Question: What Is Fermented Hot Sauce?

Fermented hot sauce is a spicy, slightly acidic sauce made by fermenting hot chilis and other ingredients together in a jar or crock. Over time, flavor will deepen, growing more and more complex and more acidic as beneficial bacteria go to work.

Is fermented hot sauce better?

Pros of Fermenting Hot Sauce Fermented hot sauce is rich in probiotic bacteria and has awesome enzymes for improved digestion. No cooking required. The spicier the pepper you use, the harder it is to cook in a kitchen. We learned long ago that Carolina Reaper sauces should rarely be cooked in the home.

Why do you ferment hot sauce?

Why Is Hot Sauce Fermented? Fermentation began in a time before refrigerators as a way of preserving food and prolonging its shelf-life. This way people could store and enjoy food knowing it would last them a long time. (Nowadays, we pasteurize to prolong shelf-life, which can have a negative effect on fermented foods.

Is fermented hot sauce alcoholic?

When you ferment a hot sauce, you’re basically converting the sugars of the chiles into alcohol, which then converts into acetic acid—vinegar. Like Gene Wilder in the movie Young Frankenstein, you’ll scream, “It’s alive! It’s alive!

Is fermented hot sauce Safe?

Hot sauces that have vinegar, fermented peppers, and capsaicin are less likely to go bad. Together, they reduce the pH level to stamp out any bacterial activity. However, if your fermented hot sauce contains fruits, vegetables, and eggs, then I recommend refrigerating it, just to be on the safe side.

Is Tabasco sauce fermented?

Hot sauce is nothing new to the kitchen pantry. Many of the sauces you know and love are fermented, including standbys like Tabasco and Sriracha. Though “fermentation” might sound intimidating, it’s actually quite straightforward: Chop up some peppers, mix in some salt and maybe some water, and jar it all up.

Is Frank’s Red hot sauce fermented?

The peppers in Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce Aged cayenne peppers are cayenne peppers that have been fermented. Fermentation can add a good deal of complexity and depth to the flavor of cayenne peppers.

How long should you ferment hot sauce for?

Culture at room temperature until the color of the peppers changes and dulls, usually 5-7 days. If you like, this ferment continue to ferment at room temperature for many months. We like it best after at least 3 months; the flavors become more complex and rich, the longer it ferments.

Which is better fermented or unfermented hot sauce?

Fermentation tends to mellow out the heat from chili peppers, so that fermented hot sauces tend to be milder in addition to having more flavor. Unfermented hot sauces tend to be hotter since these sauces have not undergone a fermentation process to mellow out the chili peppers.

How long does homemade hot sauce last?

Properly sterilized and canned jars of hot sauce should be shelf stable for up to a year, if kept in a cool, dark location (or in the refrigerator). Homemade hot sauce that has not been canned in a water bath can keep for several months in the refrigerator.

Why do people age hot sauce?

Why age hot sauce? Hot sauce is aged in oak barrels (such as the ones available on Top Shelf Barrels) that have already been used to age whiskey. This creates an interesting dynamic in the sauce. Instead of relying simply on the raw ingredients, you get a steady infusion of the whiskey flavor from the barrel.

Can you make alcohol out of hot peppers?

A good amount of time to infuse your alcohol with peppers is 3 days to 1 week. The longer you let the peppers steep in the alcohol, the more chili pepper flavor and heat you will get, though eventually, the peppers can begin to break down if they are left in long enough.

How do you ferment hot sauce in a barrel?

The liquid to salt ratio in your barrel aged hot sauce, needs to be ’30 to 1′ by volume for a good ferment. When you add up water and mash you should have a little over 5 quarts. Now you want to dissolve 6 ounces (3/4 cup) of kosher salt into your water, and then combine that with your mash.

Will fermented hot sauce explode?

Fermentation produces CO2, which can build up inside the bottle and cause it to bust. Most commercial hot sauces are designed to avoid further fermentation, but small-batch or DIY hot sauces run a higher risk of continuing to ferment and then exploding.

Can hot sauce grow botulism?

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. Additionally, hot sauces should be brought to a boil.

What does fermented hot sauce smell like?

Unpleasant smell. This can be a little tricky; lacto-fermented foods do have a certain tangy, vinegar-ish smell, and that’s to be expected. But if your ferment smells like it’s rotting, it probably is.