Tip: maybe you know already but it's smart not to fine chop garlic (or other veg) for ferments as they easily escape the weight and risk attracting mold.
This was such a thorough and helpful tutorial! About to embark on my first ever fermented hot sauce making, and I feel much more confident now thanks to you! 🥳
You have no idea how much I appreciate your video. This is the first video I have seen that explains the importance of pasteurizing with short fermentation processes compared to long fermentation. Such a professional and well put together video thank you so much I truly hope you do more videos on fermentation and hot sauces maybe some kimchi
I'm so glad you found it helpful. I'm even finding that really long ferments are still quite active after bottling. One thing I may start doing if I don't want to pasteurize is blend it up and then put it back in the jar and let it ferment some more before bottling. I had a ferment go for 2 years and even that long it was still pretty active after blending and bottling.
No, you are not supposed to rinse the Star San off. "Don't fear the foam" is a common phrase I see in many forums referring to not rinsing the Star San.
It turned out really good. But I'm thinking of trying more garlic after seeing how much garlic some people add to their sauces. There's a fermented hot sauce facebook group that has been really helpful.
actually that explains why my green tomato/tomatillo sauces never seem to get kahm but they always take a lot longer to ferment than my others. Probably the acidity is higher in those.
@@gapey I'm not sure...I found this through trial and error.The juice of one lime in a 2-pint jar of ferment seems to have done the trick. I liked your video by the way,very clear and informative.
Love the videos, but could you taste the hot sauces at some point to give the viewer what those fruit and vegetable and length of time combinations taste like. Thanks
Paula, your hot sauces look so good, and your labels look very professional. I can't seem to master label making for my hot sauce bottles. How do you make yours, or who do you use to make yours?
The blank labels I got on Amazon and it came with a template I use with Microsoft Word. The design to put on it though I created in photoshop using some photos of my peppers that I took in a light tent to get the white background.
Fermentation uses the good bacteria for the fermentation process. Honey is an antibacterial agent. Ancient Egyptian‘s used it to put on wounds to prevent infection. The honey might work against the good bacteria by killing them. Love your video but not sure I would add the honey. Let me know what you think I don’t pretend to know it all. Just wondering.
There is actually good bacteria in honey as well. When honey has too high of water content it will begin to ferment on its own. That is how mead is made actually. honey fermented garlic is also a very popular ferment and one I've done a few times. Just the addition of garlic into the honey will cause it to ferment.
Looks so good! Is there any reason why you don't hot fill and flip? This would surely ensure any fermention ends by killing the lacto bacteria and would solve your worries about the fermentation continuing after bottling. Also, how do you ensure the bottles are sanitary if the sauce is cool? Sorry about all the questions - I'm new to this and have noticed some people hot fill and some do not :)
There are lots of ways to do it. There's no one right way. I've done the hot fill before too. I use Star San to sanitize the bottles and the blender when I don't pasteurize. Pasteurizing does kill the beneficial bacteria in the hot sauce but many say you would have to eat a lot of it to be of any benefit. If I know there is still some fermentation activity when I do the bottling I would definitely pasteurize it before bottling.
14:30 You say that you don't want to boil the fermented chilis because after that you a smaller amount of sauce... ... but it is water which evaporate and you can add some again... you can also boil it inside a glass or bottles or with a pot which has a lid on... But even if you do nothing about it: your sauce will get thicker, more concentrated with more flavour.
If you ferment long enough you don’t have to cook. Tomatoes and tomatillos are more acidic so fermentation takes much longer. I’ll probably cook my sauce when using those in the future.
Just found your video as I'm researching how to make my own hot sauce from garden-grown peppers! And, as a homebrewer I really appreciate your attention to sanitation! Starsan is my go-to for sanitizing everything in my brewing hobby. If you don't already know this, using distilled water for your Starsan will make it last nearly forever. I've read that Starsan loses its effectiveness sooner if it is cloudy when you mix it. Distilled water will mix up the Starsan crystal clear.
Thanks for the distilled water tip. I may do that. I have heard that the shelf life of Starsan once mixed is very short. I know it has something to do with ph. Might do a little test using distilled vs my well water that I normally use and see how the ph differs before and after a month or so.
Hello! I’m doing my first fermentation for hot sauce! I have a question tho. When I started it only took like 2 days for fermentation to start and it’s only been 6 days and the air lock float isn’t floating anymore? Is that normal?
Thank you so much for an amazing lesson on successful fermentation! I knew about fermentation but you had so many little insights that I have often wondered about.. You answered so many questions. Thank you for being so detailed and methodical and clear in your communication.. Fantastic. I have some very special peppers I wanted to process.. after that video I feel much more confident. SUPERB VIDEO
Glad you found it helpful. Let me know if you have any questions along the way. It's really not as difficult as people think it is. Getting the salt ratio right and keeping air out of the container are the most important things.
Nice video, I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction on how to label my own bottles? I'm new making hot sauces but have been perfecting recipes and jarring them to give to friends.
