On 9/7/2011 12:00 PM, Nicholas Fryer wrote:
> On Sep 7, 11:54 am, George > wrote:
>> On 9/7/2011 10:34 AM, Nicholas Fryer wrote:> Greetings one and all!
>>
>>> I am new to canning and preserving, so please bear with me
>>
>>> I grew a bumper crop of cayenne peppers this year, and I want to make
>>> a thin, "Tabasco"-style hot sauce. I want to bottle this sauce and
>>> process it so that it is shelf-stable. If I make enough, I would like
>>> to give it as gifts to friends and family. The only problem is that I
>>> cannot seem to find good instructions on how to accomplish this! Any
>>> suggestions y'all may have will be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in
>>> advance!
>>
>> Hot sauce is normally made with fermented chiles. I used to make quite a
>> lot until they ate out the lining of my stomach.
>>
>> Basically you need to wash, cap (take off stem), dry, and then fine chop
>> the chiles. Put them in a large jar or crock, cover top of chiles with
>> about a half-inch layer of pickling or kosher salt. Leave in a dry, cool
>> place, like a cellar and keep an eye on the stuff. If it grows mold you
>> need to scrap it off. It will mellow out and get good over time.
>>
>> Alternatively you can just make the stuff the way you want, run it
>> through a blender or a food processor until slurried, add about 30% by
>> volume of 5% USP white vinegar, mix well and blend.
>>
>> Tabasco is fermented in a played out salt mine on Avery Island in
>> Louisiana. It is in used wooden barrels, salted down and the lids
>> replaced and held for a year before processing. The salt mine provides a
>> constant humidity and temperature which is used for making fermented
>> sauces. YMMV.
>>
>> Do a Google on this newsgroup and you should find several references to
>> "Hot Sauce" from the last nineteen years.
>>
>> George
>
> George, thank you for the reply! I searched and did indeed find many
> informative posts you have written over the years! One final question:
> if I do not ferment the chilies, and I want to bottle the sauce in the
> small "woozy" style bottles, is it necessary to process the bottled
> sauced in a water bath? If so, how long would you recommend? Thanks
> again for sharing your knowledge!
I never did, with 30% vinegar in the solution I never had a problem with
bottled hot sauce going bad. Not sure how the professionals do it,
didn't ask last time I visited the Tabasco place. You probably will have
to shake the bottle a bit each time you pour some sauce, it tends to
separate a bit whilst sitting on the shelf.