Sauce making question

[Biscombe]

I made some pineapple chilli sauce the other day and something is bugging me, hope you can help!

Here's the recipe (which tastes great!)

60g yellow and orange chillies (I used Hot Lemon, Fatali, Bulgarian Carrot and peach hab)
170g sugar
cider vinegar, I just kept adding until I got a pouring sauce
2 large tins of pineapple
salt

Question is, I used the juice from the tins of pineapple and now I'm wondering If I did the right thing knowing water content should be avoided If you want to preserve the sauce, but with the high vinegar content should I be worrying???.

I hot water bathed for 15 mins just to be safe to kill the any bugs

Another thing thats bothering me, is the sauce has a few tiny air bubbles that I can't get rid of, is this also a problem?

Should I ditch, or should I keep?

Any of your thoughts on the matter would be appreciated!

 

[warscout2]

if your worried about it keep it in the fridge and use it with in a few months and you should be fine

 

[Steve973]

Check the pH of your sauce, and if it's in the right range, it should be fine. I think that it will be okay if it is at 4.8 or below. Others can confirm or correct that. The addition of water isn't a big deal if you like the consistency and taste. You can, of course, change (thicken) the consistency by boiling longer.

 

[Biscombe]

Thanks Steve xx good idea

 

[Skyjerk]

Check the pH of your sauce, and if it's in the right range, it should be fine. I think that it will be okay if it is at 4.8 or below. Others can confirm or correct that. The addition of water isn't a big deal if you like the consistency and taste. You can, of course, change (thicken) the consistency by boiling longer.

Actually pH 4.0 or lower.

Above 4.0 and you run the risk of bacterial growth

 

[Biscombe]

Brilliant, cheers, while we are talking about sauce making, how many of you water bath sauces that are vinegar and sugar based? I do ,but sometimes wonder If I should bother.............

 

[Brokensea]

I water bath everything I use in production of sauces.

Rolling boil for at least 5 minutes, then boil it again once the containers are sealed.

Use only wooden utensisl for acid based sauces as metal tends to react badly with vinegar (except the pot - but use a cast-iron pot where possible - instead of aluminium).

last time i seriously produced sauce was 2 years ago - and there were zero incidents of mould or other problems - i didn't pH test anything just followed a recipe.

Things to look out for are fizzing (fermentation), unpleasant odour, change in colour, mould, and odd tastes (odd for hot sauce anyway)

Pineapples are full of citric acid - so they should be okay (their pH ranges from 4-6) you could even get away with making a sweet sauce only using pineapple and juice instead of adding vinegar as well (but you would be increasing the risk of bacterial growth).

 

[AlabamaJack]

After reading all of the warnings about botulism, I have started pressure canning everything just to make sure there are no nasties living in it...I sure don't want to get sick or 'cause anyone that eats the sauce...

this is just me...