Making pepper sauce/salsa

[Earl]

I just got a food grade PH tester. It's a Checker from Hanna Instruments. Recently they've come down in price, with shipping mine coust about $30 from an Ebay store.

I plan on making, as near as I can, some Lava Sauce and below are the ingredients off the lable, in order. I'll use Garden Salsa, sweet Datil and Dulce 2? peppers that I have frozen. The only thing I may have a problem finding is the cane juice, but Goya has it in cans if I can find it.

habernero pepper and other chiles peppers
garlic
worcestershire sauce
cane juice
lime juice
salt
vinegar
citric acid
spices
tomato sauce
and other herbs and spices
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If you're interested in reading about ph meters and food check out this page.

Selecting a pH Meter
Food Processing for Entrepreneurs Series

http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/...licationId=686

[Love2Troll]

Hey Earl,

So what next? Are going to process them, ferment or what?

Did you find a good source for buffer solutions to keep your meter calibrated? I'm looking for pH 4 and 7. I've got a half doz meters including 2 like yours. On my old one like yours I wore out the calibration screw because adjusted so many times.

JohnT

[Earl]

jt,
Sounds like you're a pro at using the ph meter.

Instructions also say it was pre-calibrated at factory. But some 7.01 solution came with it. Seller said that's what I needed to calibrate, but instructions talk about using 4.01 also.

As in after adjusting to 7.01,"rinse the electrode with water and dip into a sample of ph 4.01 [or 10.01] buffer solution. Allow the reading to stablize. With a small screwdriver adjust the ph 4.01 or 10.01 trimmer until the display reads the chosen buffer value. Calibration is now complete."

So I'm a bit confused, do I need both 7.01 and 4.01 to get right calibation? Seller has the different buffer solutions.

To make the sauce I'm going to put everything in food processor and chop up fine, then cook it to stop enzyme action, let cool, check ph then add Citric acid if needed. This first batch will be for testing, then I may put next batch in jars.

If I need any of them, I can get all these preservative ingredients at Pittsburg Spice and Seasoning. I need to do a little more research before I order preservatives.

Preservatives
5000 Brifisol 450 Super Bulk 1.15
5005 Potassium Sorbate Bulk 7.50
5010 Sodium Benzoate Bulk 2.10
5011 Anti-oxidant Bulk 1.30
5012 Sodium Lactate Bulk 1.68
5015 Water Soluble Ham Spice Bulk 1.20
1200 Citric Acid Bulk 2.39
Wheat Flour Bulk .230
1997 Brownulated Sugar Bulk .72
5020 EnCapsulated Citric Acid Bulk 5.68
2155 Sodium Nitrate Bulk 1.50
2156 Sodium Nitrite Bulk 1.90
5246 Sodium Tripoly Phosphate Bulk .85
2097 Vizate 115 H.V.P. Bulk 1.60
2096 H.V.P. B-91 Bulk 2.50
5050 Vitrafos 50 Bulk 1.17

Numbers= price per lb. Prices may be off a wee bit since they haven't undated the webpage in awhile.

[Love2Troll]

Yikes!! I don't use any of those preservatives at all. With the vinegar and citric acid already in your recipe, getting proper pH should not be a problem.

Yes, you do need both the 4 and 7 buffer solutions to properly calibrate.

Botulism doesn't multiply below pH 4.6 and I always always shoot for below 4.0 for an extra margin of safely. And then I hot pack boiling water bath for 20 min or pressure process at 15lbs for 35 min. My chile-head friends tease me because I am so anal about food safety, but I'm not about to change.

I've been trying to lactic acid bacteria ferment peppers since October and have yet to come up with anything below 4 so into the compost pit. Came very, very close, but not quite. Peppers and garlic cloves are my only failures so far. String beans, carrots, onions, cabbage etc have been fantastic successes.

Good luck with your sauce!! You would not believe how many bottles of the stuff I get every year from my friends. Waaay more than can possibly consume, but I try.

Carrots make a good hot sauce ingredient.

Hot regards,
JohnT

[where_with_all]

Earl, You got me curious.

Maybe I missed it, but is there an actual recipe attached to your ingredient list on how to make hot sauce?

I was under the impression that it was hard to do and you needed to ferment the peppers. What is the pH meter for?

Excuse me if I sound like a novice, but I have three ziplock bags of habeneros in the freezer waiting fo rme to learn how to make hot sauce.

If you need a PH meter to do it, so be it! Any instructions you can point me to?

Where_with_all

[Earl]

With,
Don't let it bother you, mine sputters. :-)

No recipe, as of yet. The list is of ingredients on the Lava Sauce bottle. I've got to figure out the measurements. Click the link below to see what Google brought up with a search for-- hot pepper sauce recipe.

http://www.google.com/search?source=...=Google+Search

[Love2Troll]

I would suggest keeping as simple as possible. The PepperFool recipes have always been a source of inspiration for me.

