Love Hot Sauce? Ideas for Making Your Own.

About a month ago, I had the pleasure of meeting another awesome farmer growing organic produce in Boulder County, Bonavida Farm.

Before meeting the head honcho, I asked if he had any extra onions, garlic and hot peppers.

I had just run out of my beloved Cholula (not my ideal organic, local hot sauce, but I love it nonetheless), and I thought, how hard could it be to make my own? Lucky for me he had extra, and I set out to make my own.

I danced around the hot sauce recipes I found on Google and settled on this one, as a launching pad.

Now, I am definitely no baker. This is mainly because I don’t follow cooking directions very well. The intro baking recipes for my novice skillset is too limiting. I like to keep flexibility in my cooking style and be able to adapt when I don’t have all of what the recipes call for. Here are the ingredients for the recipe I found:

• 20 tabasco or serrano chilis, stemmed and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch slices, or 12 very ripe red jalapenos (about 10 ounces)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced onions
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar

And now here is what I used. Apologies if it adds too much confusion; I was working with what I had on hand!

• 13 green jalapenos, 15 very hot peppers of an unknown variety (skinny, 3 inch red ones), mild green peppers (about 5 inches long, also skinny), and about 10 small bell peppers
• 15 medium cloves of garlic, slightly chopped (it’s going to pureed, after all) I love garlic and its anti-viral health properties, a statement not approved by the FDA, of course
• 2 medium red onions, slightly chopped
• 5 pinches of salt
• vegetable oil (I forgot about this one and didn’t include it…and can’t tell its absence)
• 4 cups water
• 4 cups distilled white vinegar
• dried chipotle powder- I added about 4 pinches full

I know there is some ambiguity here regarding the pepper varieties, but hopefully this will give you something to start with. With these ingredients, I don’t think you can go too wrong.

Since you add the vinegar at the very end, if you are not following the recipe, I would start with a smaller amount, give a taste check, and add more if necessary. And since the vinegar acts as a preservative, you can put your sauce in any repurposed container with a lid and enjoy, when stored in the fridge, for up to six months.

Get creative, play and enjoy!

Laura Ruby is an avid foodie enthusiast, sniffing out fresh, local and yummy food wherever she goes. She worked as the Garden Coordinator for the Growe Foundation for the past three and a half years installing gardens and teaching garden curriculum at Boulder Valley elementary schools. She is also the founder and owner of YummyYards, an edible landscaping company, working to co-create more functioning, self-sufficient landscapes, and is a co-facilitator and teacher at the Lyons Permaculture Design Course at the Farmette. When not teaching about growing food, you can usually find her in a garden somewhere.

~

Editor: Seychelles Pitton

 

Like elephant Food on Facebook!