For a basic label you can get the labels from Amazon which are in my Amazon store linked in the video description. There is a Word template you can use to design and print them out. Adding graphics is a little more complicated. I use Photoshop and take my own photos with a light tent to get the white backgrounds.
To Pasteurize boiling is absolutely not needed! You only need to bring the temperature up to 180F to 185F for 30 minutes!! This is easiest to do if you have a Sous Vide circulator. Heat the water to the correct temperature, place the capped bottles in the water bath so that the tops are submerged by about an inch then keep the water at 180 to 185 for 30 minutes. The PH of your sauce MUST be below 4.6, to be considered for pasteurization in the US. Personally I prefer to make sure that the PH is at or below 3.2, at that PH there is no fermentation taking place. The only way to be sure of your PH is to get an PH meter and check it. PH paper is another option, but it is less than accurate and over time it looses it color accuracy even more than when it is fresh and new! That being said your meter will also need to be calibrated from time to time so be sure to follow the makers instructions to get the best most accurate readings.
Yep definitely going the sous vide route next time I pasteurize something. :) Oh and I do have a ph meter I calibrate often. I use it when I make mead.
@@gapey I originally got my first PH meter for making Mead, but my most recent one to make fermented sausage. It has a pointy tip to insert into the meat, but it works for solutions as well as long as I make sure it is completely submerged.
Thank you so much for this informative video! You made it look so easy! And I know it was a lot of work! I appreciate you!! Thank you again. Love your videos!! 🙃❣️
Please help I have a couple of issues with my hot sauce. 1 It separates 2 I don’t know what I’m doing wrong the bottles just pop up when you open them and it’s embarrassing when my customers bring the sauce back because of the pop and I don’t know how to explain it.
separation is normal. The only way to really resolve that is by adding a small amount of xanthan gum when you blend it up. You only need about 1/4 tsp per quart of sauce. If you use too much it will become gummy. As for popping up, the only way to guarantee that not happening is to pasteurize the sauce to kill the ferment. The popping is the result of the fermentation. If you don't want to pasteurize then you can keep it in the fridge and that will slow down the fermentation so you shouldn't have much popping.
after first mix, measure the ph with an electronic device, add brine and mix again, until ph goes down under 3.4... if brine is not enough start with vinegar, little by little. with an acidity under 3.4 ph the lactobacillus is disactivated, fermentation ends c02 emission ceases... and no pop up
I made Carolina Reaper and scraped the insides off. Not as hot when you use worlds hottest pepper. Fermented for 7 months with a turmeric. Growing more for a new batch. Hot but not loose you mind hot and so much flavor ph it with vinegar.
It is not uncommon for some manufacturers like say Tabasco, to keep them for 3 to 5 years before processing them into sauce. So 9.5 months is good, the general fermentation will be complete in 2 to 3 weeks, but the peppers will continue to age and improve in flavor the longer you can let them sit.
Though not my favorite beer I buy Grolsch for the ready stopper! With a 5 gallon bucket-full of hot peppers, I'm here for ideas. I like the apple and splash of honey as food for a long fermentation. Gloves are de rigueur ! - he says with burning hands. Thank you for your time and the piecing together of snippets taken over time.
"Pasteurizing kills the beneficial bacteria." True, but if you wait 9 months, the beneficial bacteria are pretty well inactive anyway. If you want the benefits of live bacterial cultures, ferment until it's to your taste, and refrigerate. This will slow down the fermentation a great deal, and should keep for long enough to use up the sauce, depending on how quickly you go through it. If you're worried about exploding bottles in the fridge, leave the screw lid of your bottle slightly loose or unscrew it and relieve pressure every few days. :)
Thanks for a well-made video. The only thing I may suggest is to actually taste the sauce at the end and give us your thoughts. Personally, I wanted to know how much less spicy the sauce was made with the under-matured peppers.
Yeah I got a lot of comments about that. I will be sure to do that next time. I think it definitely wasn't quite as hot using the green peppers but it still had decent heat.
Hi :-) Great video but I'm brand new to this so forgive me ignorance :-) When you let the jar ferment, where do you do it? In a dark cabinet? Right on a counter? Does it matter? Is temperature an issue? Thanks in advance and I can't wait to try it!! :-)
I would keep it out of direct sunlight but I do mine right on the counter in a somewhat dark corner. A cupboard would be good too. The temperature doesn't matter too much but it will ferment faster the warmer it is. Room temp should be just fine.
Does the star san affect the taste of the final product at all? I'm bottling for christmas presents and I usually use dawn ultra dish detergent and water to sanitize my jars and equipment.
I don't think it has much of a taste but I've never tasted it on its own. From what I've read it has a slightly tart taste but don't think it would affect the flavor of the product.
Yeah that's possible. though it always seems to happen with my green sauces. I always thought it was the green tomatoes and/or tomatillos that do that because they add some acidity which probably slows down the fermentation.
It is best to use distilled or at least unchlorinated water. Water such as well water or spring water may have minerals in it that will effect the fermentation adversely. You will not know however until you try it and see if it gives you ferment an off flavor.
