Louisiana Style Fermented Hot Sauce | Introduction to Fermentation

[@GordonjSmith1]

I simply loved this vlog for your love of making what you want! Here we use 'vacuum bag' fermenting and it is the simplest thing to do! When 'bag opening day' comes, we just whiz it up, add vinegar and sugar to 'taste' and stick it in an 'oven' or 'dish washer' treated jar. As you mention 'too much salt' is more of a problem than 'not enough' (certainly in vacuum bags), let the bugs do their thing! So many people are wary of 'fermented' foods yet they eat them so many times a day without thinking about it. I certainly share your 'joy'.

[@geraldinekelly1301]

I have been so looking forward to this JB and you didn't disappoint one little bit!! You really are the chilli pepper king haha! I could almost smell your kitchen when you opened the blender for the first time and the colour of that sauce was VIBRANT!!! I will be trying this next year as my yield wasn't so great this year and coming from a chilli loving family I hope to gift some to them. I love that idea. Fantastic video JB and when I wondered about something you went ahead and explained it. Thank you so much... loved this from beginning to end!!

[@JBNat]

Thank you SO much Geraldine, I'm really glad it didn't disappoint!! It's such a cool method to preserve peppers and there's a whole world of different types of sauce you can make like this. I really only managed to scratch the surface and it was still 18 minutes long! 😅 So glad you enjoyed it

[@madcraic3283]

As always JB, a splendid video. I just love your enthusiasm in all things you do! Keep it going it is natural (ly) and fresh!

[@JBNat]

Thank you so much friend!

[@niallgardens]

Superb info JB! As you know this is my first year growing chillies, and I want to make sure that use the harvests as best I can... this is exactly the instructional that I need! (not to mention the fact that the sauce looks delish!). Thank you - great info, perfectly delivered!

[@JBNat]

Thanks so much Niall! I'll be happy to talk you through your fermentations 😀

[@lucyjane103]

Great Video, I'll have to watch it again !

[@Dawn_Grows_Veg]

Thanks for pointing me to this JB. I have been getting much more interested in fermenting food and there are some great tips. Having worked in the food industry early in my career, I am a bit terrified about the food safety element of it all to be honest. No one wants Botulism ☠!! I have also been researching canning like they do loads in the US. Mainly because my tomatoes have been great this year and I have an overflowing freezer, so I need different ways to keep my harvests good through the winter. Including my chillis 🌶. I haven't got anywhere near the amount you have but still will have a few. I have book marked this one to come back to 👍

[@JBNat]

Yes caution is exactly the way you should feel about it! Interesting that you'd worked in that sector, hopefully you approve of the messages in this video. I think botulism is one of the main reasons that you basically never want to use oil in long term preservation. I think there's no risk with just fermenting raw ingredients and adding vinegar but I could be wrong?

[@TuftyMcTavish]

👨‍🔬 Oooo, you “scienced the 💩 out of” this episode! Brilliant. I now want all the gear to partner my 'no idea' 😆 though I think I’ll add a funnel to the list as seeing how easy it’d be to make a mess of the rim reminded me that I saw that appear on a recent homegrown.garden channel video. That many 🌶 might well come from one plant, so suddenly I have a justification for lots more plants next year 🤔 as normally I just freeze the fruits to use as I need them. And this year I have quite a few plants for freezing but maybe not for saucing. Chilli hot sauce bottle explosions sound handy for a zombie apocalypse 😂 Heck of a video series, sir, which I’ve followed from the beginning - it was many months ago!

[@JBNat]

Thanks so much tufty! Thanks for following the journey! Cool fact is that you can ferment frozen peppers as well, the majority of the LAB on them will have died off so you'd want to mix at least 50% fresh peppers as well. Might be a little slower to get going but definitely possible. I've started a BIG ferment this year and after 3 weeks I'm going to add a boat load of my frozen peppers from last year.

[@MrBlacksunster]

Really loved this video, very informative and fun!

[@JBNat]

Thank you so much!

[@paulatravers219]

Such an informative video. Thank you. I can't wait to try making my own sauces.

[@JBNat]

Ah I'm really glad you enjoyed it Paula! Any questions please do let me know 😊

[@paulatravers219]

@@JBNat Actually yes I do have a question. I'm saving seeds from my ghost/naga chillies. Any tips on how to do this without needing a gas mask!

[@JBNat]

@@paulatravers219 Ha! Are you trying to dry the peppers? For seed storage you don't need to dry the peppers at all, just wrap the seeds in tissue paper or kitchen roll for a day or two before storing them. If you're suffering from the fumes just from chopping open a fresh one then I'm afraid that's just the price of a good time 😂 always wear gloves though my goodness!! I've learned that lesson the hard way... Multiple times...

[@paulatravers219]

@@JBNat Thank you. I'm going to try chopping them outside, I'm part of a seed swap so need a few! My hubby used to work for a food company that specialised in seasonings. I never believed him when he told me the stories about chilli oleo resin. I do now!!

[@JBNat]

Outside is a good bet! Just chopping a few is enough to get you coughing. This year I've literally invested in a gas mask for when I make my superhot sauce 😂

[@marufyusuf303]

Well done I'm a big fan for chilli's U made me hungry lol

[@linaso9739]

Great looking sauce! When you put the mash into the jar I was pretty sure it would get into the bubbler but it didn't 😃. I always add sauerkraut brine as a starter since I always make sauce from frozen chillies. Probably I always add too much because mash expands like crazy.

