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Visited a local hot sauce maker's setup last weekend | Fermentation Station - SMM Buzz

Visited a local hot sauce maker's setup last weekend

Went to this tiny spot in Austin called Pepper Patch. Guy had 15 different crocks bubbling away. He said his habanero pineapple batch hit 9% alcohol after 8 weeks. Made me want to try fermenting my own fruit mash. Anyone here tried adding fruit to a pepper ferment?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_hayden4mo ago

Man that guy in the comments is acting like fermenting fruit is gonna give you botulism or something lol. Worst case scenario you get a funky smelling jar and toss it out.

willow1144mo ago

Seriously tho, that guy with 15 crocks probably has more experience than half the people on this sub combined. Fruit in ferments is ancient, like people have been doing fruit pepper blends in central america for centuries. The whole "sugar equals disaster" thing is overblown if you know what youre doing. Pineapples and peppers together make bomb hot sauces, you just gotta watch your salt percentages and keep everything submerged. ER trip from moldy fermented fruit is like the rarest thing possible, this isnt canning where one mistake kills you. People are way too scared of making mistakes in this hobby, worst case your kitchen smells funky for a week.

alexc934mo ago

I guy had 15 different crocks bubbling away" - that's a red flag right there. You ever seen a tiny operation running that many batches? Smells like a hobby gone wild, not a pro. Fruit in a pepper ferment sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. You're mixing sugars and acids in a jar for weeks, hoping for booze but probably getting a mold farm. Most home fermenters don't have the sanitation to pull that off without ruining the whole batch. Keep your peppers pure and skip the pineapple mess - it's just asking for a trip to the ER.