all I have made is hot sauce from pureed peppers, brine and whey.
I'd like to try to make something similar to Pickapepper sauce.  Looking at the ingredients I don't see any sort of preservative in it.  They say it is fermented for a year.
 
They use tomatoes, mangoes, tamarinds, raisins, peppers and other spices.
 
What would I use to keep such a mixture from getting botulism or other bad bugs, molds, etc. from forming?  What do you think that they add?  Do you think they just mix it up and seal it airtight for a year?  Does anyone else make sauces like this?  What do you do?
 
Thanks.

 

[Heisenberg]

If you refer to the fermenting thread, it describes just that.  Basically the preservative is the acid.  In the case of fermented sauces, its mainly lactic acid, for non fermented, the addition of acetic acid, ie vinegar.  Clostridium botulinum and most other nasties cant really survive in a pH of much less than 4.2.  By fermenting or adding vinegar or lemon/lime juices, we get the pH around 3-3.5 (ideally).  This gives it the shelf life, not the addition of some chemical preservative that is difficult to pronounce.

 

[hot stuff]

I'm aware of fermentation keeping out the bad things.  But with my pure pepper hot sauces the brine does the job of keeping them out until the fermentation takes over.  With this type of sauce, I don't see there being some sort of brine or other preservative that would do that until fermentation takes place.   So do you just seal it and how that fermentation takes place before botulism sets in?

 

[salsalady]

Is "tomatoes, mangoes, tamarinds, raisins, peppers and other spices." the list of ingredients as it appears on their label?
 
 
Anything can be fermented.  Kimchi recipes often use raisins, apple, and other non-vegetable ingredients.  Fermentation will start with the ingredients listed without the addition of starters or cultures.  Oxygen control, temp, all that stuff can easily be controlled in a commercial processing plant.  Raisins will give it a nice sugar boost to kickstart the ferment. 

 

[hot stuff]

They actually don't list peppers, they're part of the spices no doubt, but yes that's pretty much it.  So you think if I just seal it up in a mason jar that should be good enough for fermentation of those ingredients?  It's worked really well so far for my pure pepper hot sauces.

 

[RocketMan]

Hey hot stuff, the fermentation is only going to go on so long as there are sugars in the mash for the lacto to consume. After that it's just aging. I would say that I've seen active fermentation last anywhere from a week to 3 weeks and the 3 weeks was a mash jam packed with fruits and other high sugar sources. I'd say that if you were to allow it 3 weeks to ferment and then stuck it in the back of the fridge for the rest of the year, if you're going to give it that long, you should be golden. Personally, I'd try just letting it go for around 90 days and then process it. 
 
JMHO