How to know if a recipe is acidic enough for storage/bottling?
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
Excellent question! I understand wanting to experiment with your own recipe. I hate following recipes and would much rather develop my own.
Virginia Tech has a PDF file that I consider invaluable to download at Boiling Water Bath Canning. In the downloaded file it says
Only high-acid food with a pH of 4.6 or less can be processed using the boiling water bath method. This is because only high-acid foods prevent the growth of spores of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum which can't be killed by boiling. Foods with a pH more than 4.6 allow the spores to grow.
Everything that a home canner would need to learn and know how to successfully can using a boiling water bath method is included in this 15 page file. It even includes jam and jellies and some information on fermenting foods with advice about possible problems.
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How do I test my canning for acidity?
Depending on the pH of the product, you may be able to use paper pH strips (often referred to as litmus paper), or required to use a pH meter. Paper strips that measure pH rely on a color change in the paper to indicate product pH. Paper strips can be used to measure pH if the product pH is less than 4.0.What pH level is safe for canning?
The Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend that naturally acidic foods (such as fruit, jams/jellies) and acidified foods (such as pickles and salsa) have safe pH levels before canning. A pH of 4.6 or lower is required for safe canning without the use of pressure processing.What pH is a sauce shelf stable?
In order for your hot sauce to be shelf-stable, it needs to have a PH of 4.0.What pH level kills botulism?
Clostridium botulinum produces an extremely potent neurotoxin that is among the deadliest poisons known. Trace amounts of this toxin, which causes the food-borne illness known as botulism, are enough to kill. Fortunately, the spores of Clostridium botulinum will not grow if the pH of a food is 4.6 or less.20 Canning Mistakes to Avoid
More answers regarding how to know if a recipe is acidic enough for storage/bottling?
Answer 2
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.
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