Easiest Lacto Fermented Mango Habanero Hot Sauce You Will LOVE!

Ingredients:

25 habaneros

377 g Mango (1 full mango, large dice)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 red onion

3 cloves garlic, peeled and root end cut off

For the brine (done by weight in grams):

Fine sea salt, I prefer non iodized

Water, I prefer to use filtered

Tools needed:

Sharp knife

Cutting board

Rubber gloves

Mason jar with lid

Mixing bowl

Wire whisk

Digital scale that weighs in grams

Blender

Fine mesh strainer

Colander

Digital pH meter or litmus paper

How to make it:

Wash jars, hands and all other utensils with hot soapy water.   

Wash habaneros under cold running water, air dry.  Pull stems from peppers, cut in half and inspect seeds/placenta.  The seeds are to be white in color with no discoloration.  If there are any discolored seeds (brown in color), remove them entirely including the placenta. See photo below for seeds that are discolored.

If using fresh mango, remove rind and cut mango around the stone.  Cut mango pieces into 1 inch rough cubes.

If using frozen mangos, defrost in the refrigerator overnight and strain the liquid.

Cut onion into 1 inch rough dice.

Place jar on digital scale, tare it (zero it out).  Add onions, cumin, habaneros, garlic and mangos.  Add water to the jar filling it so that the ingredients are covered by the water.  I go just to the bottom of the neck of the jar.  Record that weight.   

Using this equation, figure out the amount of salt needed for the brine:

Total weight of the ingredients plus the water x 3% or .03 - this is the amount of fine sea salt you need for the brine.

Strain the water out of the jar with a lid from the mason jar into a mixing bowl.   Place bowl onto scale, zero out.  Add the calculated amount of salt, stir with a whisk to dissolve.  Pour into the jar with the ingredients and place weight on ingredients to keep the submerged.  This is an anaerobic environment which means zero oxygen.  If the ingredients are allowed to be touched by the air, mold will grow and you will need to discard the batch and start over.

Let ferment on kitchen counter on in your pantry away from any sunlight for 2-3 weeks.  Watch for fermentation bubbles around day 3 or 4.  This is a good sign.  Any Kahm yeast that develops on the surface of the brine is ok.  This may mean that your salt amount was incorrect, something got contaminated, or the brine surface level was exposed to too much air.  Other times, it can develop because the sugar content in your ingredients was too low which is out of your control.  It in not harmful, but can give your sauce an unpleasant flavor if not skimmed off the brine and discarded.   After the 2-3 weeks, check the pH of the brine if you have the means to do so.  It needs to be 4.6 or lower to be considered safe to consume.  Most of my peppers that I ferment have a pH of 3.5 to 3.7 after day 21.   This means that the lactic acid producing bacteria (lactobacillus) did its job and the peppers, mangos, garlic and onions have been properly fermented.

For the sauce:

Strain the contents in the jar, reserving the brine.   

In a high powered blender or nutribullet, add your ingredients and enough brine to barely cover the ingredients by a maximum of 1/4 of an inch.  For a thinner sauce, use more brine and for a thicker sauce, use less.   Blend for 45 seconds to 1 minute.  I like to strain my sauces, which is an optional step. Blending the sauce for too long can possible create enough heat that the sauce will become sterilized, therefor, I try not to blend it for too long.

If you want to strain the sauce, pour sauce into a fine mesh strainer that is placed over a bowl.  Store your sauce in a glass container such as a mason jar or hot sauce jars.   This will keep for 3 months in the refrigerator.  I keep the pulp from straining the sauce and use as an ingredient to marinade chicken.  Also, you can dry it out in the oven set to its lowest temperature setting for around 3 hours or until completely dry.  Grind it up and add it to salt for a killer homemade seasoned salt.

If you have the means to check the pH, look for a reading of 3.7 or lower for a sauce that will keep for a few months in the refrigerator.  If the pH needs to be brought down, add some apple cider vinegar (about 1 tbsp) to the sauce and let sit overnight and check the pH again.  Keep in mind that adding vinegar will change the flavor profile slightly.

Enjoy your hot sauce!

-Logan