hot sauce. making it.

[vash]

Originally Posted by masraum

What are you going to do to decide when it's ready, watch the bubbles, periodically taste, count to 1000?

We make a lot of sauerkraut. I've even used some of the kraut bugs to ferment some beans (they were good) and make some pickles.

We also make kombucha (bottled, flavored, naturally carbonated) and kefir (flavored, but no sugar added). My wife has also made a few other dairy items, creme fraiche, some sort of yogurt and another thing or two. I'd like to do a sourdough but haven't.

i think i am going to watch the bubbles. i made a tiny sharpie mark and will also monitor "expansion". i figured 3 days and i am pouring it all in a blender with some vinegar and taking it for a spin.

truth be told, in 3 days,. i will probably forget about it, and realize it months down the road. i'll need to wear plastic glove to dispose of the stuff in a public trash can. dunno.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by vash

i think i am going to watch the bubbles. i made a tiny sharpie mark and will also monitor "expansion". i figured 3 days and i am pouring it all in a blender with some vinegar and taking it for a spin.

truth be told, in 3 days,. i will probably forget about it, and realize it months down the road. i'll need to wear plastic glove to dispose of the stuff in a public trash can. dunno.

We'll remind you. While we'd probably enjoy a science experiment, I think we'll enjoy the report of a good finished result more.

[TimT]

i think i am going to watch the bubbles. i made a tiny sharpie mark and will also monitor "expansion". i figured 3 days and i am pouring it all in a blender with some vinegar and taking it for a spin.

3 days isn't enough time, it take 3-5 days just to get the fermentation started...

You're done when it stops off gassing... tap or knock the jar and observe if bubbles are still released..

How to make fermented hot sauce

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by vash

i think i am going to watch the bubbles. i made a tiny sharpie mark and will also monitor "expansion". i figured 3 days and i am pouring it all in a blender with some vinegar and taking it for a spin.

truth be told, in 3 days,. i will probably forget about it, and realize it months down the road. i'll need to wear plastic glove to dispose of the stuff in a public trash can. dunno.

Vinegar only if you want its taste. The lactic acid is enough to keep it fresh, and it's nice to have a hot sauce that's not "hurty vinegar" as I might have called Tobasco when I was 7yo.

And go forget about it. Time will not hurt it though it might dull the spice a bit. Wait long enough and you'll be selling that, on the aftermarket, $150/bottle diamond-aged Tobasco/hurty-vinegar.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

Vinegar only if you want its taste. The lactic acid is enough to keep it fresh, and it's nice to have a hot sauce that's not "hurty vinegar" as I might have called Tobasco when I was 7yo.

And go forget about it. Time will not hurt it though it might dull the spice a bit. Wait long enough and you'll be selling that, on the aftermarket, $150/bottle diamond-aged Tobasco/hurty-vinegar.

hahah, thanks for the chuckle. Good post.

I've found that with our sauerkraut, you're unlikely to over-ferment it. I haven't tried hot sauce.

We ferment our kraut for 4 weeks. We usually stop there because we don't want to wait longer. You can stop after 3-4 days or a week, but it just keeps getting better. I'm not sure if 6 or 8 weeks would be better than 4 because we've never made it past 4.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

... Wait long enough and you'll be selling that, on the aftermarket, $150/bottle diamond-aged Tobasco/hurty-vinegar.

Vash's famous: "Smack My Ass & Call Me Cliffy" hot sauce ?

(see the other thread if this doesn't make sense)

[TimT]

Some reading in laymen's terms bout the whys and how's of lacto fermentation...

The Science of Lactic Acid Fermentation: Pickles, Kraut, Kimchi, and More


BTW, the bubbles produced are no where near as plentiful as when homebrewed beers is fermenting..

[masraum]

Originally Posted by TimT

Some reading in laymen's terms bout the whys and how's of lacto fermentation...

The Science of Lactic Acid Fermentation: Pickles, Kraut, Kimchi, and More


BTW, the bubbles produced are no where near as plentiful as when homebrewed beers is fermenting..

I have to be careful when making kraut. If the jar is too full, the bubbles will cause the contents to expand until I get fluid coming out of the airlock, so I put our jars in a shallow pan. I also watch the kraut the first 3-4 days and will often take it out and rap on the sides of the jar to try to shake a bunch of the bubbles out.

Before the next time, we're going to go get a traditional kraut making crock to use instead of the gallon jars that we've been using. Then we'll use the jars just for kombucha. We've got 10 bottles (3 different flavors) of kombucha on their second ferment (adding bubbles and fruit flavor) after this weekend. Put a little fruit and sugar in the bottom of a Grolsch-style bottle and then mostly fill with kombucha and seal for a week or so. Then refrigerate.

[stevej37]

^^^ kinda the same pic you would get of your intestines.
Fermentation...love it.

[TimT]

This one will be interesting...

Blood orange, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, habanero

The habaneros were given to me by an evil friend.. painfully hot... so I used less than usual in a typical batch of sauce..

[gtc]

The kraut starts to lose it's crispness if you go too long.
I find 3-4 weeks usually works pretty well for me for standard green cabbage, depending on the temp in my basement. I'll start tasting at 2.5-3 weeks and transfer to smaller jars in the fridge when the taste is right.
Salt content also plays a role.

Originally Posted by masraum

hahah, thanks for the chuckle. Good post.

I've found that with our sauerkraut, you're unlikely to over-ferment it. I haven't tried hot sauce.

We ferment our kraut for 4 weeks. We usually stop there because we don't want to wait longer. You can stop after 3-4 days or a week, but it just keeps getting better. I'm not sure if 6 or 8 weeks would be better than 4 because we've never made it past 4.

[Tobra]

I used to make hot oil. Serrano peppers in oil on edge of the grill at the restaurant. At the end of the day, oil would be reddish and screaming hot. Toothpick dipped in it then stir your soup was enough.