I do sometimes but not always. With the length of time I ferment my sauces I just figure the PH is going to be low enough but when fermenting for shorter periods of time it is a good idea to check it.
Sorry to hear that. I've never seen an ad block half the screen. Normally they cover the whole screen which pauses my video. The popups normally just cover a small section of the bottom. I don't have control over what ads get played.
Not really an issue just usually not necessary so it just creates more work than necessary and my time is limited. Many will claim it kills all the beneficial bacteria if you pasteurize it which is true but you would have to eat a lot of sauce to get much benefit from it.
A few reasons. Cuz I wanted a green hot sauce and because it was probably the end of the season and there wasn't enough time left for them to ripen so it's one way to use up green peppers that don't have time to mature.
@@gapey oh ok, cool! I was thinking I might have some green habaneros at the end of this season, they’re still alot of smaller unripe pods and some are even still putting on flowers in the middle of July.
Generally below a PH of 3.2 will stop fermentation of all Lactobacillus as well as harmful pathogens. The PH is the key no matter what you add you need to check the PH of the end product!!!!!!!
I’m thinking that your veggies have some complex sugars that prolong the fermentation process. I have two 2 qt jars of kimchi that ar actively fermenting on the sixth day. I know it’s early but I’m eager to try it, the last batch is nearly eaten and was delicious.
Not sure. I got them from a seed swap and they didn't specify the variety. I do have some called rio grande that are supposed to be large. Going to try them next year.
This is the first year I’ve ever grown tomatillos. I bought the smallest size packet of seeds from Morgan County Seeds, a Missouri company that specializes in larger bulk seed orders, but usually have some small packets for home gardeners. I had 100% germination rate and each plant has given me probably over 100 tomatillos. The fruits weren’t huge, ranging in size from about an inch to 2 inches in diameter, but they were hugely prolific and very hearty and resistant to inconsistent watering as well as any sort of bugs or disease.
No not really. Other than fermenting for longer. I have one batch that is about 2 years old now that I haven't bottled. I just have so much sauce that I'm in no rush to bottle more. :D I only made one batch this season that will probably end up fermenting for a year or two.
I've never seen someone add honey before fermenting, is it added as a sort of "fuel" for the lactobacillus or does the flavor of the honey carry over to the finished sauce? It's really interesting!
Yeah I think it does help fuel it. I'm sure it adds some sweetness to the sauce as well but it's not very prominent especially since most of the sugars end up getting fermented out.
Gapeys Grub super cool! Last question, were you happy with the flavor from the green tomatoes? I have a bunch right now and I’m getting ready to do some ferments this week, I’m thinking about them 😀
Thank you for the information. I’m a hobbyist and I’m in my second year of making sauce. I came across the problem of the sauce still fermenting after bottling this year. I don’t ferment for months, more like weeks and normally store everything in the fridge. This year I ran out of room and left them on the counter. That’s how I learned I needed to pasteurize (cook) longer. Hard lesson to learn lol
You should get a PH meter and check that your PH is low enough! At 3.2 or below the fermentation will stop and the product will be shelf stable as well. Actually it is stable below 4.2 as far as harmful pathogens go, but fermentation will still be going on until it falls below 3.2. The books say 3.4, but I go to at least 3.2 to be sure I don't have problems with the bottles. If that is to acidic for you then you will have to pasteurize or keep the lids on loose.
hah you definitely don't need to wait that long. I would go at least 2-3 months though. I've got several on my counter though that are over a year old now. Just because I can't eat it fast enough so I'm in no hurry to bottle up more until I get close to finishing what I already have bottled. Doesn't hurt to leave them sit for as long as you want. I haven't had one go bad yet.
Thanks so much for responding to an older video! I was so curious since they were green ghosts for the most part and then with the apples I thought it might cool things off a little as well as the dilution. I was also wondering if the flavor was complex because of the long fermentation. And how did it smell? You know how good fermented foods smell that it is no wonder people ate them when first discovered. I fermented some peppers form the first time recently but only for a week! I didn’t realize that longer was possible and likely better. The flavor was ho hum. Anyway thanks for your video. Got a lot to learn. Will watch more.
oh geez that's not good! Just a nickname I got a long time ago and it stuck. It was a nickname for agape which is what I used to use as a handle for all my online games I used to play.
@@gapey lol! Much better answer than my search results 😂 I enjoyed this video, I am currently lacto fermenting some habanero and peach to make a hot sauce. I see so many videos where people cook it after fermenting and blending but I don't want to kill off the live bacteria. I also don't want bottles to explode though, so I'm torn. How long do you normally let a ferment go before bottling? I'm in Florida so it stays 76-80 in my house so ferments progress pretty quickly and aggressively. I've let sauerkraut go for 2-3 months before and it seems to be completely finished, took the air lock off and put the lid on for a few weeks before putting in fridge and there was no pressure buildup. Was hoping to do the same with the hot sauce and ferment to completion
completely swapping out water for lemon/lime juice might make it too acidic so not sure that would work. You could definitely add some but don't think I'd add that much or it will affect the fermentation.
