How To Preserve Your Hot Sauce To Increase Shelf Life
Hot sauce lovers worldwide have collections of their favorite sauces taking up a lot of real estate in their cabinets. The favorite sauces may get used up quickly. But the remaining sauces that are used only occasionally, may be at risk of going bad.
To better provide for your customers, its important to consider the shelf life of your product and take steps to increase product life for as long as possible.
Hot Pepper Sauce From Fresh Peppers
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Hot sauce starts in the garden for us with fresh-picked sweet and hot peppers, onions, and homemade garlic powder.
Ive tried different hot sauce recipes, but when I recently received The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables by Angi Schneider, I knew that the first recipe Id be trying was the canned hot pepper sauce.
Angis new book is a great resource for preserving vegetables from the garden, CSA, or farmers market. It contains information on canning, pickling, fermenting, dehydrating, and freezing fresh produce.
Wait Do You Have To Ferment Homemade Hot Sauce
Dont get intimidated! This is a super easy fermentationeven easier than sauerkrautand it gives a complex, interesting flavor to the hot sauce. Heres how easy it is to ferment your own hot sauce:
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Bottling Machine With Vacuum Screw Cap
There is machinery that will fill the bottle, seal them and cap them at a much larger capacity similar to what a large manufacturer of hot sauce does. These machines can fill and cap between 800 and 3000 bottles in an hour and can cost thousands of dollars. If you are successful at selling your sauce and anticipate it increasing this would be worth the investment.
Food Safety Controls Of Hot Sauce
When making a hot sauce, the pH must be less than 4.6. Although hot sauces may not necessarily be water-bath canned, they are typically bottled and most likely will have an anaerobic environment that would be conducive to the growth of clostridium botulinum. Therefore, the pH of the hot sauce must be less than 4.6 and an acid, such as vinegar, should be added to ensure that the pH is below 4.6, as clostridium botulinum cannot grow in a pH less than 4.6. Additionally, hot sauces should be brought to a boil. The University of California Davis has noted the following of clostridium bacteria:
Do botulism bacteria die at boiling?The bacterium Clostridium botulinum has two forms. The active form is also known as a vegetative form, and the dormant form is called the spore form. The vegetative cells are much easier to destroy. Destruction is usually measured by a combination of time and temperature the hotter the temperature, the shorter the time required to kill a given number of bacteria. There are many types of C. botulinum, and they can vary in their heat sensitivity. But if all particles of food have reached boiling temperature , then it would be reasonable to assume the vegetative cells of C. botulinum have been destroyed. The spores, however, would survive.
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Learn The Art Of Self
There is nobody that is going to sell your hot sauce like you can. In fact, when just starting out, the majority of the promotions work will fall on you until you can afford to hire someone else.
Learn to be confident in your sales ability and take every opportunity to get your sauce in front of potential buyers. Host tasting parties, set up social media accounts, and pay for vendor spots at local fairs and festivals. The more self-promotion you do for your products, the more visibility you gain as a worthy competitor.
As your sauce grows in popularity, so grows your profitability.
Why Is Glass Best For Hot Sauce
There are some hot sauce manufacturers that sell their hot sauce in plastic containers Sriracha, Yellow Bird and Aardvark are some of the top sellers. These companies use UV technologies and sterilization processes using expensive machinery. If you are using the hot fill method where the temperature of the sauce is over 140 degrees it could potentially melt the plastic, which is why the above manufacturers use alternate methods.
I use glass bottles for a variety of reasons. It is not the least expensive way of storing your sauce but the 5 ounce woozy bottles that I purchase are great for clearly seeing the contents and believe it or not they are very durable. If you plan to mass produce your homemade sauce, glass bottles could be one of the leading expenses. Here are the pros and cons of glass verses plastic bottles for your hot sauce.
Pros and Cons of plastic verses glass
| PROS |
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Custom Bottle Manufacturing Can Get Very Expensive
Most hot sauces are produced in glass bottles and the reasons are that the methods of sanitizing are simpler and less expensive for smaller manufacturers. This would also be true of someone starting a hot sauce business from their home. Read more in The Best Method and Machine For Filling Hot Sauce Bottles.
