How do you sanitize the cheese cloth, if you bother to at all?
No bother. It's open air fermentation anyway. The cheese cloth is to keep the flies and dust out.
How do you sanitize the cheese cloth, if you bother to at all?
That's a bit different than the method I use, but I'm sure it works out fine. I start out similarly by putting all my ingredients in the food processor, but I add salt brine to the paste when I put it in the jars to ferment. You want to keep the peppers covered in salt water to prevent mold. Alternatively, you could stir the paste (very) frequently to avoid mold, but that's kind of a pain.
C'mon buddyI won't be cooking anything...unless that's what your calling the fermentation.
You're probably right. K.I.S.S.I'll add my $0.02 as well: I simmer all my hot sauces, and they all contain garlic and onion, although (usually) in less proportions than a salsa. I have to say my sauces turn out quite tasty (in fact, there are a few members of this forum who have tasted some of my sauces). I'm not saying that the flavor of garlic or onion doesn't change when cooked, but that as part of a necessary part of my process, it doesn't negatively affect the flavor either. My advice would be to keep it as simple as possible at first, then experiment when you're comfortable with the process.
I think he's referring to your mention of "pressure canning," which implies high heat in a pressure cooker.
I just dump the dry salt right on top, so no extra moisture is added to the paste until you stop the fermentation with vinegar. I use a coarse grind like a kosher salt and it forms a protective crust right on top of the fermenting paste. Keeps air and mold out, then just mix it right into the paste when its done fermenting then add your garlic and vinegar and you're done.
C'mon buddy
This is going to be a trial and error thing for me I can see. What salt to water ratio do you use Tiber?
This is great. We're seeing as many ways to make hot sauce as there are ways to make beer!
Interesting. I've never heard of doing it that way. I use pickling (or canning) salt, which is a coarse salt with no additives - just sodium chloride. I make a salt brine, then add the brine to the paste until all solids are covered.
Well, I did this. 65% Bhut Jolokia (ghost), 15% Fatalii, 15% Habanero and 5% Carolina Reaper. Processed into preferred texture and soaked in 3TBS sea salt/QT solution as recommended by TiberBrew. I'm thinking of switching jars; not sure if I left enough head space?
View attachment 224597
Head space not that important unless you plan on doing a lot of swirling/ mixing.
I haven't seen mention of what everyone is using for starters - peppers generally won't ferment well unless you add a source of lacto. I have used whey in the past but since I read the strains of lacto that ferments veggies is different from that which ferments milk I try to use sauerkraut / kimchi starters
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I got the salt barrier method from seeing how Tabasco was made. They do the same thing with their Avery Island peppers. Its made into a paste and aged in oak barrels with a protective barrier of salt crust on the top. I do the same thing except in a glass jar. Wish I had enough peppers to make a barrels worth.
Just juice from a sauerkraut jar? I'm sure whatever I have in my fridge has been pasteurized
Well, I did this. 65% Bhut Jolokia (ghost), 15% Fatalii, 15% Habanero and 5% Carolina Reaper. Processed into preferred texture and soaked in 3TBS sea salt/QT solution as recommended by TiberBrew. I'm thinking of switching jars; not sure if I left enough head space?
View attachment 224597
IMO you may want to keep and eye on it. I get a lot of CO2 production with mine and while it doesn't form a krausen layer like beer or anything like that it does increase the volume and I have had it overflow. It will stain your grout I just use a wooden spoon to degas it a few times a day if need be.
hopefully it explodes in my wife's eyes when she opens the pantry
That's why I split mine into two jars. You never know. Sometimes the gas pushes up a thick cap, sometimes it doesn't give me any problems.
What about putting an airlock in a sealed cap once the party starts?
All these problems are solved with the salt crust method I described. It doesn't have to be a thick salt crust either, a 1/4 inch of coarse ground or kosher salt will allow the CO2 to escape and still keep the air and other nasties out. Just sprinkle the correct amount of salt for the amount of pepper pulp you are fermenting evenly over the top being sure to cover the entire surface. You can then mix it right into the pulp when its done fermenting, or scrape it off if its dirty and use new salt for flavoring. Its how Avery Island peppers are fermented by Tabasco. Try it.
Got any pics of that setup at home? I saw the Tabasco setup on TV and they actually put the salt on top of the barrel, not in the barrel. It would then absorb liquids that seeped out of a hole in the lid and they'd scrape off the salt after fermentation. What you're describing sounds more like you're putting a layer of salt right on to the pepper pulp in a jar. Correct?
Yep right on top of the pulp. The salt will absorb some moisture, but the pulp is a thick paste when I start, so not much. Just enough to make the salt layer into a crust. Some liquid will separate out, but it always forms at the bottom in a layer, nothing much on top. I don't have any pictures of it, but maybe next time I'm making a batch, I'll take some photos.
I made some this morning. I hope turns out ok.View attachment 225222
What is it? Habaneros? Looks delicious and deadly.
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