If you want a lemon or lime flavor with out making it to acidic, as the sugar in the juice will add to the fermentables in you jar, try adding zest to get the flavor and not the added acid from either the juice or from the more aggressive and longer fermentation from the added sugars.
This is an amazing walkthrough, the best I’ve seen so far!! Thanks for the help!
Thanks! Chillichump has some good ones too.
Tip: maybe you know already but it's smart not to fine chop garlic (or other veg) for ferments as they easily escape the weight and risk attracting mold.
Gapeys Grub may be UA-cam's best comprehensive guide to fermenting hot sauce. I share your links with anybody that asks me questions on the subject.
Ah thanks Shawn, I appreciate it!
I think the seeds from the huge tomatillo would be worth saving.
yeah probably should have saved some of those but I don't think I did.
This was such a thorough and helpful tutorial! About to embark on my first ever fermented hot sauce making, and I feel much more confident now thanks to you! 🥳
That's great. It's hard to go wrong as long as you get the brine right and are able to keep everything under it.
StarSan is instant, and dont fear the foam! unless its cloudy
You bet!
You have no idea how much I appreciate your video. This is the first video I have seen that explains the importance of pasteurizing with short fermentation processes compared to long fermentation. Such a professional and well put together video thank you so much I truly hope you do more videos on fermentation and hot sauces maybe some kimchi
I'm so glad you found it helpful. I'm even finding that really long ferments are still quite active after bottling. One thing I may start doing if I don't want to pasteurize is blend it up and then put it back in the jar and let it ferment some more before bottling. I had a ferment go for 2 years and even that long it was still pretty active after blending and bottling.
Don't you have to wash the star San out of the bottles with water before you fill them with hot sauce.? I didn't see you wash them out.
No, you are not supposed to rinse the Star San off. "Don't fear the foam" is a common phrase I see in many forums referring to not rinsing the Star San.
kind of reacted to the paula’s pain etiquette on the thumbnail :)
Wow Paula, such a culinarily alchemist you are! Wonderful video as always 🌶🌝
Thanks! :)
Great video! Just subscribed. Looking forward to catching up with more of your videos!
Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
how was the flavor? Sounds like a really interesting sauce!
It turned out really good. But I'm thinking of trying more garlic after seeing how much garlic some people add to their sauces. There's a fermented hot sauce facebook group that has been really helpful.
@@gapey thanks!!
Great information and channel☀🍊👍 thank you
You're welcome. Thanks for watching!
Adding Lime Juice increases the acidity,which impairs the formation of Kahm Yeast.
Would adding that acidity keep it from fermenting?
actually that explains why my green tomato/tomatillo sauces never seem to get kahm but they always take a lot longer to ferment than my others. Probably the acidity is higher in those.
@@gapey I'm not sure...I found this through trial and error.The juice of one lime in a 2-pint jar of ferment seems to have done the trick.
I liked your video by the way,very clear and informative.
@@nickbarber9502 Sounds like it might be beneficial to check the PH at the beginning and adjust as needed. I typically only test the end PH.
Love the videos, but could you taste the hot sauces at some point to give the viewer what those fruit and vegetable and length of time combinations taste like. Thanks
good tip. I did do that in my other hot sauce video. :)
I already know all of this. But I wanted to say. Great video. Very informative for newbies. Covered everything well. Thanks.
Thanks. I'm glad it is helpful. I'm working on another one. It's been a while since I've posted a sauce.
It’s more of a drink than a sauce;|
haha I suppose you can drink it if you want. :D
How much onion would one put in a quart
you can put as much or as little as you like. It's really up to personal preference.
Paula, your hot sauces look so good, and your labels look very professional. I can't seem to master label making for my hot sauce bottles. How do you make yours, or who do you use to make yours?
The blank labels I got on Amazon and it came with a template I use with Microsoft Word. The design to put on it though I created in photoshop using some photos of my peppers that I took in a light tent to get the white background.
I really like your recipe, I'm not going to do tomatoes or tomatillos, But I am procrastinating the fermentation off to tomorrow :D
Every batch I do is different. It's good to experiment with different ingredients.
Fermentation uses the good bacteria for the fermentation process. Honey is an antibacterial agent. Ancient Egyptian‘s used it to put on wounds to prevent infection. The honey might work against the good bacteria by killing them. Love your video but not sure I would add the honey. Let me know what you think I don’t pretend to know it all. Just wondering.
There is actually good bacteria in honey as well. When honey has too high of water content it will begin to ferment on its own. That is how mead is made actually. honey fermented garlic is also a very popular ferment and one I've done a few times. Just the addition of garlic into the honey will cause it to ferment.
Good things to know. Thank you.
Those bottles only hold a certain volume. You make less mess of you use a second measure cup with said volume to fill them.
Hey that's a really good idea. Not sure why I didn't think of that.