You can order custom bottle shapes, but this will increase the overall cost of your sauce and drive pricing up. Rockwoodglass.com has some outrageous looking bottle designs. Consider this as a marketing strategy if you have a unique blend or advertise where you sauce gets a lot of attention. The Generals Hot Sauce comes in a bottle the shape of a hand grenade. Not sure what that means exactly, possibly that you are facing death if you dare to consume it? It is definitely a noveltyand novelties sell! As mention previously, I prefer a 5 once glass woozy.
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- Bread and Butter Pickles. These are the simplest pickles you can make. Mix up a batch to eat straight out of the refrigerator, or can a batch for later!
- Mixed Berry Jam. Jars of this red-purple jam make for beautiful giftsjust wrap a ribbon and label around the rim, and youre all set.
I hope you have fun experimenting with hot sauce making in your own kitchen! It is easy and the results are absolutely delicious. Enjoy!
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Bottle Your Own Hot Sauce
If you have been told your hot sauce bottles should be on every shelf in the store, why not make that dream a reality? Hot sauce entrepreneurs today have many advantages over their predecessors. With technology and social media marketing, you can be well on your way to turning your love for good hot sauce into an enterprising new business.
Get A Bank Account And Credit Card
Bank accounts and credit cards for your business will be necessary as your business grows. You should open these accounts now if you have tested your product, set up distribution channels and are confident you can sell large amounts. If you are making sauce in your kitchen and selling out of your home this may not be necessary, but you can apply for a business account through your bank.
If you have a great tasting product it should sell itself. While this is true you will need to follow some typical procedures to ensure you are providing consumers with a top-quality satisfying product without any health related risks.
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Flip Cap Beer Bottles
Lastly, you can take a page from the home brewers out there and opt for a flip cap beer bottle. These flip caps not only look cool, they also contain a seal to help keep in freshness. As these bottles are a little more expensive, opt for them if youre mainly making hot sauce for home use and you want something with a little extra style sitting on your kitchen counter or dining table.
UPDATE NOTICE: This post was updated on September 5, 2019 to include new content. It was originally published on April 10, 2014.
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How To Make Green Hot Sauce
Green Hot Sauce is made just like Red Hot Sauce, you just use jalapeños instead of fresnos. The green sauce is a little more mild than the red. To make green sauce:
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How To Bottle Hot Sauce For Sale
Choosing the right hot sauce bottle is a bigger decision than you may realize. Do you plan to sell only one size bottle? Is the bottle the right shape for your marketing concept? Is the bottle unique enough to attract attention on its own?
These are all questions you need to ask yourself when selecting your hot sauce bottle. You also need to consider bottle pricing and reliability. As the bottles will be shipped to stores in your local area, or even internationally, you must consider how well they pack and how costly shipping different bottle sizes will be.
You may also want to invest in trial-sized hot sauce bottles that make it easier to give away samples of your product to potential customers and store owners.
Since every bottle needs a cap, you need to select one that offers product protection in a color that fits your overall marketing plan.
Hire a professional if you arent a graphic designer by trade. Have them design your logo and other packaging materials to ensure your artwork and brand identity looks organized and complete.
How Do You Make Hot Sauce Whats It Made Of
The traditional way of making hot sauce involves fermenting either straight hot peppers or a mix of hot and sweet peppers and other aromatic veggies . When the fermentation time is up, the whole shebang is blended with vinegar until smooth as silk. To help keep the hot sauce from separating, emulsifiers are usually used during the blending processwe recommend xanthan gumwhich keeps the hot sauce smooth when bottled.
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Gather Ingredients & Supplies
Now that youve figured out what type of peppers you want to use, its time to make the hot sauce! Start by gathering all of your equipment and ingredients. While gloves are not essential to making Hot Sauce, they will save your hands, and you wont be afraid to touch your face after. I use disposable nitrate gloves all the time in the kitchen, and they are one of my favorite kitchen tools. I use them to handle poultry, mix meatballs, or in this case, touch hot peppers!
Also be sure to have a well ventilated space when youre making hot sauce. The spice from the peppers can definitely become overwhelming, so be sure to turn on the fan in your kitchen, and crack a window.
If youre giving the Hot Sauce away as gifts, start by sterilizing the bottles that you plan to use.
How To Seal Homemade Hot Sauce Bottles With A Heat Induction Sealer
Many dressings and sauces that are purchased from stores will have a round plastic seal on the tube of the glass after you remove the plastic cap. This is applied with an induction sealer. There are many variations of this piece of equipment and the costs will vary depending on the number of bottles you plan to seal and cap at one time. Hand held sealers can be purchased for under a hundred dollars. Check out the Hand Held Induction Sealer from Kimtem.
