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West Indian Hot Sauce Blues

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dannydaniels

Hi! I've finally found what I was looking for all these years: this forum!!!

I'm new at making hot sauces and have a couple of questions I hope can be answered here.

My mother used to bring back from Saba, an Antilles Island, a hot sauce that had an aroma that is comparable, but better than Matouk's, Barron's or Chief's West Indian Sauce. Encona doesn't come near the aroma. It is this aroma I have been trying to capture, and Matouk's comes the closest.

So, my question is the frustrated "What are those herbs and spices they never list on the bottles???" It's always the same "Scotch Bonnet Peppers, Salt, Vinegar, Mustard, HERBS AND SPICES!"

There is something that gives the sauce a special aroma. I use habs, distilled vinegar, and all the ingredients that I find online in Pepperfool's list of sauces, but nothing comes close.

Problem: my mother died in L.A. around 9 years ago, and I live in Germany now. And contact is lost with the maker of that sauce.

Second question, is more simpler: When I blend my sauces, and bottle them, they have either foam on top or tons of air bubbles in the bottle. Any way to rectify this. Blending on a low speed keeps things really chunky, and I like a bit of a smoother texture.

And, pardon my ignorance (I'm a newbie) what is the PH about. Is there any thread here that explains it?

Sorry for such a long message, but I'm desperate.

Thanks for any help, danny
 
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Some of the West Indian favorites are, cumin, tumeric, curry powder, all spice, dont know so much about which herbs though.

You might need to play around with different quantities to try to match flavours.

I know the Rastafarians love the herb but I'm not sure if you should put it in your sauces.
 
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Sandgroper said:
Some of the West Indian favorites are, cumin, tumeric, curry powder, all spice, dont know so much about which herbs though.
Click to expand...

As for herbs, have you experimented with dried culantro (not to be confused with 'cilantro')? It's a very popular culinary herb in the West Indies. You'll find its fresh form in a lot of salsas, etc.
 
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Hey, thanks Sandgroper and Nick. Both your suggestions will be carried out. But, what do I do with this sort of foam that shows up when I put my sauces into bottles and jars. And there are air bubbles in the mix as well. I normally pour the mix back into a metal bowl and stir to get rid of the bubbles. I'm afraid that they can destroy the sauce with fermentation.

I blend, first at a low level, but to get the sauciness I want, I gradually go to high speed and that's when I get the bubbles and foam. Helllllllp???
 
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Which Matouk's? West Indian? It has papaya and garlic, and the bonnets are pickled.
 
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Yes, I mean Matouk's West Indian Hot Sauce, the only one I like of the range. It has that aroma and taste that is just so close to the homemade stuff I used to get. When it comes to cooking the sauce, I don't do it, as I have read in some places that cooking was not necessary, seeing there is vinegar to preserve the sauce. Plus, I have read that cooking it reduces the heat. Maybe I need to give cooking another try. Thanks for all your help.

But the pH thing??? Duhhh!!!

:-)
 
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There's your big problem! 99% of hot sauces are cooked, that's how you get all the flavors to meld, and to get a good consistency. Think of a good stew or tomato sauce.

Cook your sauce, and you should have the aroma you are after.
 
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I remember looking at my mum make pepper sauce...she would add garlic, culantro, loads of pepper and just blend together, then pour in glass bottles add salt and fill with vinegar.

Good Luck :)
 
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When I blend my sauce, I notice there are tiny air bubbles like foam rising up or getting stuck in the middle of the bottle. Is this something that I have to be careful about? Someone told me that it can spoil the sauce. Any tips?
 
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dannydaniels said:
When I blend my sauce, I notice there are tiny air bubbles like foam rising up or getting stuck in the middle of the bottle. Is this something that I have to be careful about? Someone told me that it can spoil the sauce. Any tips?
Click to expand...


Heating the sauce right before bottling and/or straining it through a strainer should solve that......not to mention that the sauce neesds to be boiled...and near boiling hot at the bottling phase anyway.
 
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