Looks so good! Is there any reason why you don't hot fill and flip? This would surely ensure any fermention ends by killing the lacto bacteria and would solve your worries about the fermentation continuing after bottling. Also, how do you ensure the bottles are sanitary if the sauce is cool? Sorry about all the questions - I'm new to this and have noticed some people hot fill and some do not :)
There are lots of ways to do it. There's no one right way. I've done the hot fill before too. I use Star San to sanitize the bottles and the blender when I don't pasteurize. Pasteurizing does kill the beneficial bacteria in the hot sauce but many say you would have to eat a lot of it to be of any benefit. If I know there is still some fermentation activity when I do the bottling I would definitely pasteurize it before bottling.
14:30 You say that you don't want to boil the fermented chilis because after that you a smaller amount of sauce... ... but it is water which evaporate and you can add some again... you can also boil it inside a glass or bottles or with a pot which has a lid on...
But even if you do nothing about it: your sauce will get thicker, more concentrated with more flavour.
Yes, I suppose that's true. I was thinking of boiling it inside the woozy bottles next time using my sous vide.
I saw it while ago and my fermente in about to be done🎉
Awesome! I hope it's delicious.
Brava, Thank You.
You're welcome!
You got Fermenting because you disnt cook it I think
If you ferment long enough you don’t have to cook. Tomatoes and tomatillos are more acidic so fermentation takes much longer. I’ll probably cook my sauce when using those in the future.
New sub. I love farming🥰🥰🙏🏻🙏🏻🇸🇳
Glad to have you! Hope you find useful information on my channel.
Just found your video as I'm researching how to make my own hot sauce from garden-grown peppers! And, as a homebrewer I really appreciate your attention to sanitation! Starsan is my go-to for sanitizing everything in my brewing hobby. If you don't already know this, using distilled water for your Starsan will make it last nearly forever. I've read that Starsan loses its effectiveness sooner if it is cloudy when you mix it. Distilled water will mix up the Starsan crystal clear.
Thanks for the distilled water tip. I may do that. I have heard that the shelf life of Starsan once mixed is very short. I know it has something to do with ph. Might do a little test using distilled vs my well water that I normally use and see how the ph differs before and after a month or so.
Why are you taking out the tomato seeds? Just asking
Just personal preference. You don't have to. I usually remove the pepper seeds too. They just don't really add anything to the sauce.
Hello! I’m doing my first fermentation for hot sauce! I have a question tho. When I started it only took like 2 days for fermentation to start and it’s only been 6 days and the air lock float isn’t floating anymore? Is that normal?
yeah should be fine. It will slow down after a week or two and may be slow enough that the air lock float doesn't move.
Do you trade sauces?
I think I've only done a sauce trade once. I may be doing a give away soon though, when I reach 10k subs!
Thank you, Madam! Good Job!
Most welcome 😊
Do you ever taste it before your bottle it? Maybe you know how it tastes already?
I only taste it just before bottling, after I've blended it.
Thank you so much for an amazing lesson on successful fermentation! I knew about fermentation but you had so many little insights that I have often wondered about.. You answered so many questions. Thank you for being so detailed and methodical and clear in your communication.. Fantastic. I have some very special peppers I wanted to process.. after that video I feel much more confident. SUPERB VIDEO
Glad you found it helpful. Let me know if you have any questions along the way. It's really not as difficult as people think it is. Getting the salt ratio right and keeping air out of the container are the most important things.
I'd like to know what makes your peppers so special? Serious question
Wow great video! 9.5 months...that's a lot of patience! Do you print your own labels for the bottles?
I think it's more laziness than patience. :D. I have a ton of sauce from previous year so no rush to bottle them. Yep I print my own labels.
Nice video, I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction on how to label my own bottles? I'm new making hot sauces but have been perfecting recipes and jarring them to give to friends.
For a basic label you can get the labels from Amazon which are in my Amazon store linked in the video description. There is a Word template you can use to design and print them out. Adding graphics is a little more complicated. I use Photoshop and take my own photos with a light tent to get the white backgrounds.
@@gapey Thank you :)
To Pasteurize boiling is absolutely not needed! You only need to bring the temperature up to 180F to 185F for 30 minutes!! This is easiest to do if you have a Sous Vide circulator. Heat the water to the correct temperature, place the capped bottles in the water bath so that the tops are submerged by about an inch then keep the water at 180 to 185 for 30 minutes. The PH of your sauce MUST be below 4.6, to be considered for pasteurization in the US. Personally I prefer to make sure that the PH is at or below 3.2, at that PH there is no fermentation taking place. The only way to be sure of your PH is to get an PH meter and check it. PH paper is another option, but it is less than accurate and over time it looses it color accuracy even more than when it is fresh and new! That being said your meter will also need to be calibrated from time to time so be sure to follow the makers instructions to get the best most accurate readings.
Yep definitely going the sous vide route next time I pasteurize something. :) Oh and I do have a ph meter I calibrate often. I use it when I make mead.
