Re: [CH] exploding hot sauce
Robert Farr (rbfarr@erols.com)
Fri, 08 Dec 2000 07:56:30 -0500
Kenny:
Wild yeast in the bottles caused fermentation, which built up enough gas
to make the bottles explode.
You need to sterilize your bottles first, in either sodium hypochlorite
(bleach - 1 Tablespoon per gallon of water; leave one minute) or by
boiling for 20 min. Sterlize the caps, too.
As you didn't state the amt. of vinegar or lime, I can't tell you if
this is an acidified food, or not. So, you should consider pH testing -
below 4.3 is okay for shelf stability, tho' I aim for below 4.0 in my
products. If you don't want to refrigerate, you'll also need to hot
pack - cook to boiling; test temp.; bottle when the temp is consistently
over 180. You can pack as long as it's 165, but as the sauce cools
during filling, 180+ is safer.
Good luck!
--
Robert Farr
(540) 668-7160
Check out http://www.chileman.com
for ALL Natural Cooking & Grilling Sauces!