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My first fermented hot sauce project was a total fail but turned around | Fermentation Station - Chatter Central

My first fermented hot sauce project was a total fail but turned around

I was super skeptical about fermenting my own hot sauce because I thought it would just turn into moldy mush. But after 3 failed batches where I didn't use enough salt, I finally got it right last month. I used a 3% brine with habaneros and garlic from my garden, and let it sit for 2 weeks at room temp. The color changed from bright orange to a deeper red, and the smell went from sharp to kind of funky but good. When I blended it with some vinegar, it had this complex flavor that store bought stuff just doesn't have. Now I'm hooked on trying other veggies like carrots and onions. Has anyone else had problems with kahm yeast forming on top and how do you stop it?

3 comments

3 Comments

averymartin5mo ago

My neighbor kept trying to get me into fermenting for YEARS and I thought he was nuts. I was convinced it was just a way to grow bacteria and ruin perfectly good peppers. But after reading your post I actually tried his method with a 2.5% brine on some serranos and it completely changed my mind. That funky smell you mentioned is weirdly addictive once you get past the initial shock. I had kahm yeast on my second batch too and I just scooped it off and kept going and it turned out fine. Now I'm doing a batch with mango and ghost peppers and hoping it doesnt blow up my kitchen.

dakota_patel985mo ago

Holy cow, that mango and ghost pepper combo is gonna be a wild ride! I bet the sweetness from the mango will mellow out the heat just enough to make it dangerous (in the best way). Here's something I haven't seen anyone mention though - you might want to add a pinch of calcium chloride or a grape leaf to keep the mango from turning into mush. Fermented fruit can get super soft real quick, and nobody wants a weird slimy texture in their hot sauce. Just a heads up from someone who learned that lesson the hard way with some pineapple habanero that came out looking like baby food.

shanem374mo ago

@dakota_patel98 you're right about fruit going mushy but actually calcium chloride is for keeping things crisp in pickles, not ferments, and grape leaves work cause they have tannins. A better trick for keeping mango texture is to add it later in the ferment, like just the last 2-3 days.