Re: [CH] Best Vinegar for Hot Sauces...

Love2Troll (Love2Troll@kc.rr.com)
Wed, 23 Jun 2004 13:21:06 -0500 

> I think that the pressure canning only applies for chile solutions of pH above 4.6, right?

Matt,

Not according to the USDA guides or my Ball Blue Book.  And I have queried forums such as the Harvest Forum on GardenWeb & all say that peppers must be pressure canned. 

I've often wondered if it is because ripe peppers can appear perfect on the outside, but when cutting them open it is not all that unusuall to find them somewhat rotten on the inside due to insect damage.  Sometimes I can detect a tiny hole on the stem end and more often not.

And it's so irritating because I swear that something flavor-wise is lost during the 35 min at 15 lbs pressure that I do my sauces that I share.  I entered a few sauces in the Kato amateur contest and although I did get a 2nd place in one category feel I could have done better if had not canned them.  Maybe not.  One entry was simply mixed C. pubescens with a little sea salt and fresh garlic added.  Pressure canning seemed to change it a lot in my opinion.   

John  


----- Original Message ----- 
From: T. Matthew Evans 
To: Love2Troll ; chile-heads 
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 12:50 PM
Subject: Re: [CH] Best Vinegar for Hot Sauces...


John --

I think that the pressure canning only applies for chile solutions of pH above
4.6, right?  I water-bath can chiles every year -- it's my primary method of
preservation.  Granted, my typical batch is nothing more than minced chiles,
white vinegar, and kosher salt, so the jars would probably be fine without any
processing whatsoever -- but, I like the flavor better after they are
processed.

In general, I process this chile-vinegar mix for 10 minutes for pints and 20
minutes for quarts.  With tomatoes in a water bath, I use 35 minutes for pints
and 45 minutes for quarts.

I'm not an actual Agricultural Extension Service Food Safety Outreach Program
Head Scientist, I just play one on the Internet.

Matt


--- Love2Troll <Love2Troll@kc.rr.com> wrote:
> I agree about the pH level being what is most important if you don't intend
> to refrigerate your sauce.  A pH of 4.6 and below is what is necessary & I
> never let mine get above 4.2 so as to have a margin of safety.
> 
> For some reason the standards for home preserving of peppers seem to be much
> higher than say for tomatoes.  Tomatoes can be boiling-water processed and
> peppers require pressure canning.
> 
> My refrigerator is so full of home-made hot sauces sent to me by my many
> pod-head friends that there is barely room for beer.  And you should see the
> labels!!  Outrageous & outstanding.  Chile-Heads rule!
> 
> JohnT         (who is still having problems with his posts being lost in
> cyberspace)
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Tom Bryant 
> To: enkantare@mindspring.com ; chile-heads@globalgarden.com 
> Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 5:09 PM
> Subject: Re: [CH] Best Vinegar for Hot Sauces...
> 
> 
> 
> Re:
> I was using just
> > regular
> > White distilled vinegar.  So my question:
> >
> > Is there a big difference in taste between the two vinegars in hot sauces?
> 
> Hi Woody,
> I doubt you'd find much taste difference using either vinegar. The Apple
> Cider Vinegar (if genuine) will have much more trace minerals than the
> other. Seems to me, the importance of all this is to end up with a product
> with low enough pH to inhibit bad critters, (like botulinum).
> 
>   I think it could be too the fluid to solid ratio too..  so maybe I
> > need to work on that..
> 
> I'd pursue that.
> 
> > Also.. what about the addition of other spices.. or herbs..  Like garlic..
> > or
> > cilantro...  bad idea?
> 
> Not a bad idea. It gets back to pH.
> Keep on keepin on!
> Tom
> 
> 


=====





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