fermenting Processing after ferment questions

[SmokenFire]

Hey Forum!
 
Thanks to the resources here I have been making hot sauce the entire summer and loving it.  I have a question about processing after fermentation though, so I'm looking for some advice.  Currently there are about 4 gallons of ferments going.  When the jar is ready I will pour out the mash into a pot and cook it down for 30-40 mins and then I'll put the cooked mash through a food mill.  At that point I add the sauce to a different pot, boat motor the helluva out of it and then pour off into mason jars which are then HWB.
 
My questions are many, but specifically the following:
 
1. Do I really have to cook a mash after its been fermented or could I just bottle the fermented sauce without cooking?
 
2. When I cook the initial mash I'm stopping the fermentation because the heat kills the lacto right?
 
3. Is HWB really necessary if my final product measures less than 4.3ph?  
 
4. Is hot fill/hold a reliably safe option for woozies?  I'd imagine the caps would melt under the heat of HWB.
 
Any/all thoughts, advice and opinions are welcome.  THP has proven invaluable to me and I wouldn't be putting out the tasty treats I am without this site.  
 

 

[beerbreath81]

From my experiance:
 
1. It really depends on where you are planning to store it. If storing in the fridge it is not nessasary to cook. (assuming this is not the case)
2. Yes when you cook the sauce you are killing the lacto, some would argue that this negates the point of fermented foods because you are killing the probiotics, however in my opinion I ferment more for the flavor, the probiotic is just an added bonus, the probiotic side relates more to saurkraut, pickles, yogurt, kombutcha, kim chee, etc. the probiotics you will get from a sauce is minimal since you are not eating a bottles at a time.  
3. IMO...I would say no
4. I personally have never worked with woozies before, but I agree that the caps would melt, but more importantly i dont believe these caps are made for processing. The lids for mason jars have the seal of "gum" around the outer edge that "seals" to the jar once the medium inside cools and contracts the lid down.
 
Someone else can chime in and correct me if im wrong, but if using woozies I would put hot liquid in sterile woozies, cap and seal with heat shrink, or wax i suppose if you want to get fancy.

 

[salsalady]

Hey Forum!
 
Thanks to the resources here I have been making hot sauce the entire summer and loving it.  I have a question about processing after fermentation though, so I'm looking for some advice.  Currently there are about 4 gallons of ferments going.  When the jar is ready I will pour out the mash into a pot and cook it down for 30-40 mins and then I'll put the cooked mash through a food mill.  At that point I add the sauce to a different pot, boat motor the helluva out of it and then pour off into mason jars which are then HWB.
 
My questions are many, but specifically the following:
 
1. Do I really have to cook a mash after its been fermented or could I just bottle the fermented sauce without cooking?
 
2. When I cook the initial mash I'm stopping the fermentation because the heat kills the lacto right?
 
3. Is HWB really necessary if my final product measures less than 4.3ph?  YES!  There are nasties that can live in sauces that are in the 4.-range.  Unless the sauce is 3.5 or below it is recommended to HWB or HotFill/Hold process.
 
4. Is hot fill/hold a reliably safe option for woozies?  I'd imagine the caps would melt under the heat of HWB.
Yes, this is correct.  HWB with regular canning jars, hot fill- INVERT-hold for woozies.
 
Any/all thoughts, advice and opinions are welcome.  THP has proven invaluable to me and I wouldn't be putting out the tasty treats I am without this site.  
 

 
What beerbreath said for #1 and #2 is pretty much right on.  You might have an extra step in your process with the boat motor.  After cooking and food milling, the sauce should be a pretty good consistency, but you'll figure that out as you go.
 
Have Fun! 
salsalady