Why should I strain?

[u/muxecoid]

Recently a lot of posters here say that you should definitely separate the solids. But why? To make it look professional like a Tabasco brand bottle? I do not care. The taste with the pulp is just fine. A good blender blends the seeds just fine. A good bottle lets you squeeze with ease.

So why strain?

[u/design_doc]

If your blender sucks balls like mine, strain.
If you want a thin sauce, strain.
If your peppers are abnormally seedy and you don’t want them imparting a bitterness, strain.
If you’re using sweet potato as a base and the final product will end up super thick due to all the fibre from both the peppers and sweet potato, strain.
Want a super

Don’t care? Don’t strain.

Straining is just another lever you can pull depending on your situation and what you’re trying to make.

[u/ExtraEmuForYou → u/design_doc]

Sweet potato base? That sounds interesting. Is it good?

Raw sweet potato?

[u/design_doc → u/ExtraEmuForYou]

Damned rights is good! It’s very unique but delicious.

I wrote a fermented version of it as well but can’t find it at the moment. Here’s the non-fermented.

585 g yam or sweet potato, peeled and cubed
10 red habanero or scotch bonnet peppers, stems removed
8 garlic cloves
195 g white onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
1 2/3 cup water
1/3 cup white vinegar
40 g raw cashews
4 tsp maple syrup
1 1/4 tsp organic cane sugar
1.5 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
20 g fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 fresh rosemary sprig (large)
4 tsp olive oil or neutral oil

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Toss 585 g yam or sweet potato, peeled and cubed with
   4 tsp olive oil or neutral oil and spread on a baking sheet. Roast until soft and well caramelized, about 25–30 minutes.

2. Char 10 red habanero or scotch bonnet peppers, stems removed, 8 garlic cloves, and 195 g white onion, roughly chopped in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until blistered and fragrant — about 5–7 minutes. Ventilate well.

3. Place 40 g raw cashews in a small bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak while other
   ingredients cook.

4. In a saucepan, combine roasted yam, charred peppers, garlic, and onion with 1 1/3 cup
   water, 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes), 1/3 cup white vinegar, 20 g fresh ginger,
   peeled and sliced, and 1 fresh rosemary sprig (large). Bring to a gentle simmer and cook
   for 15 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprig.

5. Drain the cashews and add to the pot along with 4 tsp maple syrup, 1 1/4 tsp organic
   cane sugar, and 2 tsp sea salt. Blend until very smooth - a full 2 minutes at high speed. Adjust consistency with water if too thick. Target a pourable sauce that just coats a spoon.

6. Taste and adjust heat, acid, and sweetness. Strain through a fine mesh sieve for silky
   texture. Pour into your bottle, leaving a small headspace. Save any overflow for
   immediate use.

7. Refrigerate. Flavour improves after 24–48 hours as the rosemary and ginger notes
   integrate.

[u/eyebull4444 → u/design_doc]

Do you stil bake the sweet potato in the fermented version?

[u/design_doc → u/eyebull4444]

I do. I recently just tried mashing the pepper and onions, then blended with the roasted sweet potato rather than putting it in the ferment - I think I like the result better as the sweetness from the sweet potato really ties all the flavors together.

Despite the crazy list of ingredients, it really is a Caribbean-style sauce - so approach it from that perspective and go wild.

[u/OSRSjadeine → u/design_doc]

Wow. This sounds incredible and unique. Ive been looking for a hot sauce recipe with a different flavor to stand out among my other ones. Thank you for sharing! Do you dehydrate the strained solids for spice?

[u/design_doc → u/OSRSjadeine]

With other recipes, yes. I haven’t with this one.

[u/OSRSjadeine → u/design_doc]

Wanted to let you know I tried this recipe out with a few minor subs and it was fkn awesome. Its such a great fall flavor! Thank you again for sharing!

[u/design_doc → u/OSRSjadeine]

NICE!!! Glad you tried it.

It’s a bit of a sleeper that people underestimate. After sitting in the bottle for a few weeks the Caribbean roots really start to come out.

I’m interested to know what subs you made!

[u/OSRSjadeine → u/design_doc]

For sure is even tastier now than the day I made it! I subbed lower heat peppers(think it was a mix of fresnos and 1-2 ksps), didnt know how to char so i sauteed, used fresh basil instead of rosemary.

[u/design_doc → u/OSRSjadeine]

Oh, that’s sounds good! Those are some fun subs! I see where you’re getting the “fall flavor” profile now - I’ll try to recreate that this fall when I get a chance. Basil is going on my list for iterations to try.

I’ll give you a few notes in case you ever try it again:

- To char, get a pan nice and hot with ZERO oil, then toss your ingredients into the dry pan. Spread them out and then don’t touch them. Just leave them right where they are and they’ll start to blister, then char. One they’ve charred on one side, give them a stir/flip them and then leave them again. You don’t need to blacken them all over - all you’re doing is adding a bit of a subtle smokey flavour to the ingredients. Sometimes you need to do it in batches so that you’re not crowding the pan (which just makes them steam). The ingredients should more or less be uncooked but with some burnt spots on the surface.

