shipping Sauce darkens aftdr shipping

[MarFar]

Have you all experienced any issues with your sauce darkening due to shipping? If so what solutions have you found.

My sauce tends to darken on a long journey and in at least one case resulted in change in flavor

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an antioxidant that can help with that.

 

[MarFar]

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an antioxidant that can help with that.

Thank you! Would it also help prevent a change in flavoring due to unexpected high temperatures?

 

[The Hot Pepper]

It would because oxidized foods taste different, just like with an apple. You are likely experiencing slight oxidation of your sauce due to the headspace not being a true vacuum (which is normal).

 

[The Hot Pepper]

The other thing to check is to make sure it's being bottled correctly.

 

[MarFar]

The other thing to check is to make sure it's being bottled correctly.

Thank you so much. Aside from strict adherence to my PA letter is there anything else I should be watching for that would indicate incorrect bottling?

Edit: what I mean is, if I am adhering to the PA letter how could the bottling procedure be incorrect?

 

[The Hot Pepper]

I see you are in Washington. We also have a resident expert based in Washington who can chime in.
@salsalady

 

[MarFar]

I see you are in Washington. We also have a resident expert based in Washington who can chime in.
@salsalady

I always appreciate SLs feedback. But actually I've recently relocated to Tennessee

 

[The Hot Pepper]

The hot fill process should create a hermetic seal. If not, air could get in.

 

[MarFar]

The hot fill process should create a hermetic seal. If not, air could get you mentioned the neck space not being a true vacuum and that being normal but I'm confused by this last comment. Can it be that I still have a hermetic seal without a true vacuum?

you mentioned the neck space not being a true vacuum and that being normal but I'm confused by this last comment. Can it be that I still have a hermetic seal without a true vacuum?

 

[The Hot Pepper]

What is your bottling method, hot-fill-hold?

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Hot-fill-hold creates an air tight space via a hermetic seal.
Canning in a water bath (with canning lids) creates a vacuum as the air is pushed out.
The difference is air tight means no air can pass in our out and vacuum means no air is present. With hot-fill-hold there can be slight oxidation since air is present, even though it is air tight.

 

[salsalady]

When the bottles are cool, where is the level of the sauce? I dont think that has anything to do with oxidation, just might shed some light on processing temps and if the bottles arent securely sealed.

How accurate is your heat source when bottling?

What are the basic ingredients? Like they would be listed on the label.

I have a white sauce made with pears, garlic, vinegar, onion, other stuff, and even with a low pH ( i think around 3.4) it turns grey after a few months.

PS- thanks Pookie and MarFar.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

if the bottles arent securely sealed.

Well that's back to oxidation lol!

 

[MarFar]

Hot-fill-hold creates an air tight space via a hermetic seal.
Canning in a water bath (with canning lids) creates a vacuum as the air is pushed out.
The difference is air tight means no air can pass in our out and vacuum means no air is present. With hot-fill-hold there can be slight oxidation since air is present, even though it is air tight.

Ahh I gotcha. Yes I'm using hot fill hold method

 

[MarFar]

When the bottles are cool, where is the level of the sauce? I dont think that has anything to do with oxidation, just might shed some light on processing temps and if the bottles arent securely sealed.

How accurate is your heat source when bottling?

What are the basic ingredients? Like they would be listed on the label.

I have a white sauce made with pears, garlic, vinegar, onion, other stuff, and even with a low pH ( i think around 3.4) it turns grey after a few months.

PS- thanks Pookie and MarFar.

Here is a bottle from this weekends batch that shows the level when cool.

My heat source is pretty accurate I guess. I use that heating and filling machine from vevor which uses electric heated tubes to heat a water jacket surrounding the kettle. The machine has its own thermometer with digital controls. I also use a digital hand thermometer to confirm before bottling and for each batch I test one bottle to ensure the temp and time is within PA letter parameters of 160 for 2 minutes after sealing in bottle. For this test bottle I use a throw away plastic cap and puncture right through the foil seal.

Basic ingredients are sugar, canola, apple cider vinegar, tomato sauce, salt, aquafaba, guar gum, soy lecithin, [redacted - PM sent] paste and spices.

Now personally I believe it is the [redacted - PM sent] paste which is susceptible to burning at relatively lower temperatures. I've read that [redacted - PM sent] loses flavor and becomes bitter beyond a certain temperature. Not sure what that temp threshold is. But I've got a process which prevents it during bottling procedures. However when I round trip shipped bottles to Amsterdam and back it seemed like the sauce almost cooked in the bottles because when I sampled the sauce after the roundtrip it had that damn bitterness from burnt [redacted - PM sent] paste.

That's one problem I'm trying to overcome that seems related to the sauce darkening.

The other problem being the darkening itself which sounds like it could simply be oxidation. So maybe the two problems are not related after all.

Important to note I have shipped shorter distances to family and friends who reported a darkening of the sauce but no change in flavor.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Ah this is the high oil content sauce, I remember your older posts. I'm not up on bottling for sauce with oil so I hope others can chime in. What I do know is you might want a proper emulsifier like xanthan gum. But bottling and safety, I would rely on experts and that is not me. Oil, botulism, all that.

 

[MarFar]

Ah this is the high oil content sauce, I remember your older posts. I'm not up on bottling for sauce with oil so I hope others can chime in. What I do know is you might want a proper emulsifier like xanthan gum. But bottling and safety, I would rely on experts and that is not me. Oil, botulism, all that.

Thanks. I've always thought guar gum and xantham gum are equally good in terms of binders and thickening agents. No?

Reason I went with guar gum is because it's gluten free.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Yes! I just didn't see it.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Oils oxidize fast, and oxygen is not the oily factor. That's why olive oil is in a dark bottle and has an expiration of about a year. But did you know moisture can also affect this? Moisture may be key here with the oil being in sauce. Please see here:

• Light (UV) can trigger the oxidative degenerative cascade. Reduce the exposure of the oil to direct light by using brown glass/plastic containers or black plastic bags.
• Moisture in combination with these other factors can accelerate oxidation. If possible limit the amount of water in the oil to less than 0.2%.

Source:

https://www.oilsfats.org.nz/documents/Oxidation%20101.pdf

This is why I recommend ascorbic acid.