Fermented Hot Sauces

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
The problem in the USA is that the recipes for what should be traditional foreign condiments and hot sauces do not use the correct peppers.
For instance ...I checked about a dozen recipes for middle eastern "Shattah" and most used jalapeño !
Middle Eastern "Shattah" uses the "Shattah" Peppers from the middle east (mostly Syria) I grow them this year and there is a big taste difference!

Pico de Gallo is traditionally made from the Mexican pepper by that name "Pico de Gallo" very different in heat and flavor from jalapeño
I'm growing these also this year and believe me that have a totally flavor & heat in that condiment
I could go on: Sambal Oleck uses a specific Thai Chills! None of the prepared versions use that chili / nor do the recipes
African Harrasa needs to be made with the African Peppers ( mostly the Beriberi )

 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I've been reading up on fermenting peppers since this thread started. There are many ways to do so, and everyone on Youtube claim that their method is the only one that works.
Since we're talking peppers here, I must have gotten a mismarked flat of peppers and ended up with four bushes full of defanged jalapenos. They're annoyingly mild, any suggestions on what to do with them? A friend suggested I just use them like bell peppers, and that's the only thing I can think of besides chopping them up and mixing equally with my hot jalapenos from the other side of the flat. Trouble is, I have far more of the mild version than the hotter ones. I could also do a medley and combine chopped jalapenos of both kind, Anaheims, and Poblanos. That could be a really good combo for my winter chili. I wish winter would hurry up and get here, I'm tired of heat and humidity, plus I could use a good bowl of chili.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Defanged jalapeños are totally useless unless you like the "whang" of the bell pepper or have someone who always bitches about how hot the grilled embrochets are.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I'd still burn the skins off and freeze them.
taco's, stir fry, chili, red beans and rice, fried taters, omelets, all that kind of stuff can stand a decent mild pepper filler.
and if you get a nice hot red onion they are a perfect compliment to each other without fighting or over powering one with the other, especially if your using other spices with some tongue bite [you know like black pepper]
 

Rick H

Well-Known Member
I'm no pepper expert by any means but my son grows them. He claims that peppers from the same plant vary in heat....some mild and some will scorch your taste buds. I don't know how anyone can choose to grow the proper pepper plant when they vary in heat on the same plant. He grows at least two different hot peppers and both types show the same tendency.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I'll be picking the defanged ones at the dark green stage but I'll let the hot ones go to black or red to keep them straight. I freeze dry my stuff for storage. Peppers seem to do okay freeze dried, but long soaks to rehydrate don't seem to be their forte.
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
In Mexico my folks were told that the early season young plant jalapenos were snack/flavor peppers and the older plants were the hot peppers . So at about the same latitude in Baja in as Austin Texas in May/June they eat them like we eat cinnamon candy . By October they're the typical hot that we usually associate with Jalapenos to the hotter side . About Nov they go dormant via low light when they survive the winter they start out too hot to snack on but suitable for nacho like plates with some fire damped by cheese and sour cream by mid July they're 1 in a quart of salsa where you'd use 4-6 usually . By the end of the season they're almost too hot to handle without gloves .

They had a retirement home for about 8 yr .
 
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358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
One interesting side note to the defanged jalapenos. I discovered their condition when I sliced up a handful to drop into some leftover brine from other sliced peppers. I added some red pepper flakes to the brine to try and salvage the situation and it worked. One week later, the mild jalapenos have some pretty decent heat to them.
 
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Farmerjim

Active Member
I love peppers. I have pickled, dried, and frozen them. I have never fermented them. I will have to try to do some. Thanks for the ideas.
And yes we need a food / cooking / growing section.
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
The problem in the USA is that the recipes for what should be traditional foreign condiments and hot sauces do not use the correct peppers.
For instance ...I checked about a dozen recipes for middle eastern "Shattah" and most used jalapeño !
Middle Eastern "Shattah" uses the "Shattah" Peppers from the middle east (mostly Syria) I grow them this year and there is a big taste difference!

Pico de Gallo is traditionally made from the Mexican pepper by that name "Pico de Gallo" very different in heat and flavor from jalapeño
I'm growing these also this year and believe me that have a totally flavor & heat in that condiment
I could go on: Sambal Oleck uses a specific Thai Chills! None of the prepared versions use that chili / nor do the recipes
African Harrasa needs to be made with the African Peppers ( mostly the Beriberi )

I'm guessing there aren't a lot of "traditional" USA peppers are there? I'm sure there are peppers from the south and south west that were indigenous or were imported with other cultures. I remembering reading something about a "bird" pepper down in Texas that was supposed to hotter'nell.
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Rockydoc,

I followed your lead tonight. I processed all the peppers I had in the fridge, and while I was chopping and stemming them, my wife went out and picked all the ripe peppers in the garden. We ended up with 550 grams of pureed peppers. So I added 55 grams of salt, stirred it up and put it in a canning jar with a one way valve top.

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I am excited to see how this will all turn out in a few months.

I understand the folks who don't like peppers that are too hot. My wife for the past 20 years has made me plant sweet pepper varieties along with my hot peppers. But in the last year, she has grown to appreciate the wonderful flavor of habanero's. She puts them in her homemade bone broth that she makes every week, and in her veggies that she cooks for her dinners.

She is fully converted to the "hot" side now. But like everything in life, in moderation.