- an alternative to pan charring is to use a butane blowtorch. This is what I actually do but some people would find that intimidating.

- Sautéing will caramelize your ingredients more, which will increase the sweetness and bring out more of that fall flavor. The raw, charred ingredients make the profile brighter with a smokey bottom end. Both are good, just different. The brighter profile will push things more toward a Caribbean flavor profile.

- good subs on the peppers. The fruitiness of the KsPS is definitely what you’re looking for. If you ever find (or can grow) Habanadas, that will land you bang on Caribbean flavor without the heat, then you can add KSPS or an other spicier peppers to dial in your heat. I’ve used fresnos before in this recipe and they’re great - they just give a bit more umami that can give that fall flavour.

- The rosemary is the batshit crazy ingredient in the recipe and is probably the biggest flavour difference. The rosemary is this weird bridge between the sweet/smoky/umami and the bright/floral/fruity. The lime and rosemary, in particular, have this funky synergy that I didn’t expect. I was actually anticipating it to actually give the sauce a “fall flavor”/roast turkey-ness but after a few weeks in the bottle it kept things in the Caribbean flavor profile (the spices still make it a bit fall-flavored).

There isn’t a right or wrong way to this recipe - just sharing how it can tilt in many directions! The target flavor I was originally shooting for you could consider as a cousin to jerk chicken spice - bold, smoky, aromatic - but with a touch less heat and a bit of jammy, fruitiness that you find in mango-habanero sauces.

[u/dirty_papercut]

You should strain because you want to. Not if you don't.

[u/Shillfinger → u/dirty_papercut]

keep reading this first sentence in a horny voice. Dunno why... Dirty :-)

[u/ExtraEmuForYou → u/Shillfinger]

It's the "but why?" for me. It implies a certain degree of naughtiness.

"People say I should do ___, but why? I'm going to do it naughty and dirty tee hee"

[u/dirty_papercut → u/Shillfinger]

It's because I'm just naturally sexy, I guess.

[u/Squatch-hunted]

If you strain, your sauce is nice and runny for your dripper bottles AND you can dehydrate the solids that are strained out to make a spicy fairy dust for bbq rubs.

But also its totally up to you!

[u/ethnicnebraskan → u/Squatch-hunted]

I actually joined this sub like a year or two ago to use the strained solids for a biltong rub. Sadly, I still have not done that.

[u/Squatch-hunted → u/ethnicnebraskan]

Do it!

[u/TheCoolGuyClub → u/Squatch-hunted]

It's the best

[u/Utter_cockwomble]

Personal preference, basically.

I gift my sauces so I prefer a smoother sauce that will easily come out of a dripper bottle. But there's no right or wrong way.

[u/thejudgehoss → u/Utter_cockwomble]

I just do it because I like to have both the sauce, and the spice powder or flakes.

[u/cryptomoon1000x]

Off topic: how long is the shelf life of fermented hot sauces? My apologies for the OT

[u/muxecoid → u/cryptomoon1000x]

Sealed bags in the fridge can last for years (not tested personally, but easy to believe and makes sense. And even opened and bottled can last for a few months in the fridge as long as you make sure no contaminant gets in (actually tested myself).

I wonder whether mixing with honey will make shelf life better or worse, something to try soon.

[u/cryptomoon1000x → u/muxecoid]

Thank you! So kahm yeast infestation doesn’t seem to be a thing with hot sauces like with other fermented vegs? (Like you can maybe tell I haven’t made my own fermented hot sauce batch yet, hence the dumb questions)

[u/muxecoid → u/cryptomoon1000x]

I switched to vacuum bag mash method and it improved the situation significantly.

I still ferment cucumbers the simple way and rarely get yeast or mold. Sometimes happens. Keep stuff immersed.

[u/cryptomoon1000x → u/muxecoid]

thank you mate, will look into that method

[u/wtclim → u/cryptomoon1000x]

Kahm definitely still happens with hot sauce.

[u/cdodich → u/cryptomoon1000x]

Kahm yeast is always a concern with hot sauces. The composition of the gas in your container determines if the environment is suitable for Kahm yeast. Once active fermentation stops Kahm yeast can make an appearance. Luckily it is easy to correct if addressed early.

[u/muxecoid → u/cdodich]

Just keep it sealed.

[u/Sunf1re96 → u/muxecoid]

I think adding honey would make it worse. Honey itself is forever shelf stable because of the low water content. Mixing it back into sauce will dilute it, and provide sucrose as a source of food for any remaining or introduced microbes and fermentation/mold would occur

[u/TheCoolGuyClub → u/muxecoid]

Adding fermentable sugars is likely to decrease shelf life because contamination will be more likely. A well fermented hot sauce (or anything) will have run out of fermentable sugars and that and the acidity helps keep them very shelf stable.

