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What do I do now??

L

Legacy3D

I've been making my own hot sauce for a while since everything in this town isn't hot enough for my liking. So I decided to make my own :) Well I've made over 1,500 bottles. But lately after following the exactly same recipe I've been using for over a year I've noticed after I switched from 5oz Woozy Bottles down to 1.7oz Woozy Bottles my hot sauce has been acting weird. 
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The left bottle is made from "Jay's Ghost Scorpion Pods" and the following two are made from standard "Bhut Jolokia." But after I opened one of the Bhut Jolokias bottles for breakfast it bascially exploded the moment opened it. Not sure if it started to ferment but it tripled in size and looked like a lot of foam pouring out of the top. Sorry I don't have a picture of it but if it happens again I could upload one. But I would like some advice on what I should do. I got all of these bottles packed, prepped and sealed up for later use. Do I need to opened all of them up or do I need to remake everything?
 
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In general I'd not eat them.
 
They shouldn't have fermented AFTER being properly canned.
 
Might be OK but why risk getting sick or?
IF you have a large # of bottles maybe get them tested for whatever.
 
In general even if it's a fermentation thing,IT SHOULDN"T have happened if your canning heat was high enough in the first place.
 
Proper canning heat kills most yeasts etc.
EVERYTHING that causes fermentation after canning might be OK.
I just don't think it's cool to mes with anything that ferments after bottling.
Some stuff wasn't killed in the canning process.
Was it yeast or something really bad?
 
Something is wrong in your sterilization process.
 
Might be minor or a killer.
Do you feel lucky?
 
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Well looks like I'll be going down to the local lab to get them tested and what not. But, what I normally do besides wearing gloves, mask and goggles so it's safe for me is clean everything I am using in hot soapy water and rinsing it all off with hot water. I bleached my sink with unscented bleach. I then clean out the bottles inside and out with hot water. Once that is done they get put into the oven at 200F for 35-40 minutes and usually while they are in the oven I am rehydrating my peppers and/or heating the hot sauce up in a pot to 195-200 then after it's at that temperature I'll leave it at that for 5 minutes.. Once all that is done I fill up my bottles, put the cap on and turn them upside down for 5 minutes then I start putting the shrink bands on. I do believe I am doing everything correctly but then again I could be wrong.
 
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Sounds like your procedures are good but your times are a little short. Instead of 5 minutes at 195 - 200 it should be more like 15 minutes. Same for the time inverted and, didn't see it mentioned, you should be smacking the sauce down so it's physically in contact with the cap.
 
Not sure about the time in the oven for the bottles as I run them through my dishwasher with the Sensitization cycle on and then soak them in the same No Rinse sanitizer, Iodophor, that I use for Home Brewing. 
 
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Hmmm,
 
Never heard of this in hot sauce, but homebrew it is a sure sign of infection. Known as gushers or gusher bug, you can google gusher homebrew and find a slew of info on it but long story short sounds like you have an contamination issue. Are your bottles/caps brand new or are you re-using. May want to consider some no rinse star-san that stuff is great. I agree with others and would not eat if bottles are gushing.
 
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So far out of all of my bottles 3 of them are starting to ferment. So besides the ones that are sent away for testing I've decided to just redo the whole batch. I use new bottles and caps and if it matters shrink sealers every time. I try my best to keep everything I made as close to being as natural as possible. I hate adding "This" or "That" into something so would this be caused by something I use or would my ingredients be fine? Bhut Jolokia, Imported Smoked Hot Spanish Paprika, Red Chilli Flakes, Vinegar and some water to make it a bit more of a liquid since they are in tiny 1.7oz bottles.

@PrimeTime I don't mind doing all of the work. It mainly gives me something to do from sun up to sun down. So doing all of this over will also help me learn from my mistakes and I'll know later on what to do and how to prevent this from happening again. Also once this is taken care of I can go back to making my blueberry flavored hot sauce :D
 
