Crock of Time

Beet season is upon us. Reposting spooky pickled beets video: youtube.com/shorts/-MRVR...

Got enough ripe chilies plus some stored in the freezer to finish the main #HotSauce this year, along with smoked and dried chilies from September and vacuum bag #fermented mash from August. Just need to put it all together.

The combined consistency is perfect. I do add a bit of xanthan gum to keep things homogenized, but not enough to really affect the texture. Also since xanthan gum is hard to blend smooth in water but mixes easily with oil, I use this opportunity to use very flavorful black truffle oil.

Got enough ripe chilies plus some stored in the freezer to finish the main #HotSauce this year, along with smoked and dried chilies from September and vacuum bag #fermented mash from August. Just need to put it all together.

With these I removed as many of the seeds as I could and the difference was striking. Almost no solids remained after milling. The seeds leave space for the good stuff to hide within.

Got enough ripe chilies plus some stored in the freezer to finish the main #HotSauce this year, along with smoked and dried chilies from September and vacuum bag #fermented mash from August. Just need to put it all together.

Introducing yet another variable, I decided to go straight to the blender this year. Previously I've used (and almost broken) a food mill attachment for my stand mixer. I do think starting in the blender is the way to go, but straining was difficult and I ended up using my hand mill.

Got enough ripe chilies plus some stored in the freezer to finish the main #HotSauce this year, along with smoked and dried chilies from September and vacuum bag #fermented mash from August. Just need to put it all together.

I once again have more tomatoes than I can eat, so this is all getting cooked down and milled today. Since I recently did ketchup with fermented tomatoes I might dry this into paste and ferment that as a comparison.

Cooked for 7 hours until significantly reduced, probably by about 1/3. Just milled it to remove skin and seeds and ended up with a bit less than 2 quarts of puree. I'm tuckered out so I put it in the fridge for the night, I'll need to reduce this further, probably in a sheet pan in the oven all day.

I once again have more tomatoes than I can eat, so this is all getting cooked down and milled today. Since I recently did ketchup with fermented tomatoes I might dry this into paste and ferment that as a comparison.

Last of my 2022 (Ash & Ember) and 2023 (Firefruit Elixir) hot sauce reserves from before the move. This summer I've been working on the next batch since the hiatus, feels good. #fermentation

That year was also when I realized I could add fresh chilies, more out of necessity than anything because it was *too smoky*. I have a draft for 2023's Firefruit Elixir I never finished writing, but the gist is that I fermented 1pt with 1pt reconstituted smoked, then blended with 1pt fresh+vinegar.

Last of my 2022 (Ash & Ember) and 2023 (Firefruit Elixir) hot sauce reserves from before the move. This summer I've been working on the next batch since the hiatus, feels good. #fermentation

I first experimented with smoking chilies in 2021 for hot sauce by adding them directly to the the bulk ferment. I knew I still had some tweaking to do but I haven't skipped smoking chilies since. crockoftime.com/logbook/fres...

Summer honey sun Trapped in amber on the vine Burst with fleeting joy 📒Fermented Cherry Tomato Ketchup crockoftime.com/logbook/ferm...