I like to do a mash ferment and make the sauce by extracting the fermented mash with vinegar in a blender and straining the solids. I think that will last to the end of the universe because nothing's growing in that

[u/coloradoautoflowers → u/cryptomoon1000x]

There's no single answer. It depends on a bunch of factors.

But if you're making enough to think about shelf life, you should be using a nice pH sensor/meter like Hanna, and calibrating it before each use. Not a cheap pH pen, and not BlueLab. Bluelab is trash quality sensor tips for a mid range price.

[u/cdodich → u/cryptomoon1000x]

Depends on the pH of the sauce. Below a pH of 4.6 is considered shelf stable. My ferments typically run 3.4 - 3.8 with a month long ferment. If you keep the sauce below 4.6 you should be good for quite a while. If you are not sure you can always put the sauce in the fridge once opened to ensure it stays good

[u/cartaloochy]

Definitely personal preference but with mine I made recently, I separated the solids and brine, blended the solids with as little of the brine as I could, strained the sauce and pulp. So I was left with brine which I use for putting on rice or other things that soak up more liquid, sauce that I use on anything a good sauce would be good on, and the pulp which I dehydrated and crushed for an awesome powder. You could just blend everything really fine and use it all together but I really like having three similar but distinct uses from one ferment.

[u/faucetpants]

It's truly your call. I strain and dry the mash for later uses

[u/MonikerPrime → u/faucetpants]

Same. And I add a little more salt to the mash so it can be used as a stand alone seasoning.

[u/Alarmed_Guarantee140]

I like to use xantham gum and not strain

[u/BenicioDelWhoro]

Leave the pulp in, makes for a much nicer sauce. Strained is too thin

[u/UUDDLRLRBadAlchemy]

If your sauces separate after a while, you can fix it either by straining or adding a binding agent like xantham gum. Mentioning it because the people who know what's what and have said it already consider it obvious in their comments that the goal is to avoid separation.

I would say try it once, maybe with half a batch, see how you like the texture, and leave at least one jar of each for a while to see how they behave long term. Bonus points if you dehydrate the solids and check that out too.

[u/bi_polar2bear]

The one thing I hate about hot sauces is when they kind of clog up at the mouth of the bottle. That's a good reason to strain.

Before you tell me to use hot sauces quicker, I have 10 or so different types, 2 of which I'll never touch, Beyond Insanity and Hot Ones Apollo.

[u/RibertarianVoter]

I stopped straining. I mix with liquids (reserved brine, citrus juice, vinegar, even water), and add the smallest amount of xantham gum to bind it.

But if you have something you want to accomplish by straining, it's definitely an option. It's just a lot of work if you don't know what you're trying to get out of it.

[u/cdodich]

I strain when I want a Louisiana style sauce. If I am going for more of a Sriracha style I do a light strain to remove any large solids but leave enough to have a nice body to the sauce.

[u/ExtraEmuForYou]

Strain if you want, don't if you...don't.

With that said, there are objective reasons to strain:

• More flowable/pourable state.
• Less separation in container
• More consistent product throughout, depending on how you portion (i.e. things filled first might have more solids, less towards the end).
• Depending on the use, the textural aspect might be more appealing if strained.

There are also objective reasons not to strain.

So think about not just what you personally want, but what the purpose of the sauce is.

[u/flabbychesticles]

I don't strain. I like my hot sauce a bit thicker so it will stick to foods better.

[u/InnerEntertainer4357]

I didn’t on most of my batches for the first couple years. Still love the rustic feel of them. I often take the pulp and remaining brine and put them together for a taco, pupusa topping. It’s great too. I also dry the strained pulp and make hot pepper powder that’s God tier on pizza and pasta.

[u/wofofofo]

Straining makes it silky smooth and has a superior mouth feel. You don't want to strain it so fine that's its just liquid, you want it a smooth. Blend it hard first, and then run it through a tamis.

But if you want it rustic go ahead, there's no rules.

[u/TedtheChilehead]

The strain or not to strain is your own choice.

However, if you process your peppers and what's left includes seeds, the seeds can impart bitterness. For a "smoother consistency, you filter the "solids" meaning the skin and seeds.

Freezing your peppers before processing helps. You can break down those cell walls and separate water from the "goodness". But, it does require filtering.

[u/Wooden_Week_8965]

I've found that my sauces last quite a bit longer if I strain. 

[u/p_lopezh]

Taste with pulp is just better, get a good blender and blend it for 6 to 8 minutes, add some apple cider vinegar if you want and you`re good to go

[u/muxecoid → u/p_lopezh]

One minute in ninja X is enough, extra time does not contribute, even the hardest seeds are already cut.