@@gapey I originally got my first PH meter for making Mead, but my most recent one to make fermented sausage. It has a pointy tip to insert into the meat, but it works for solutions as well as long as I make sure it is completely submerged.
You didn't do a tasting, I wanted to know how hot it is.
Oops. It wasn't as hot as I thought it would be. unripe peppers probably not as hot as ripe ones.
Thank you so much for this informative video! You made it look so easy! And I know it was a lot of work! I appreciate you!! Thank you again. Love your videos!! 🙃❣️
Thanks Carolyn :)
Wow, very interesting video, beautiful work, I bet the sauce is amazing!
Thanks. It is pretty good!
Please help I have a couple of issues with my hot sauce.
1 It separates
2 I don’t know what I’m doing wrong the bottles just pop up when you open them and it’s embarrassing when my customers bring the sauce back because of the pop and I don’t know how to explain it.
separation is normal. The only way to really resolve that is by adding a small amount of xanthan gum when you blend it up. You only need about 1/4 tsp per quart of sauce. If you use too much it will become gummy. As for popping up, the only way to guarantee that not happening is to pasteurize the sauce to kill the ferment. The popping is the result of the fermentation. If you don't want to pasteurize then you can keep it in the fridge and that will slow down the fermentation so you shouldn't have much popping.
after first mix, measure the ph with an electronic device, add brine and mix again, until ph goes down under 3.4... if brine is not enough start with vinegar, little by little. with an acidity under 3.4 ph the lactobacillus is disactivated, fermentation ends c02 emission ceases... and no pop up
Thanks so much for this 👌🙏
You're very welcome!
I made Carolina Reaper and scraped the insides off. Not as hot when you use worlds hottest pepper.
Fermented for 7 months with a turmeric. Growing more for a new batch.
Hot but not loose you mind hot and so much flavor
ph it with vinegar.
Nice sounds like a good combo. I need to try turmeric in a sauce.
9.5 months, wow that is some patience.
It's not too hard when you still have a bunch of hot sauce from the previous year to eat. :D
It is not uncommon for some manufacturers like say Tabasco, to keep them for 3 to 5 years before processing them into sauce. So 9.5 months is good, the general fermentation will be complete in 2 to 3 weeks, but the peppers will continue to age and improve in flavor the longer you can let them sit.
Though not my favorite beer I buy Grolsch for the ready stopper!
With a 5 gallon bucket-full of hot peppers, I'm here for ideas. I like the apple and splash of honey as food for a long fermentation. Gloves are de rigueur ! - he says with burning hands.
Thank you for your time and the piecing together of snippets taken over time.
Glad you got some ideas from it. Grolsch do have some nice bottles! I've never had it.
9.5 months, wow! Maximum dedication, maximum benefits 💕
Or just lazyness. lol
Waiting is the hard part.
"Pasteurizing kills the beneficial bacteria." True, but if you wait 9 months, the beneficial bacteria are pretty well inactive anyway. If you want the benefits of live bacterial cultures, ferment until it's to your taste, and refrigerate. This will slow down the fermentation a great deal, and should keep for long enough to use up the sauce, depending on how quickly you go through it. If you're worried about exploding bottles in the fridge, leave the screw lid of your bottle slightly loose or unscrew it and relieve pressure every few days. :)
Good point and I agree with you. :)
No tasting 😮😢 afterwards!
Oops I will have to do that next time. It did turn out good though!
Thanks for a well-made video. The only thing I may suggest is to actually taste the sauce at the end and give us your thoughts. Personally, I wanted to know how much less spicy the sauce was made with the under-matured peppers.
Yeah I got a lot of comments about that. I will be sure to do that next time. I think it definitely wasn't quite as hot using the green peppers but it still had decent heat.
9 months ... I am a week and a half in to my first quart! lots of good info! as always!
I now have some over 2 years old sitting on my counter that I haven't bottled yet. :D
λαικ !!
9 1/2 months?? jeez
That's nothing. I got 4 1/2 gallon jars I started in 2020 that are over a year old now that I haven't bottled yet. :D
Thats a huge tomatillo
Indeed!
Hi :-) Great video but I'm brand new to this so forgive me ignorance :-) When you let the jar ferment, where do you do it? In a dark cabinet? Right on a counter? Does it matter? Is temperature an issue? Thanks in advance and I can't wait to try it!! :-)
I would keep it out of direct sunlight but I do mine right on the counter in a somewhat dark corner. A cupboard would be good too. The temperature doesn't matter too much but it will ferment faster the warmer it is. Room temp should be just fine.
Does the star san affect the taste of the final product at all? I'm bottling for christmas presents and I usually use dawn ultra dish detergent and water to sanitize my jars and equipment.
I don't think it has much of a taste but I've never tasted it on its own. From what I've read it has a slightly tart taste but don't think it would affect the flavor of the product.
I wonder if perhaps after blending. More sugars were released from the apples. Therefore invigorating the yeast and continuing the ferment.
Yeah that's possible. though it always seems to happen with my green sauces. I always thought it was the green tomatoes and/or tomatillos that do that because they add some acidity which probably slows down the fermentation.
