Requesting a way to bump acidity to shelf stable without affecting taste

[Sam & Oliver]

Some great recipes I've read over that I want to use as a model often just use a little bit of citrus juice instead of vinegar, and the product only lasts a week or two in the fridge. If I want it shelf stable, I'll have to bump it.

So what's the best way to do that? White Distilled Vinegar and sugar to offset it? What ratio? Are there any other ways?

 

[poypoyking]

If you don't have an established recipe you will need a PH meter to get it to a safe PH level. You can use vinegar, lime juice, and lemon juice almost interchangeably depending on what flavor you are going for. I haven't found that sugar offsets the vinegar taste very well, it just takes the bite off.

You can also pressure can sauces with lower PH but that is a whole nother can of worms.

 

[RedtailForester]

Use powdered citric acid.

 

[Justaguy]

^~~ you mean the good white stuff? Oh nevermind.


I prefer juices and/or vinegar, but citric acid is an option.

 

[Lucky Dog Hot Sauce]

Use powdered citric acid.

I've played with it quite a bit and it definitely impacts flavor though. e.g. "sour salts" - it's very, very sour.

 

[Sam & Oliver]

I wonder if rice vinegar mixed with lime juice might offset the vinegar taste with a lime tint to it

 

[RedtailForester]

Get cookin' mister! You have the best part now. . . . . . EXPERIMENTING!!!

 

[The Hot Pepper]

A well balanced sauce with vinegar, you will not "taste" vinegar, you will have a tangy sauce. Do you like tangy sauces? Then use it. A poorly balanced sauce, you will taste the vinegar. This is what gives vinegar a bad rap. Poorly balanced sauces. Don't be afraid of it, just use it right, and experiment.

Lemon too, or whatever you decide, just use it right, and measure your pH. If you have the right pH but it tastes to lemony try something else, or use half and half... experimentation is the key.

 

[PepperDaddy]

Don't forget white wine vinegar. It's not as astringent as white vinegar, has flavor and will lower the pH just as well.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

But when you don't want to impart flavor, white/distilled is the way to go. Wine vinegars can alter the flavor, especially champagne, red, and balsamic. Cider, raisin, coconut, date, all of those. Sometimes the KISS method applies here. White/distilled. But these flavors can also add depth so try them out.

Just don't buy plum vinegar, it is not really a vinegar, no acetic acid.

White wine is a good suggestion though, and rice wine as well. Mild vinegars.

 

[chsy83]

Lemon too, or whatever you decide, just use it right, and measure your pH. If you have the right pH but it tastes to lemony try something else, or use half and half... experimentation is the key.

I've never found half and half to be all that lemony . . .

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Wah wah wah... haha... I mean half lemon and half vinegar.

 

[salsalady]

we know....but I still like chzy's comment... (that's a punny one!)