The manufacturer of the equipment will provide instructions on how to operate their equipment, but the round seal is placed on the top of the bottle, the cap is then placed on and heat is applied. The top of the bottle should be sanitized and dry.
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Woozy Bottles As Packaging
Glass or plastic woozy bottles are the most common bottle used for hot sauce but it makes sensible packaging for other foods and condiments. Glass and plastic food bottles are both durable and are often paired with orifice reducers and tamper-evident screw cap closures for packaging hot sauces. Standard sauce bottles are also an interesting option for beverage packaging. Plastic options are pliable and easy to squeeze, to empty bottles entirely. A plastic option is also shatter-resistant, cost-effective, and recyclable. Glass sauce bottles have long-necks and rounded bodies that accept a variety of labeling options including plastic shrink-wrap, acid etching, and vinyl peel-and-stick labels.
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How To Sterilize Bottles And Jars For Canning
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Fruit, vegetable, and meat preserves keep for a long time if properly prepared and canned. It’s important to sterilize the jars and bottles before canning so that the food doesn’t get contaminated with bacteria. See Step 1 to learn how to get your equipment ready by sterilizing it according to USDA standards.
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How To Make A Safe Hot Sauce
SDSU Extension Food Safety Field Specialist
Hot sauces have become very popular condiments that can be used in a variety of applications. Processors are able to make their hot sauces with their own unique twist on flavor and heat. Additionally, consumers are also interested to try new hot sauces, not only to try new products, but to also support the local entrepreneur. This article will help address what can make a hot sauce safe and ready-to-eat.
Use Mason Jars To Store Your Hot Sauce
Mason jars are easy to pour into and can be used in the future for storing other foods as well. I use these for a variety of things in my kitchen. Get a four pack of the 16 oz. size from Amazonhere. Also, if you are limited in space, they are stackable as well.
These jars are clear glass so you can see the mixture consistency and color, which is great if you are fermenting peppers like the picture on the left. This is my go-to container when I am making a new recipe or experimenting with different flavors. The final product will always go into a woozy bottle, especially if I am testing it out at a friends get together.
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Why Make Homemade Hot Sauce
Because you can, and its extremely budget friendly. When you make your own Homemade Hot Sauce, you can also control the quality of the ingredients that go into the sauce. No matter what peppers you choose, Homemade Hot Sauce tastes fresher, and just so much better than anything that youll find on the shelves of your local grocery store.
If youre making Homemade Hot Sauce as a gift, its extremely budget friendly. Heres the breakdown of how much it cost to make 12 bottles of hot sauce.
24 Count Labels $3.73 on Amazon1 pound jalapeño peppers $0.99 at Kroger1 pound fresno peppers $2.99 at Kroger1 head garlic $0.50 at Kroger64 oz apple cider vinegar $4.49 at Kroger
Keep Sauce In A Plastic Container
You can store your hot sauce in plastic containers such Tupperware or other name brands. The acidity of the hot sauce should not dissolve the plastic but if you are planning on using plastic containers to distribute and sell your sauce you will want follow certain procedures to sanitize and seal your bottles.
I will often use small travel size plastic containers if I have several varieties of sauces that I am working on. These are very inexpensive, available at most stores and dont take up much storage space. As I have said before I dont need to permanently store, sterilize or sanitize a plastic container for a sauce if I dont care for the recipe.
A lot of sauces from small independent manufacturers have a unique bottle shape to them. If you have a select blend of peppers, spices and vinegar type you may want to seek out a unique bottle type to make your sauce stand out even more, if you are setting yourself up for a profitable business.
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How To Lower The Ph Of A Hot Sauce
Adding more vinegar, sugar and/or lemon and lime juice to an already existing recipe will bring the pH level down but it may also affect your recipe. If you have a hot sauce that you have perfected, and the next step is bottling than I wouldnt attempt at lowering the pH level at this point. However, any foods with a pH level higher than 4.6 will require a more severe heat treatment during the bottling process.
Once you have perfected your sauce you will want to bottle it to save it and share it with friends. It can make great gifts or an opportunity to share it at a gathering. This is a great test market for your newest recipe, so you want it to appear presentable as well. If you are simply storing your sauce, there are alternate containers you can use. Need a recipe? Get over 50 Hot Sauce Recipes here!
