I've made some hot sauce that consists of:
- Whole large white onion
- Jalapenos (about 5, seeds and veins)
- Poblanos (about 3, seeds and veins)
- Sweet Peppers (about 6, seeds and veins, unknown name, small and bright colored)
- Can of roasted tomatoes with garlic
- 1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup of White Vinegar
I blended all of the hard ingredients together until it was a fine puree, then added the vinegar, and blended some more. Then I simmered on the stove in a covered pot for about 20 minutes, until reduced, then blended again before using a wire mesh strainer and plastic funnel to put into cleaned squeeze bottles (most solids removed).
Similar questions such as How to determine if canning is safe? seem to indicate it's all about the acid content.
As does: http://foodinjars.com/2010/08/canning-101-why-you-cant-can-your-familys-tomato-sauce/
My concern is if I don't have enough acid content, or if the tomatoes have caused there to be a risk.
I would ideally like to store my sauce in the fridge for a few weeks (or longer, if conducive to proper home bottling) so that I don't have to think up 101 dishes that use hot sauce all before it spoils.
I've read that a pH of 4.6 is "good"… should I get pool water testing strips and test it against that?
How do I determine if my recipe has enough acid content to safely store longer than a couple of days in the fridge?
Best Answer
On the surface, the recipe would seem OK, but you can't really go by on the surface. What is is the source of the recipe? Is it a tested, reliable source such as a well-established book, say one in the Ball series or is it a home devised or family one? From the eye ball test, the onion and garlic would yell high pH to me, though all the peppers are well over 4.5. One cup of vinegar is a considerable amount, though, especially if it was say 7.5% instead of 5%.
But eye tests cannot be trusted. No, I would not come even close to trusting pool strips. Those would simply test the pH of the liquid which you know is there, they would not test he solids and without real testing I cannot say that simmering 20 minutes is enough to equalize levels and make the strips accurate. A pH meter, maybe, but still iffy I would think. What you need is a test on the recipe that was canned and then sat for months. Just one person's opinion though.