questions about my finished product

jbopbr

jbopbr

so I finished a big batch last night.

I sanitized everything in star San and air dried. then I chopped cooked and blended the ingredients, got the ph down to 3.5, simmered at 190 for 15 minutes, then I hot filled/hold for 5 minutes. After that I placed back in the upright position over night on my kitchen counter . I checked the pH of a sample nottlebthis morning and it was 4.5? I calibrated the meter before each use. Is my sauce safe to sell to friends and family? Will it last , lets say, a month or so in the fridge or on the shelf? Included is a pic of the final product. Next batch Ill have to really hammer down on the pH I guess
 
Forgot the pic lol
 

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I'm no expert, thought I read somewhere on here about 4.6 being the lowest you could go, could be wrong though. I like the high dollar shrink bands and the sauce looks good
 
Walchit said:
I'm no expert, thought I read somewhere on here about 4.6 being the lowest you could go, could be wrong though. I like the high dollar shrink bands and the sauce looks good
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Yeah, the cut off is 4.6 but most everybody recommends 4.0 or below due to inaccuracy of the reader. Thanks for the reply and your kind words about the sauce , fam
 
A couple possible reasons for the change is-
If the sauce was hot, the pH meter likely isn't rated for reading a heated sauce and wouldn't read accurately.  Those type meters are really expensive.
 
Sounds like it may be an issue with the "finished equilibrium"-
You mentioned "chopped, cooked and blended the ingredients" which suggests to me that there was a large percentage of vegetables, which includes peppers, in the sauce.  When the sauce is first made, the vegetable pieces haven't absorbed any of the acidity.  The acidity being measured by the pH meter is what is in the liquidy portion of the sauce.  At this stage, if the sauce were separated solids from liquids, the liquid may have a pH of 3.5 and the solids would have a pH of 5.5  As the sauce sits, the acidity 'blends' in with all the other ingredients to give you what is called a "finished equilibrium" pH.  The high pH and low pH meet in the middle giving the finished sauce a 4.5pH.    
 
 
salsalady said:
A couple possible reasons for the change is-
If the sauce was hot, the pH meter likely isn't rated for reading a heated sauce and wouldn't read accurately.  Those type meters are really expensive.
 
Sounds like it may be an issue with the "finished equilibrium"-
You mentioned "chopped, cooked and blended the ingredients" which suggests to me that there was a large percentage of vegetables, which includes peppers, in the sauce.  When the sauce is first made, the vegetable pieces haven't absorbed any of the acidity.  The acidity being measured by the pH meter is what is in the liquidy portion of the sauce.  At this stage, if the sauce were separated solids from liquids, the liquid may have a pH of 3.5 and the solids would have a pH of 5.5  As the sauce sits, the acidity 'blends' in with all the other ingredients to give you what is called a "finished equilibrium" pH.  The high pH and low pH meet in the middle giving the finished sauce a 4.5pH.    
 
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Salsa lady, you are always on top of your shit. thank you so much. To get a more accurate pH reading, would I need to wait, say , 24 hours before testing? If so, how would the safest way to store the sauce u til the 24 hours are up? Also, is the 4.5 pH sauce okay to sell to some of my friends and family? I made a shitton of sauce just for personal use but my friends are loving it. If so, if they eat it rather quickly, within a month. should it be refrigerated ?
 
I think that if the sauce is blended smooth, then you wouldn't have to let the sauce sit to let the ph balance out.

The hot vs cold reading is the only thing I can point to. But I didn't think it would cause that much fluctuation. It seems like too big of a difference. I don't know...weird.
 
Yeah, I have no idea. I am fairly new to this. I should probably buy a more expensive pH reader honestly. Ive been making hot sauce for about a year (small batches and had zero knowledge about food safety) but never took it this seriously until now. But I blended the sauce as much as possible w/ the food processor that I have, and but leaves tiny bits and pieces of peppers and I absolutely love that. The sauce is also very thick, which I love.
 
MikeUSMC said:
You just answered your own question, about whether or not you should sell it, right there ^. The answer is a firm "No."
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That statement was about how I USED to make hotsauce, before I took it seriously. I followed everything by the books when I made the last two batches. It would only be for friends and family. Im not wanting to sell. Eventually, after more practice and experience.
 
Unfortunately, friends and family count as "general public" for selling.  A 'sale' is a sale, no matter who it's to.  Protect yourself and don't take money for the sauces until you are fully licensed.
 
 
Back to the pH- I made a batch of BBQ sauce last week when this thread first posted.  Mustard, lots of sugar and spices, chipotle and bhut peppers, my process regulations state I take a pH reading 24 hours after processing.  For fun, I checked it when made and later.
 
2.98pH at the time of bottling
3.87pH 24 hours later
 
salsalady said:
Unfortunately, friends and family count as "general public" for selling.  A 'sale' is a sale, no matter who it's to.  Protect yourself and don't take money for the sauces until you are fully licensed.
 
 
Back to the pH- I made a batch of BBQ sauce last week when this thread first posted.  Mustard, lots of sugar and spices, chipotle and bhut peppers, my process regulations state I take a pH reading 24 hours after processing.  For fun, I checked it when made and later.
 
2.98pH at the time of bottling
3.87pH 24 hours later
Click to expand...
Wow, now I want to pull out all my bottled sauces and re-test.
 
I also want to try that BBQ sauce!
 
Don't take money until you are 100% legit. You may think you are a hobby seller, but there is no such thing. You'd in fact be a business, but an illegal one. 
 
Looks like it's time for a meter upgrade!  Nice looking and reasonably priced units.  I noticed the model 98128 is for water only. Model 98108 looks like the ticket, and for $50, it's very affordable. 
 
I laughed at the promo video, it reminded me of the marketing genius for razors.  Give away razors, sell razor blades.  Low priced pH meter, then you have to buy the buffering solutions, the cleaning solution, the storage solution, distilled water....:lol:
 
Oh Great!!!  Something else I need my kid to figure out how to work on my SmartPhoane.  :lol:
 
But that is a pretty cool meter~
 
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