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Storing and shipping hot sauce

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WuTangGraham

I have some questions about the proper way to handle hot sauce after it's been cooked and cooled. 
 
I want to start shipping soon, I've got the recipe finalized and I gave out a demo batch for free with fantastic feedback. The next step is to start producing in quantity, but I've hit some snags.

First, the sauce has to cook for about 8 hours, and of course be cooled after that. I've got ice wands to make sure that it's cooled properly, but once something is cooled it needs to stay cold, right? So that's my big hang up. Once it's cooled and I go to bottle it, how can I safely bottle a cold sauce and be able to ship it/store it at room temperature? What is the legal/safe way to do this, and is there any specialized equipment I need? For the record, I'm a professional chef so I've got a pretty well stocked kitchen, there isn't much I can't do in my home kitchen, and I also have access to a commercial kitchen (my job after hours) in the event there's something I need that I don't have at home.
 
Thanks for the help!
 
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Why don't you bottle it hot?
 
By producing it in quantity do you mean commercial sales? Because if so, there's a bunch of regulatory stuff you need to do. 
 
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Bottling it hot still runs into the issue of maintaining temperature. Hot food has to stay hot, cold food has to stay cold. Unless there's something I'm missing. My experience is entirely in restaurants (15+ years) so bottling and selling sauce individually without a brick and mortar setup is kind of foreign territory to me. 
 
And I'm starting small in regards to commercial sales. The permitting part I have mostly under control in regards to the health department (I've already got most of the licenses I need and the ones I don't I can get pretty easily). Until (if) it really starts taking off, I can handle the volume and permitting issues with the commercial kitchen I have access to I mentioned in my original post. 
 
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WuTangGraham said:
Bottling it hot still runs into the issue of maintaining temperature. Hot food has to stay hot, cold food has to stay cold. Unless there's something I'm missing. My experience is entirely in restaurants (15+ years) so bottling and selling sauce individually without a brick and mortar setup is kind of foreign territory to me. 
 
And I'm starting small in regards to commercial sales. The permitting part I have mostly under control in regards to the health department (I've already got most of the licenses I need and the ones I don't I can get pretty easily). Until (if) it really starts taking off, I can handle the volume and permitting issues with the commercial kitchen I have access to I mentioned in my original post. 
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Now I'm curious how you bottled your test batch and how the sauces were stored afterwards.
 
Anyway,  I'd really recommend reading the link I posted and also the Hot Sauce 101 sticky at the top of this subforum as Terry mentioned.
 
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I feel like you need to do a lot more research before you start selling you product.  Having a recipe is just a small part of it.
Did you get your home kitchen certified by the health department?
 
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Jubnat said:
I feel like you need to do a lot more research before you start selling you product.  Having a recipe is just a small part of it.
Did you get your home kitchen certified by the health department?
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Can't use your home kitchen for commercial enterprise in Florida, only commercial kitchens.
 
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WuTangGraham said:
I have some questions about the proper way to handle hot sauce after it's been cooked and cooled. 
 
I want to start shipping soon, I've got the recipe finalized and I gave out a demo batch for free with fantastic feedback. The next step is to start producing in quantity, but I've hit some snags.
First, the sauce has to cook for about 8 hours, and of course be cooled after that. I've got ice wands to make sure that it's cooled properly, but once something is cooled it needs to stay cold, right? So that's my big hang up. Once it's cooled and I go to bottle it, how can I safely bottle a cold sauce and be able to ship it/store it at room temperature? What is the legal/safe way to do this, and is there any specialized equipment I need? For the record, I'm a professional chef so I've got a pretty well stocked kitchen, there isn't much I can't do in my home kitchen, and I also have access to a commercial kitchen (my job after hours) in the event there's something I need that I don't have at home.
 
Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
 
Get yourself a ph meter, test your existing recipe.  IF your pH is low enough, you can bottle using the hot fill & hold method.  Then it's just a matter of re-casing the bottles and then shipping as the orders come in.
 
Your restaurant background is going to help a lot, but read the hot sauce 101 and fermenting 101 threads in their entirety.  
 
And welcome to THP.  :)
 
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jhc said:
Can't use your home kitchen for commercial enterprise in Florida, only commercial kitchens.
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just to clarify jhc's statement-
 
In some cases, home kitchens can be used for making a very limited selection of goods to be sold in a very limited market.  Such as pickles or sugar jams at a farmers market.  AFAIK, hot sauces have never been allowed to be made in a home kitchen under the Pickle Bill.
 
WuTangGraham sounds like he wasn't intending to use a home kitchen, referencing using a restaurant after hours.
 
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Pickle law is the same thing as Cottage Food law? Then yes, Florida makes exceptions for some type of food that require no license and no inspections (I was bored and googled it :) ) but hot sauce does not qualify.

I'd imagine a restaurant kitchen is already periodically inspected? So maybe that part would be relatively easy.
 
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Some clarification would help. When you say you want to start "shipping soon" these are not sales correct? These are gifts? Let us know so we can guide you.
 
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jhc said:
Pickle law is the same thing as Cottage Food law? Then yes, Florida makes exceptions for some type of food that require no license and no inspections (I was bored and googled it :) ) but hot sauce does not qualify.

I'd imagine a restaurant kitchen is already periodically inspected? So maybe that part would be relatively easy.
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Yes, being able to use an established food facility is a big bonus. Food processing licensing is usually a different agency than the restaurant inspectors. But they can both work out of the same facility.
 
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...or something about "selling directly to the consumer"...
 
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The Hot Pepper said:
Some clarification would help. When you say you want to start "shipping soon" these are not sales correct? These are gifts? Let us know so we can guide you.
Click to expand...
 
"And I'm starting small in regards to commercial sales. The permitting part I have mostly under control in regards to the health department (I've already got most of the licenses I need and the ones I don't I can get pretty easily). Until (if) it really starts taking off, I can handle the volume and permitting issues with the commercial kitchen I have access to I mentioned in my original post. "
 
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The Hot Pepper said:
Some clarification would help. When you say you want to start "shipping soon" these are not sales correct? These are gifts? Let us know so we can guide you.
Click to expand...
 
 
jhc said:
 
"And I'm starting small in regards to commercial sales. The permitting part I have mostly under control in regards to the health department (I've already got most of the licenses I need and the ones I don't I can get pretty easily). Until (if) it really starts taking off, I can handle the volume and permitting issues with the commercial kitchen I have access to I mentioned in my original post. "
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some clarification would be good.  The "starting small" comment could be interpreted differently.  I didn't take that to sound like sales had started, I took that to mean "I wanna start small when I start selling..." 
 
I hope wtg~ will reply.
SL
 
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