I've been playing around with fermenting (think Tabasco sauce 5 years fermenting in barrels etc) for some months now and so far am happier with just regular hot pack water bath or pressure processing. http://www.fototime.com/ED8B25EE15ECBA1/orig.jpg

Hot peppers, lemon juice and a little salt isn't all that bad.

jt

[landarc]

I make pepper sauce with fresh and dry peppers, acid in the form of lime juice, lemon juice and vinegar and other stuff. i use the stuff fresh and do not can. My understanding is that the pH meter and acid balance to 4.0 or 7.0 is for if you are going to can the sauce and want to avoid spoilage or food poisoning.

[Grub]

Earl at work...

[Earl]

Grub, that's a secret lab, now everyone knows


I want to can/bottle some. I'll play around with it until I get the recipe I want. I have those listed below in the freezer, use them for flavor without the heat and jalapeno or etc for heat.

Trinidad Perfume
90 days. Capsicum chinense. Plant produces good yields of 1 ¼" long by 1 ¼" wide hot peppers. Peppers are mildly hot and turn from light green to golden-yellow when mature. Plant has light green stems, light green leaves, and white flowers. Excellent seasoning pepper. A variety from Trinidad & Tobago. Plant Height: 24" tall. pk/10

Aji Dulce (Strain 2)
90 days. Capsicum chinense. Plant produces good yields of 1 ¾" long by 1 ½" wide wrinkled hot peppers. Peppers turn from green, to orange, to red when mature. Plant has green stems, light green leaves, and white flowers. Peppers have little or no heat but have the same flavor as the Habanero. A popular variety used in dishes in Central and South America. pk/10

Datil Sweet
90 days. Capsicum chinense. Plant produces good yields of 1 ½" long by 1" wide wrinkled hot peppers. Peppers are mildly hot and turn from green, to orange, to red when mature. This is Florida's version of the Caribbean Seasoning Pepper. Perfect for those who love the Habanero taste without the heat. A variety from the USA.

[where_with_all]

If I can remember my last research on this, Most hot sauces on the market are fermented. Thats when it gets complicated. I think there are two basic starter recipes for hotsauce. The first uses some form of citrus fruit to flavor (pineapple, orange, lemon, etc.) The second uses vinigar as the source of acid.

I have no idea how to ferment or what you need to do to monitor PH.

LovetoTroll, the contraption your showing looks intersting. I could think of a few jokes but i won't go there- lets keep this forum clean. Anyway, did you follow some sort of recipe?

[bluelytes]

EARL,
Instead of "Grub, that's a secret lab...", shouldnt it be "that WAS a secret...."?? lol

Regards;
bluelytes

[Mantis]

This guy was glad to go home after the tasting

[Love2Troll]

where_with_all,

This is pretty much my basic pepper mash recipe:



The water is always distilled and the salt Kosher, sea salt or canning salt. (no iodine) The Kefir is a lactic acid bacteria starter that I was buying from a company that sells the freeze-dried starter for making yogurt.

Now I've had great advice throughout as am personal friends with two hot sauce manufacturers and well acquainted with a couple of others.

Just recently I learned that the Kefir I was buying is not the real deal and I ebayed some authentic live grains which I have been culturing for over a week now and have plenty of curds and whey to use as a live starter. Also have a very active strain of sourdough that I also keep feeding. Next week I hope to start 3 batches of pepper mash to compare the dried Kefir with whey from my sourdough and the new kefir cultures.

A starter is not required if a heavier salt brine is used and nature allowed to take its course. (done that too) A starter gives a couple days jump in producing the CO2 gas that prevents nasty mold (kahm yeast) from forming on the surface. (a salt brine will accomplish the same thing) The balloons are to keep air out and CO2 in. Temperatures and times are key. I keep at 75°F to start, then move to 65° and finally to 45° for the final month or so.

jt

[where_with_all]

Wow,
Love to Troll-- Your my hero. Boy can I think of a million questions to ask you. I have been trying to learn how to make hot suace for at least two years. Would much appreciate any tutoring.

First question- Why do you need a starter? I was on pepper fool and other sites and they don't mention the lactic acid starter. They don't even make a mash in most of the homemade recipes.

Second question- What is the mash for? Do all hot pepper sauces on the market use a mash?

Third question- after you do make the mash. Then what? Is that the hot suace or do you have to add the mash to something else?

Fourth question- most of the hot suaces I like have a pineapple or orange citric base. Are thes hot suaces made differently.

I could think of more questions- but I will stop for now.