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love hot sauce but new 2 cooking it, need some guidance!

870 views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  wwittman 
#1 ·
I love other peoples hot sauces but I am not a huge fan of vinegar, I can take it in moderation but I hate over the top vinegar taste in most of the sauces out there. I would like to create my own sauce but was wondering how to keep it from spoiling over a long period of time. Most of the hot sauces I have now I don't refrigerate and they have kept fine on my shelf. To be more specific I am interested in making a pineapple habanero sauce that will stay fresh over a period of time. I have tried making this a few times before and have failed.  It starts off tasting really good and I know that the flavor will at some point change as well as the heat level but the jar seems to "burp" every time I open it.  I use 3% salt by weight when initially cooking the mash which consists of; pineapple, yellow bell and orange habaneros.  should I add vinegar? or is there a process or step I am missing? Thanks all!
 
#3 ·
I know this is a stupid question but how? I have read so many articles and everyone seems to have a different opinion on how, what to add and for how long. Do I age first then cook the mash, or age it first then cook it, or do I even need to cook it if it is aged? Any advice of procedure would be awesome!
 
#4 · (Edited)
#5 ·
I make a Mango Habanero sauce.

I made it first at home for friends and family, but it was well received enough that we started to make it commercially

http://www.loudfoods.com/products/orange-sunshine/

Like you, I'm not a fan of "hot vinegar"!

I want hot sauce to taste like something.

if you're making the sauce for your own use, then first off, why can't you just live with needing to refrigerate?

My sauce is made to be shelf stable in the sealed bottle for 3 years or so.

In part, this means getting it acid enough to meet standards... and that's done by incorporating some rice wine vinegar (although not enough to make it at all a 'vinegar-y flavor'), the acid from the fruit, and then bringing up the acid level with citric acid (which doesn't noticeably affect the flavor, and also helps stabilize the color). Some people incorporate Ascorbic Acid if it needs to be made more acidic (we don't)

but!: we don't use any preservatives and it's not acid enough to remain safe without refrigeration after opening.

That's a trade off we happily make for the flavor profile I want.

hope this helps!
 
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