Thanks for starting this thread. It gave me a good use for all the peppers we have accumulated from the garden this week!
Well what has happened? Did this experiment work? Have you gotten any mold or white Kalm yeast forming on top?

My experiment with Lacto fermented green beans was mostly a failure. The ones I used plastic on top with glass weights fermented without Kalm yeast forming, but I cannot say I really like the flavor. They stayed crispy though. I tried a batch sealed with grape leaves held under the brine with both beans and cucumbers and got yeast on top of both. People say the yeast does not hurt anything but I find it unpleasant and disconcerting. Skim it off but you never get it all and two days later it is back. Then it makes the brine cloudy.

I just picked up a mixed quart of what the seller calls hot peppers and I need to do something with them and am debating on just what. I think fiver's idea of charring and slipping the skins and freezing makes pretty good sense. By the way, the road side produce stand seller is Amish, so his idea of "hot peppers" might be anything beyond bell peppers.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I ended up halving my mild peppers and they're on the smoker right now. My smokers a cheapie, so they'll only be smoked for an hour or so, then go into the dehydrator, a sort of mild chipotle should result. I wanted to freeze-dry them originally, but the freeze dryer is occupied, with two followup projects already in queue. The smoker will be getting a batch of anaheims and poblanos next. Busy, busy, busy.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Yes....Busy Time of Year! Many of my Chilles are ripe but the ones I need to get to the folks I promised them to are not!
I started pickling some ! I have so many smoked and dried Chilles in my pantry I have to go a different way so I don't waste them!
At least I can give the pickled ones as Gifts to folks for the holidays
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
the only way your gonna keep yeast out of the mix is to pack the container air tight.
you can make a dough starter just by mixing water and flour and leaving it sit out for 3-4 days, the natural yeasts in the air will find it's way.

you could also try covering the liquid with a little cinnamon it's a natural mold/yeast killer.
you take the chance of it getting in with the mix though.
 

Ian

Notorious member
140⁰ for 20 minutes kills any yeast that I know of. Also sodium metabisulphite at 1/4 tsp/5 gallon ratio will kill all yeast and mold in 18 hours. It gasses off in that time and the remainder bonds with oxygen atoms in the solution. After 24 hours you can start a controlled fermentation.
 

hporter

Active Member
Well what has happened?
Sorry, I didn't see your question until today.

I did indeed get a little mold at the top. Water settled out of the pepper mass and went to the bottom of the jar. I did not notice any bubbling nor any aroma of fermentation. So I am not sure what is going on with them. I may scrape the mold and a good measure of pepper mass out and then put a glass weight designed to fit that jar to submerge the peppers and keep them anaerobic. It will depend on the smell that comes out when I pop the top of the jar.

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We have had dozens and dozens and dozens of habaneros ripen, so I stemmed a bunch, de-seeded them and put them in my food dehydrator until they were brittle dry. I then pulverized the peppers in a mortar and pestle until they were a fine dust. That powder is some kind of hot. I dip my fork in the powder in the morning, catching just a trace of it on the tines and sprinkle that on my eggs. Let me assure you, it will light you up.

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And then the wife and I just took the over flow of peppers and put them in pure vinegar to pickle them. My wife just bit into one after I took this photo and she said they were quite hot. We both love habaneros, but this year we just had too many.

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But now the tortuous hot season is upon Houston, and the peppers are not thriving. I usually build a screened sunshade frame over my garden this time of year, but I didn't have the desire to do it this year.

My wife's little Cajun Belle pepper plants are still doing OK, and are still flowering. That long red pepper plant that made the crushed red pepper flakes is in a portable fabric planter stuffed up next to the fence for shade. It has a few peppers on it and lots of blooms. So we will continue to have a few peppers each week to enjoy.
 

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fiver

Well-Known Member
those bubbles should be an indicator you got at least some yeasts working in there.
I'd imagine the mold is fighting them for supremacy though, since they are from different families.
[yeasts are from the fungi family]
 

hporter

Active Member
Yeah, I did notice the little bubbles when I looked at the photo. I didn't see them holding the jar without my glasses on.

I am used to making kimchi and sauerkraut, and you really get a lot of bubbling and it makes the whole pantry aromatic with the off gassing through the one way valve in the lid. We put one of those small black boot trays for wet boots under the fermenting jars on the floor of the pantry as it can get so active as to make a mess on the floor with the liquids being ejected through the lid too.

I think the next try will be with stemmed and seeded habaneros cut more into a chunky relish sized cut, and then do a regular anaerobic ferment. My wife picked another dozen last night, so I have fresh fodder to experiment with.

And lately I have been thinking about pickled hard boiled eggs.....
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I did notice the little bubbles when I looked at the photo. I didn't see them holding the jar without my glasses on.

I am used to making kimchi and sauerkraut, and you really get a lot of bubbling and it makes the whole pantry aromatic with the off gassing through the one way valve in the lid. We put one of those small black boot trays for wet boots under the fermenting jars on the floor of the pantry as it can get so active as to make a mess on the floor with the liquids being ejected through the lid too.

I think the next try will be with stemmed and seeded habaneros cut more into a chunky relish sized cut, and then do a regular anaerobic ferment. My wife picked another dozen last night, so I have fresh fodder to experiment with.

And lately I have been thinking about pickled hard boiled eggs.....
If you need a pickled egg recipe my wife has a very good one. So good even some teen agers liked them. I slice them into 5 medallions, serve the slices on Town House crackers with a little hot sauce on each one. But they are good just to eat plain from the jar.