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Well What I do right away is bleach my sink, clean everything I'm using with hot soapy water. After that is done I get my Latex Gloves, A mask (Picked one up at Rona.. It's used for drywall but oh well it helps) and standard goggles that I got online. (Same ones you use for chemical use in science class for example) Once all that is going I get out a bowl and fill it with hot water and let my pods re-hydrate for 30 minutes (50 at a time). While that goes on; my oven preheats to 200F for the bottles after they are cleaned in hot soapy water. I put the bottles onto a cookie sheet with a rack on top so they don't completely touch the cookie sheet. So while the bottles are in the oven for 35-40 minutes I remove only the stems from the pods (One pepper at a time) then they get a little shake so the water comes out from inside the pods then they get put into the blender. Then I add 6tsp of the Chili Flakes, 6tsp of the Smoked Hot Spanish Paprika, 200mL of water (for now) and 3tsp of Vinegar (Made at home from home-made red wine). Then I give it a few moments to blend on low just to mix everything up then I add 300mL of water. After it's all smooth I strain it into a bowl then from that bowl I strain it again but this time into the pot and let the heating process begin. I usually let it sit in the pot at 195F - 200F. I tend to keep it at that for approx 5 minutes.. sometimes a little bit longer but usually 5 minutes. By the time all of this is done the bottles have been in the oven for 35-40 minutes then they get taken out of the oven. I then pour the hot sauce into another bowl and from there I use a turkey baster to get the hot sauce into a funnel so it can get inside of the bottles without any spillage. Once filled I put the caps on (Which have been cleaned just like everything else) tightly then they get put onto another table upside down. 10 minutes after they have been upside down they get the shrink seals put on them with a blow dryer and the process continues after everything gets cleaned once again.

The reason why I don't use that much vinegar is because they usually don't last that long so they won't need to have a longer shelf life; or I tend to turn most of them into a dipping sauce for chips when ever I have parties or use them when making something else as a spicy ingredient. So usually every Monday I try to make as many bottles as I possibly can. Plus I love experimenting so that takes up a lot of the hot sauce as well :) If I did anything wrong in my process please let me know.

@Halbrust I will. Still working out some kinks to it but once it's done I'll post pictures and everything.
 
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Ok, I think I see the problem. When I make a sauce without fermenting I put everything into tr pot going into te sauce. Then top up the water till everything is covered and bring it to a boil for 15 minutes them simmer it for another 45 minutes. Blend it to purée and put it through a wire sieve then back to simmer for another 30. Bring it to 195 to 200 for 15 minutes and bottle never letting drop below 185 with out a reheat. 5 minutes at 195 to 200 isn't killing everything off and if your Ph isn't low enough, needs to be below 3.5 for the heating time your giving it then the nasties are going to grow. Next batch try the longer cooking time and I'll bet you come out fine.
 
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reply initalics-
Legacy3D said:
Well What I do right away is bleach my sink, clean everything I'm using with hot soapy water. After that is done I get my Latex Gloves, A mask (Picked one up at Rona.. It's used for drywall but oh well it helps) and standard goggles that I got online. (Same ones you use for chemical use in science class for example) Once all that is going I get out a bowl and fill it with hot water and let my pods re-hydrate for 30 minutes (50 at a time). While that goes on; my oven preheats to 200F for the bottles after they are cleaned in hot soapy water. I put the bottles onto a cookie sheet with a rack on top so they don't completely touch the cookie sheet.
So Far So Good!
 
So while the bottles are in the oven for 35-40 minutes I remove only the stems from the pods (One pepper at a time) then they get a little shake so the water comes out from inside the pods then they get put into the blender. Then I add 6tsp of the Chili Flakes, 6tsp of the Smoked Hot Spanish Paprika, 200mL of water (for now) and 3tsp of Vinegar (Made at home from home-made red wine).
OK, red flags here-  What is the %acidity of the homemade red wine vinegar?  White vinegar is typically 5%, but I've seen some specialty vinegars down around 2.5%.  The amount of homemade vinegar you listed seems pretty light if using a commercial 5% vinegar.  Add in the unknown % acidity of a homemade vinegar....Big Question Mark! 
 
Then I give it a few moments to blend on low just to mix everything up then I add 300mL of water. After it's all smooth I strain it into a bowl then from that bowl I strain it again but this time into the pot and let the heating process begin. I usually let it sit in the pot at 195F - 200F. I tend to keep it at that for approx 5 minutes.. sometimes a little bit longer but usually 5 minutes.
Hmmm...should heat longer especially given the unknown pH
 
By the time all of this is done the bottles have been in the oven for 35-40 minutes then they get taken out of the oven.
Oven sterilizing is good!
 
I then pour the hot sauce into another bowl and from there I use a turkey baster to get the hot sauce into a funnel so it can get inside of the bottles without any spillage.
OK, Big problem here!  When the sauce is removed from the heat into a bowl, it starts to cool down.  The whole point of Hot Packing is that each and every bottle is filled with 190F sauce so each and every bottle cap gets sterilized.  Maybe the sauce was "right there" for food safety and pH if it had been kept on the heat and/or cooked for longer, but by not keeping the sauce hot for the whole bottling process, only the first few bottles would be good.  After that....??????
 
 
 
Once filled I put the caps on (Which have been cleaned just like everything else) tightly then they get put onto another table upside down. 10 minutes after they have been upside down they get the shrink seals put on them with a blow dryer and the process continues after everything gets cleaned once again.
Shrink bands have no effect on how safe a food has been packaged, they are only for Tamper Evidence for the consumer. 

