This summer I'm planning to make a plum-based sauce with a Szechuan flavor profile--Chinese black vinegar, ginger, Chinese peppers, star anise, cloves, Chinese guì pí cinnamon stick, brown mustard seed. I'm working from a recipe I found, but tweaking it a lot to suit my own tastes. The original recipe calls for frying the star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, and mustard seed in sesame oil for a few minutes before gradually adding the rest of the ingredients. After simmering the whole mixture for about 20 minutes, you remove the star anise pod, cloves, and cinnamon stick before blending and bottling the sauce.
Blooming spices in oil is a great way to draw out the flavors--but I know that oil isn't considered safe in hot sauce if you're planning to store it. Has anyone found another way to get the same kind of flavor out of whole spices that will be removed before the sauce is finished? Or is there a way to use oil in a sauce and make it safe to bottle (using a hot fill/hold process) and store, refrigerated, for 6+ months?
Blooming spices in oil is a great way to draw out the flavors--but I know that oil isn't considered safe in hot sauce if you're planning to store it. Has anyone found another way to get the same kind of flavor out of whole spices that will be removed before the sauce is finished? Or is there a way to use oil in a sauce and make it safe to bottle (using a hot fill/hold process) and store, refrigerated, for 6+ months?