Do you check the pH?
Yeah I usually do. I have a digital ph meter. I don't remember if I had one back when I did this video or not.
just recommend this to a friend, gonna use your technique for some scotch bonnet hot sauce thank you!🔶
That's great. Hope it turns out well. Scotch bonnets make great sauces.
Excellent video Paula. I'm sure your sauces taste amazing considering how much time and attention you put into them.
Thanks Eric. I think they get better every year. :D
@@gapey Would love to try some of your sauces if possible. And I hope you make another pepper calendar.
Hey Paula
Great video very informative. Thank you!
You're welcome.
you didnt taste it
Oops. :) It was good!
did you use tap water? should you let the tap water sit out or boil the tap water before using it?
I use well water from the tap but if you have chlorinated water it's recommended to let it sit or boil.
It is best to use distilled or at least unchlorinated water. Water such as well water or spring water may have minerals in it that will effect the fermentation adversely. You will not know however until you try it and see if it gives you ferment an off flavor.
No ph testing?
Usually I do. Don't remember if I did on this one or not.
How did they turn out??
They're awesome! :)
Do you find that the Kahm yeast shows up again on top of your sauce once it’s there? I have a heck of a time getting rid of it once it starts.
yeah usually once you get it, it will just keep coming back.
Awesome video but man I was hoping for a taste test! Thanks for the in depth overview : )
Oops. I've heard a few say that and will try to do that next time!
You didn’t even taste it... this could be gross..... always taste .... always
hah I've never made a gross sauce but thanks for the tip. I did take a taste of some of the leftovers in the blender and it was good! :D
Another step you didn't do was check the ph level that would be a no no.
I do sometimes but not always. With the length of time I ferment my sauces I just figure the PH is going to be low enough but when fermenting for shorter periods of time it is a good idea to check it.
Your add blocked half the screen while I was exercising. Won't watch this channel anymore.
Sorry to hear that. I've never seen an ad block half the screen. Normally they cover the whole screen which pauses my video. The popups normally just cover a small section of the bottom. I don't have control over what ads get played.
Great video as always! Did you make the white fermentation lids?
nah I got the white ones on Amazon too. I have like 3 different brands. lol
The sauce looks amazing
Thank you!
What's the issue with pasteurising if you're bottling for that long? Genuinely interested?
Not really an issue just usually not necessary so it just creates more work than necessary and my time is limited. Many will claim it kills all the beneficial bacteria if you pasteurize it which is true but you would have to eat a lot of sauce to get much benefit from it.
lots of great advice for a rookie thx for tutorial
Thanks Rob. Glad you found it helpful.
why would you use them green instead of fully ripe?
A few reasons. Cuz I wanted a green hot sauce and because it was probably the end of the season and there wasn't enough time left for them to ripen so it's one way to use up green peppers that don't have time to mature.
@@gapey oh ok, cool! I was thinking I might have some green habaneros at the end of this season, they’re still alot of smaller unripe pods and some are even still putting on flowers in the middle of July.
Must use tomatillos for the green tomatoes
yeah I use tomatillos sometimes or sometimes use tomatillos and green tomatoes. I made some more recently that has both in it.
safe rge seeds do not get rid of them!
Just curious, will adding vinegar accomplish the same effect as pasteurizing? Like, ceasing the fermenting?
It will lower the ph but that doesn't guarantee it will stop the fermentation.
@@gapey , Thank you! Great video!
Generally below a PH of 3.2 will stop fermentation of all Lactobacillus as well as harmful pathogens. The PH is the key no matter what you add you need to check the PH of the end product!!!!!!!
@@mikesmicroshop4385Not everyone has a reliable (hence expensive) pH meter when first trying out fermentation!!!!!!
save the seeds do not discard them
Very cool, appreciate the sped-up frames!
np, don't want to bore people by not speeding it up. :D
Best regards from Russia
I’m thinking that your veggies have some complex sugars that prolong the fermentation process. I have two 2 qt jars of kimchi that ar actively fermenting on the sixth day. I know it’s early but I’m eager to try it, the last batch is nearly eaten and was delicious.
What variety of Tomatillo was that!? Holy smokes that thing was enormous!
Not sure. I got them from a seed swap and they didn't specify the variety. I do have some called rio grande that are supposed to be large. Going to try them next year.
This is the first year I’ve ever grown tomatillos. I bought the smallest size packet of seeds from Morgan County Seeds, a Missouri company that specializes in larger bulk seed orders, but usually have some small packets for home gardeners. I had 100% germination rate and each plant has given me probably over 100 tomatillos. The fruits weren’t huge, ranging in size from about an inch to 2 inches in diameter, but they were hugely prolific and very hearty and resistant to inconsistent watering as well as any sort of bugs or disease.
Has the process of doing this changed since you last fermented this batch?
No not really. Other than fermenting for longer. I have one batch that is about 2 years old now that I haven't bottled. I just have so much sauce that I'm in no rush to bottle more. :D I only made one batch this season that will probably end up fermenting for a year or two.