The reason why I don't use that much vinegar is because they usually don't last that long so they won't need to have a longer shelf life; or I tend to turn most of them into a dipping sauce for chips when ever I have parties or use them when making something else as a spicy ingredient. So usually every Monday I try to make as many bottles as I possibly can.
 
If you don't have enough vinegar or the proper pH, sauces can go bad in a matter of a couple days!  Botulism is deadly and not something to muck about with!.  There are some critical points that should be corrected in your processing and you should be able to keep using the same recipe.  Having said that, I'm NOT a process authority!  And if your sauce hasn't been tested (by you or a lab or whatever) so you have a general idea of what the pH is, it should not be hot packed in woozy bottles, it should be pressure canned.
 
Unless you know the pH of the homemade vinegar and an approximate pH of the finished sauce, I'm strongly suggesting using a pressure cooker for future batches. 
 
For your current batch, given that some bottles have tanked....I would strongly suggest pitching the whole batch!  Sorry to say it and I know it was a lot of work!  But is it worth risking possible life threatening food poisoning?
 
Plus I love experimenting so that takes up a lot of the hot sauce as well :) If I did anything wrong in my process please let me know.
 

 
Click to expand...
 
 
RocketMan said:
Ok, I think I see the problem. When I make a sauce without fermenting I put everything into tr pot going into te sauce. Then top up the water till everything is covered and bring it to a boil for 15 minutes them simmer it for another 45 minutes. Blend it to purée and put it through a wire sieve then back to simmer for another 30. Bring it to 195 to 200 for 15 minutes and bottle never letting drop below 185 with out a reheat. 5 minutes at 195 to 200 isn't killing everything off and if your Ph isn't low enough, needs to be below 3.5 for the heating time your giving it then the nasties are going to grow. Next batch try the longer cooking time and I'll bet you come out fine.
Click to expand...
 However the cook/blend/chop/mill/whatever/etc steps are done.... cooking times for those steps are usually "what's needed " to cook the chiles/veggies to what is needed for the sauce's consistency.  The critical point is the last cook....20 minutes at 190F is usually good to kill the nasties in a sauce below 4.0pH... and then KEEPING it at 190F for the whole bottling process.  Once again, pH is a factor, and if the pH is questionable....then the Hot Fill bottling will not work. 
 
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Further clarification-
 
200F for the oven is OK and will do the job if left in there long enough.  Depending on how the bottles are packed, you have to make sure all the bottles in the middle get hot.  Heating in the oven can be done ahead of time.  As Justaguy said, 250F is better, or even 300F.  That'll give you that extra margin of safety.  As I said, this step can be done ahead of time, the turn the oven off and let them cool so you don't burn your hands when handling them.
 
In looking at your measurements,  I'm guessing you end up with about 600ml or around 3-4 cups of sauce.  3 teaspoons of vinegar is not enough for that amount of product.  I'd usually suggest at least 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup of a 5% acidity vinegar (white, cider, balsamic, rice...whatever~)  Using Tablespoons, you used 1 Tbsp, I'm suggesting 8 Tbsp vinegar.  Add in the unknown acidity of the homemade vinegar...... 
 
 
Legacy3D, I feel bad for you, amigo.  I've been there/done that with having to pitch a whole lot of work.  Waaaay back when, I did a total brain fart and hot water bathed about 25 pints of green beans we'd grown in the garden instead of pressure canning.  After about 2 weeks the lids started popping off in the closet and the stuff foaming out.  Out they went!  :( 
 
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Once again the lady has shown her prowess. I was going to say bringing the vinegar up to half a cup should work, but of course if the vinegar is below 5% then more would be needed.
It may change the flavor the slightest, but I tend to lean toward lemon juice with a half vinegar half lemon juice to get my acidity where needed and still have the desire vinegar flavor.
 
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  1. It's all good, I enjoy making mistakes to be honest since I'll always know after that what I did wrong and how to correct it but; I'll be giving it another shot soon... also I won't be using the homemade vinegar.
     
  2. ​Pretty dumb question. Since my pH meter broke by accident one day what would be some safe measurements to use if I wanted to keep it as close to natural as possible? I'll only have 1-2 days to make the hot sauce (Feb 24th-25th) with no time to order any online. I do professional gaming so I have a lot of travel a head of me and I will be making the hot sauce without a pH meter. I have approx 50-60 1.7oz Woozy bottles left and around 700-1000 already oven dried peppers.
     
  3. On a final note. Good or bad? A way to basically to make jerky out of ghost peppers.. Like beef jerky but using the peppers.. Possible or not? I already tried candying them but it worked way better when they became stuffed with feta before they got a good candy layer :D
     
  4. I love experimenting so if you want me to be the guinea pig to any ideas let me know!
 
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