[@JBNat]

Thanks Linas! I had to cut so much from this and yes you're exactly correct, the mash did inflate quite a lot! Fortunately it stayed out of the airlock but I could see it happening so scooped out a few spoonfuls and used that as a starter for another ferment 😁

[@rosepetal45]

Loved your video. Excellent explanation. I just wish my cayenne peppers would ripen! 😩

[@JBNat]

Something I didn't have time to mention when I was saying about green peppers - some people love them and even make entirely green sauces! It can be tricky to ferment green peppers though as there are less sugars to kick start the lactofermentation. Something I'm going to try with my unripe peppers soon is called 'cowboy candy' which I'm looking forward to!

[@33nivag335]

Love this! I found you a few months ago because I am considering an Allotment, then I saw you on the Chilli chump livestream and nearly had a melt down hahah! I know you said at the end about the mash but any chance of a video on how to use it? I would certainly watch it :)

[@JBNat]

Ahh that's so cool that you saw me on there haha! Chilichump is a huuuge inspiration for me and he's one of the main channels that inspired me to pick up the camera and have a go myself. Huge fan. Anyway for the mash unfortunately I've not made a video out of it! But what I did is popped the mash flat on an oven tray on baking paper (makes life much easier) and just had it in the oven on the lowest possible setting, about 50°C and every hour or so I would come and give it a bit of a mix and try to break up any big bits. After a good few hours it was fully dried, and it's a great base. I then added a little paprika, salt & pepper, and a boatload of cumin and it's a great little general purpose seasoning for all kinds of foods!

[@33nivag335]

@@JBNat I love him as well! I am have his book and multiple sauces so was really happy when I saw you appear. Very Wholesome crossover. I grew my own chillies this season on my windowsill but as I have limited space living on a military base made things a little difficult. Manged to make habanero ketchup and a Buffalo sauce. (Chilli Chump recipes). Although I was basically in a season long fight with Ahipds. I have a Ninja foodi, with a dehydrate option so i will give that a go with the Mash. Thanks for the tips!!

[@eliandkate]

At last, we find out about your infamous hotsauce 😀

[@KaneCheshire]

Super informative and interesting video, thanks for taking the time! I had a quick look through your affiliate links but couldn’t find any for the fermentation jars or equipment. Do you have any you could add so I can get some and help support you in the process? Thanks!

[@JBNat]

Thanks so much for commenting! Really glad you enjoyed it. I'll have a look in a moment and create a new section on there for fermentation bits and bobs! Be careful if you start it because it's one of those things that becomes very addictive 😅

[@KaneCheshire]

@@JBNat thank you! I have no doubt it’s addictive! I already made a batch from our allotment using brine using a slightly different method but I think I preferred the way you’ve done it so excited to learn more about it and give it a shot!

[@JBNat]

@@KaneCheshire All updated kit.co! Thank you for the prompt. Great to hear you've had success with Brine! I found my brine sauces often came out much saltier than mash ones. One downside to mash I've found is that it can be much harder to see the carbonation. With a brine fermentation it's much more certain when its kicked off and is fermenting and bubbling away. Both methods have their merits for sure.

[@clareellam1615]

That was interesting, I thought the fermenting would have been what added the vinegar as when I’ve made apple cider vinegar and wine for making vinegar it ferments aerobically which creates the vinegar instead of alcohol which ferments with the airlock which ferments anerobically so is your chilli ferment alcoholic before you add the vinegar? I sterilise with Milton solution or tablets but I just use regular water in the airlock as it never touches the stuff your fermenting so it doesn’t matter, and I don’t cap the airlock so the bubbles come out but that might be more an issue with wine as it can bubble aggressively at first. I always leave a good gap with wine as it can bubble up that much it can suck it into the airlock without a gap but again I guess wine making can ferment more aggressively? I’ve made kimchi too with no airlock and the Kilner cracked open as that can bubble up and out too and it makes it’s own vinegar as it’s aerobic and I think that’s more similar procedure to yours than wine making, it certainly has the lactic acid fizz!

[@JBNat]

Hi Claire! Loads of interesting points. The key thing to know is that lactobascillus don't make any kind of alcohol. Alcohol is produced by yeasts which are a different family of organism entirely. My Fermentation was at no point alcoholic! I'm not that familiar with Kimchi but from a quick Google it seems the term "vinegar" can be used quite loosely when discussing Kimchi. Vinegar is diluted acetic acid, which like you say, it's produced in yeast fermentation. Kimchi and lactic fermentation shouldn't produce any acetic acid or vinegar, it is just lactic acid! Also the cap on the airlock is not airtight, its just to stop bugs or debris from getting into the airlock. Super interesting topic and I don't claim to know everything about it, but I think what I've said here is correct ha

[@clareellam1615]

@@JBNat just been looking it up and it says lactobacillus can survive anerobic and aerobic which must be why my apple cider vinegar and kimchi worked aerobically and your chillis work anerobic. I did read something saying there’s different types and some make a bit of ethanol too as a biproduct 😯 don’t know how much though or when you get that type occurring or what the main ones responsible are 🤷‍♂️ It’s fascinating, and I do think also part-magic 😀👍