DIY Homemade Jalapeño And Green Apple Hot Sauce Recipe - Lacto Fermented For INCREDIBLE Flavor

Ingredients:

10 jalapeños

1 green apple

3 garlic cloves

1 tsp cumin seeds

Fine Sea Salt

Filtered Water

2.5 % brine

Tools needed:

Mason Jar

Digital scale that reads in grams

Cutting board

Sharp knife

Fermentation weight

Mixing bowl

How to make it:

Tools needed for the fermentation project. Mason jar, fermentation weight, pH meter and digital scale that reads in grams.

Wash and dry the apples and the jalapeños.

Cut the stem end off the pepper and slice into coins. Seed and placenta removal is optional.

Cut apple into sections removing the core. Cut into rough large dice.

Lightly smash garlic on cutting board, remove outer paper layer and cut off stem end.

Place empty mason jar on the scale, tare (zero the scale), set to grams and place in the ingredients. Fill the jar to the bottom of the neck of the jar. Record that weight and multiply it by 2.5%

For example: If the ingredients plus water equal 790 g, multiply it by .025.

790 x .025 = 19.75 This is the amount of salt you will need in grams to make the brine. If your scale doesn’t read decimal points, round to the nearest whole number. In this example, I will go with 20 g salt.

Pour the water from the jar into a mixing bowl, holding back the ingredients.

Place a small dish on the scale, tare and add the 20 g salt.

Add the salt to the water in the mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly to dissolve the salt.

Pour the salty water solution back into the jar with the jar with the ingredients.

Placing fermentation weight to keep ingredients submerged.

Place fermentation weight in the jar keeping the ingredients submerged underneath the brine level. This is a very important step. If any ingredients are allowed to be exposed to air, mold will most likely grow and you will need to scrap the project and start over.

I like to place my fermentation projects on a glass baking dish and keep it in a spot in my pantry. Most importantly, keep this sitting at room temperature in a range of 68-75 degrees F away from direct sunlight. Let ferment for 2 weeks to 3 months depending on how strong you want the fermented flavor to be. Normally I like to let my peppers ferment for 1 month.

I check the pH after the first week to see if it is under 4.6. If so, keep it going and check the pH again after the allotted fermentation period. It should be in a range of 3.4- 3.7 pH.

After the fermentation period, strain the contents of the jar reserving the brine. Place the ingredients in a blender using the brine to adjust consistency. I like to cover the ingredients by a little more than half to start and add more if it needs to be thinned out. Of course, adding more brine will result in a thinner sauce and less brine for a thicker suace You can also use a nutribullet, vitamix or blend with an immersion blender if you don’t have a blender. Strain the seeds and pulp if desired.

The following is optional and will stop the fermentation process and kill the lactobacillus. You can skip this part if desired. If so, you will need to release pressure in your storage container regularly since it will still keep fermenting. The lactobacillus is what is responsible for the fermentation process to happen.

Add the strained sauce to a small stock pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to medium low and keep simmering for 10 minutes. I keep a lid on the pot during this time to reduce the fumes being let into the air as they will irritate your eyes, nose and throat.

Allow to cool, check the pH again (it should be still in the 3.4-3.7 range if nothing else got added) if desired and store in mason jars or hot sauce bottles. This will keep in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 months if you don’t use it all by then. With that low of a pH, it will technically stay good longer than 1 year.

I love the flavor combination of the jalapeños and granny smith apples. The cumin gives the sauce a nice flavor as well. The lacto fermentation process gives the whole sauce such a deep, developed flavor that cannot be replicated anyway else.

This sauce goes great on everything. Eggs, steak, chicken…really anywhere you want to add some hot sauce to!

Enjoy!

Logan