@@gapeySuch detailed video! So how long could one ferment peppers for?
I've never seen someone add honey before fermenting, is it added as a sort of "fuel" for the lactobacillus or does the flavor of the honey carry over to the finished sauce? It's really interesting!
Yeah I think it does help fuel it. I'm sure it adds some sweetness to the sauce as well but it's not very prominent especially since most of the sugars end up getting fermented out.
Gapeys Grub super cool! Last question, were you happy with the flavor from the green tomatoes? I have a bunch right now and I’m getting ready to do some ferments this week, I’m thinking about them 😀
You can ferment some things entirely in honey. Garlic is a good example.
Your salt is laced with chalk. The cheaper sea salt brands often are.
is chalk bad for you?
That was a awesome 👌 video
Trying my first time to make a fermentation....fingers crossed
Thank you for all that information .
Glad you found it helpful. I'm planning on posting a fermented hot sauce FAQ here maybe this month. Let me know if you have any questions!
@@gapey thank you
Wow my hot sauce came out really good....thank you again.
@@jamescosta8270 glad to hear it turned out well!
Paulas Pain, hahaha
Definitely knows her stuff 👌🏼
Thanks! :)
Question on star San. How can it be no rinse and there are such crazy warnings on the label? Also, it won't effect taste at all?
Thank you for the information. I’m a hobbyist and I’m in my second year of making sauce. I came across the problem of the sauce still fermenting after bottling this year. I don’t ferment for months, more like weeks and normally store everything in the fridge. This year I ran out of room and left them on the counter. That’s how I learned I needed to pasteurize (cook) longer. Hard lesson to learn lol
yeah even if you ferment for months there's a chance it isn't "done". My green sauces for some reason always take much longer than my others.
You should get a PH meter and check that your PH is low enough! At 3.2 or below the fermentation will stop and the product will be shelf stable as well. Actually it is stable below 4.2 as far as harmful pathogens go, but fermentation will still be going on until it falls below 3.2. The books say 3.4, but I go to at least 3.2 to be sure I don't have problems with the bottles. If that is to acidic for you then you will have to pasteurize or keep the lids on loose.
@@mikesmicroshop4385 how do you adjust the PH so pasteurization isn't needed? do you recommend a particular ph meter?
A year to make a sauce. NO. Im out....
hah you definitely don't need to wait that long. I would go at least 2-3 months though. I've got several on my counter though that are over a year old now. Just because I can't eat it fast enough so I'm in no hurry to bottle up more until I get close to finishing what I already have bottled. Doesn't hurt to leave them sit for as long as you want. I haven't had one go bad yet.
Great info! Thanks!!
Glad it was helpful!
Hi! Are those tomatoes, or tomatillos?
It was mostly green tomatoes but I did add one big tomatillo at 4:08.
This video only lacked the taste test!
hahah I know. I figured it was already long enough. ;)
Very nice thank you!
You're welcome!
But how did it taste? Great video thank you.
I thought it turned out really well. It was a little spicier than I thought it would be.
Thanks so much for responding to an older video! I was so curious since they were green ghosts for the most part and then with the apples I thought it might cool things off a little as well as the dilution. I was also wondering if the flavor was complex because of the long fermentation. And how did it smell? You know how good fermented foods smell that it is no wonder people ate them when first discovered. I fermented some peppers form the first time recently but only for a week! I didn’t realize that longer was possible and likely better. The flavor was ho hum. Anyway thanks for your video. Got a lot to learn. Will watch more.
Are you not going overboard on the sanitizing?
better over than under :)
Gapey? Please elaborate. I Googled it but only porn came up...
oh geez that's not good! Just a nickname I got a long time ago and it stuck. It was a nickname for agape which is what I used to use as a handle for all my online games I used to play.
@@gapey lol! Much better answer than my search results 😂
I enjoyed this video, I am currently lacto fermenting some habanero and peach to make a hot sauce. I see so many videos where people cook it after fermenting and blending but I don't want to kill off the live bacteria. I also don't want bottles to explode though, so I'm torn. How long do you normally let a ferment go before bottling? I'm in Florida so it stays 76-80 in my house so ferments progress pretty quickly and aggressively. I've let sauerkraut go for 2-3 months before and it seems to be completely finished, took the air lock off and put the lid on for a few weeks before putting in fridge and there was no pressure buildup. Was hoping to do the same with the hot sauce and ferment to completion
Can you use lemon or lime instead of the water thanks
completely swapping out water for lemon/lime juice might make it too acidic so not sure that would work. You could definitely add some but don't think I'd add that much or it will affect the fermentation.
@@gapey thank you for the quick responsed
If you want a lemon or lime flavor with out making it to acidic, as the sugar in the juice will add to the fermentables in you jar, try adding zest to get the flavor and not the added acid from either the juice or from the more aggressive and longer fermentation from the added sugars.
Serious great video!
Thanks Diane. Glad I finally got to post it. :)