I have a particular brand of jarred pickles I buy from a local supplier. They're some kind of beer pickle, and the brine has a vinegar and IPA type of taste, and it's loaded with garlic and dill. Very tasty indeed.
I also have a fondness for hot peppers. I recently bought some dried powdered hot peppers, including smoked ghost pepper (which tastes awesome) and dried Trinidad Mogura Scorpion pepper, which is mostly heat, and not too much flavor.
Would it be safe to add a teaspoon of each of these powders to a 700mL jar of pickles (yes, I love them obscenely hot) and store the result in the fridge for up to a couple weeks? My primary concern is the hot peppers causing spoilage by adding them.
Thank you.
Best Answer
This shouldn't be a safety concern. Bacteria could certainly be introduced (if you use your hands to add the pepper or a cross-contaminated utensil), however, the acidic environment of the pickling liquid should keep any possible bacterial growth in check. The other contaminant to consider would be botulism, but again, in a pickling environment (high acidity, high salt) this is not a concern. So...make your pickles as spicy as you like.