preservation VINEGAR or lemon

[The Hott Dude]

Vinegar adds the sensation, but does lemon work the same or no? I have made a many sauces with lemon, tomato, peppers and garlic. And no vinegars. So I wondering, does the vinegar needed? As I made sauces and they no need. BUT many say they need.

 

[CAPCOM]

For a fresh sauce, no. But if you are going to can it, yes. You need the acid provided by the vinegar to keep the bad bacteria from growing.

 

[The Hott Dude]

Very interesting new informations. So to bottle this, need the vinegars, and replacing lemon. Hmmmmm. This contrary to many sauce on the store shelf here. But for the USA maybe, vinegar is legal?

 

[salsalady]

lemon or lime juice is fine instead of vinegar as lemon juice is usually more acidic than vinegar.  A sauce made with lemon juice will have a lower pH than the same sauce made with vinegar.  Lower ph = good. 

a sauce with no acidity at all will spoil fast.  Lemon/Lime and/or vinegars are needed (one or the other, not necessarily both) to keep sauces safe long term. 

 

[The Hott Dude]

Ok so, the poster is wrong? This is mass confusion. Can I make lemons? Please align yourselves when the answer is consistent.

 

[spicefreak]

You need a source of acidity, as salsalady says. That acidity can come from vinegar or citrus fruit so use whatever tastes right.

 

[oldsalty]

It's all good my friend.

 

[juanitos]

read the sticky about making hot sauce. there is a section about PH. 
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/29501-making-hot-sauce-101/

 

[Genetikx]

My issue with citrus fruits is that I wouldn't squeeze lemon or lime juice into a jar and let it sit in the cabinet for many months. Over time, do lemon/lime juice sauces start to taste odd if left on the shelf? Vinegar remains consistent in taste for at least a couple years so I have a hard time going the citrus route.

 

[salsalady]

CAPCOM may not of understood your post or may have posted hastily.  He does know about processing, just didn't express it fully.
Genetikx,  I've not found any change in flavor of sauces made with citrus.  However, most citrus juices will change color and darken over time., which can make the sauce look unappealing even though there's nothing unsafe with the sauce.
As CAPCOM was aluding to, if the sauce is to be eaten fresh within a few days of being made, no acidity is needed.  If it is to be kept for a while, some form of acidity is needed.  Vinegars, citrus juices, powdered ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) something is needed, it's up to you what works. 
 
So back to your original question- yes it is OK to only use lemon juice.

 

[Furious Sauces]

You can have both vinegar and lemon. Keep in mind, lemon and lime juice is very potent, and using too much of it will entirely overpower any sauce so you need to be careful.
 
I'd recommend vinegar (white, apple, rice, etc. your choice) and lemon. Both will help keep the acidity. If you don't want a vinegar to change much of the taste, go with White distilled vinegar.

 

[Ashen]

I generally use what suits the flavour I want.   That might mean I use lemon juice, citric acid  powder or vinegar.  You need to get to 4.6 or lower  pH but how you get there is up to you. 
 
generally I only use ascorbic acid powder(vit C)  for colour retention. 
 
 
Some good info here. 
 
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/general/ensuring_safe_canned_foods.html

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

I use double strength Korean vinegar, either apple or brown rice. There are 2-3 brands with 8% acidity or more. The apple i just bought was 10%. I also get lactic acid from the local brew shop and ascorbic acid (for color). I only use the lactic acid at the beginning of a ferment for a slight acidic boost. I never add it to a regular hot sauce. I do like lime juice in green hot sauce especially with jalapeno hot sauce and pepper relish.