Hot Sauce For Dummies

[Albuddah]

One of you guys needs to put together a book for beginners that want to learn to make and bottle their own sauce. I really want to learn, but I don't know where to begin. I even have a great name for my first sauce, but alas I got to learn how to make da sauce.

The book could be a step by step guide to go from the kitchen experiment to selling at the Fiery Foods Event in New Mexico. It would even be a nice group effort from the bakers and the shakers of this board. What say you?

[Albuddah]

Well I guess this was not as good of an idea as I thought it was. Is it against the hot sauce maker to divulge his secrets to the masses? Think about it as a big advertisement for your hot sauce. You can place ads within the guide, addresses, phone numbers and pictures of the scovie awards you might have won. You could easily use it as a marking tool and at the same time give your expertise to the beginner like me. I guess I will just head to the library and do the research myself.

[chemicalmasochist]

id buy that book if i came across one. i got some ideas for ingredients, but know nothing about preserving or bottleing them.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Albuddah

Well I guess this was not as good of an idea as I thought it was. Is it against the hot sauce maker to divulge his secrets to the masses? Think about it as a big advertisement for your hot sauce. You can place ads within the guide, addresses, phone numbers and pictures of the scovie awards you might have won. You could easily use it as a marking tool and at the same time give your expertise to the beginner like me. I guess I will just head to the library and do the research myself.

Hey Buddah, if you want to come all the way out to Washington I could bring you to our co-packer next time we pack. They have all the answers, and you could watch, and help if you like. Each time we go it is usually one new product and one or two that are tried and true. Depending on the products I usually use between 1 and 5 kitchen staff, plus the production manager. The manager checks ph, and temps and makes sure everything is within guidelines. The kitchen staff work for me, I tell them what goes where..ie 10 gallons of honey in that steam kettle. Once the bottling begins I'm done for the day! Hey any questions I can answer for you let me know. I see you've already been to Firedawg's blog so they can really help out as well. The easiest way, at least I think so, to get started is to use a co-packer. They become the persons responsible for making sure your products are in compliance. I don't think anyone is trying to withhold info from the masses. Competition makes us all better!! I think you just need to ask more specific questions. I think the book is a great idea. I think it would have to be done by someone like CaJohn, Jim Cambell, or Blair otherwise it would make the writer sound like a know it all.

[Justin]

i have been making my own dry seasonings for a while, and just recently decided to try and make some hot sauce, i used a seasoning mix that i have already perfected and just changed it up a little bit, then added fresh peppers, lemon juice, vinager, and salt. it turned out really good, but is still to thick. i dont want to change the flavor at all, right now you cant really taste the vinager and i want to keep it that way, but i cant use just lemon juice or it will change the flavor to much, any suggestions?

[Sam]

Just add water? or extra light olive oil maybe?

[Albuddah]

Originally Posted by Sam

Hey Buddah, if you want to come all the way out to Washington I could bring you to our co-packer next time we pack. They have all the answers, and you could watch, and help if you like. Each time we go it is usually one new product and one or two that are tried and true. Depending on the products I usually use between 1 and 5 kitchen staff, plus the production manager. The manager checks ph, and temps and makes sure everything is within guidelines. The kitchen staff work for me, I tell them what goes where..ie 10 gallons of honey in that steam kettle. Once the bottling begins I'm done for the day! Hey any questions I can answer for you let me know. I see you've already been to Firedawg's blog so they can really help out as well. The easiest way, at least I think so, to get started is to use a co-packer. They become the persons responsible for making sure your products are in compliance. I don't think anyone is trying to withhold info from the masses. Competition makes us all better!! I think you just need to ask more specific questions. I think the book is a great idea. I think it would have to be done by someone like CaJohn, Jim Cambell, or Blair otherwise it would make the writer sound like a know it all.

I wish I had the money to do such a thing. The invite is very much appreciated. It definitely would be cool to do. I will be scrapping the bottom of my wallet just to get to Albuddahquerque for the FF's. I think the book is a great idea and since the hot sauce community is mostly a friendly one, albeit competitive it would be a nice book for the average person wanting to know the difference in peppers, sauces, salsas, mustards, etc and how they go from kitchen ideas to mass produced store bought condiments. It could be championed by a Cajohn or a Blair, but it could be so much more. Dave DeWitt could definitely piece it all together as he has done with the "Hot Sauce Bible". If someone could interview the major hot sauce people and tour all of their facilites, then talk to the chileheads, collectors, and various people walking around the big events it could be all encompassing.

Nice review by the way, congrats on getting your first.

[Sam]

Well we will be @ FFS so let's hang out and have a beer or two.

[DEFCON Creator]

You mean people actually drink beer at the Albuquerque show?

[Justin]

Originally Posted by Sam

Just add water? or extra light olive oil maybe?

ill try those, thanks for the tip. what products do you make?

[Sam]

Zane & Zack's Honey-Mustard, Honey-Jalapeno, Honey-Chipotle, Honey-Habanero, Three Brothers Hot Pepper Sauce, and Chipotle-Cream Cheese Spread.

[Justin]

seems like i read something about three brothers hot sauce, i remember it saying that there is actually not three brothers, or maybe there is but only one of you makes hot sauce? or something like that i dont remember.

i added some water to my sauce and it worked great, i never would of thought of sompthing so simple. i guess thats why i just make it for fun at home for my own consumption and not to sell.

[Jodie]

Originally Posted by DEFCON Creator

You mean people actually drink beer at the Albuquerque show?

The horror!

[Sam]

Justin the Three Brothers are my sons. Zane, Zack and Hans.

[Justin]

now that i think about it the interview might of been on two brothers hot sauce.