<story><title>Making your own hot sauce</title><url>https://successfulsoftware.net/2024/08/04/making-your-own-hot-sauce/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>dhosek</author><text>&amp;gt; if you&amp;#x27;re dealing with hot peppers, use gloves - they help a lot!&lt;p&gt;In my 20s I on more occasions than I’m prepared to admit, rubbed my eye while cooking with peppers. Then I ran to the bathroom, cupped my hands under the water and splashed water in &lt;i&gt;both&lt;/i&gt; eyes. This (obviously, in retrospect) left me painfully blind for about half an hour.&lt;p&gt;I’d note that gloves would have helped in this scenario only if I was smart enough to take them off before splashing water in my eyes. Which branch of that if statement would have been more likely is left as an exercise for the reader.</text></item><item><author>jerrysievert</author><text>I lacto-ferment hot sauce on a regular basis (and give most of it away).&lt;p&gt;my go-to brine is by weight, which eliminates a bunch of issues:&lt;p&gt;* 400g water&lt;p&gt;* 26g salt&lt;p&gt;this makes for a great brine without trying to estimate or &amp;quot;taste&amp;quot; it to see if it&amp;#x27;s ok.&lt;p&gt;in addition, I sometimes use adjuncts:&lt;p&gt;* garlic - this adds a lot of flavor to the sauce, but could add yeast if you&amp;#x27;re not careful&lt;p&gt;* carrots - adds some vegetable flavor and a little bit of sweetness without adding sugar directly&lt;p&gt;I also don&amp;#x27;t pasteurize it (heat it up after it&amp;#x27;s done, or add vinegar), since I prefer the natural change that the sauce has over time.  I also don&amp;#x27;t &amp;quot;thicken&amp;quot; it, you can get a better sauce by using the correct amount of brine when you go to blend it at the end, if all else fails, any leftover brine can be used for other things (I have some great pickles that were started with a partial batch of brine).&lt;p&gt;it&amp;#x27;s a fun hobby, but make sure that you can find a home for the extras if you aren&amp;#x27;t an avid hot sauce eater!&lt;p&gt;editing to add some tips:&lt;p&gt;1. if you&amp;#x27;re dealing with hot peppers, use gloves - they help a lot!&lt;p&gt;2. the seeds and the pith add a lot of heat - you can remove them and get yourself delicious flavor without the pain.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>chias</author><text>In my 30s on EXACTLY ONE occasion I was chopping a bunch of peppers and then went to the bathroom to pee.&lt;p&gt;I have worn gloves each and every time since, when dealing with more than 2 or 3 peppers at habanero heat or above.</text></comment>
<story><title>Making your own hot sauce</title><url>https://successfulsoftware.net/2024/08/04/making-your-own-hot-sauce/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>dhosek</author><text>&amp;gt; if you&amp;#x27;re dealing with hot peppers, use gloves - they help a lot!&lt;p&gt;In my 20s I on more occasions than I’m prepared to admit, rubbed my eye while cooking with peppers. Then I ran to the bathroom, cupped my hands under the water and splashed water in &lt;i&gt;both&lt;/i&gt; eyes. This (obviously, in retrospect) left me painfully blind for about half an hour.&lt;p&gt;I’d note that gloves would have helped in this scenario only if I was smart enough to take them off before splashing water in my eyes. Which branch of that if statement would have been more likely is left as an exercise for the reader.</text></item><item><author>jerrysievert</author><text>I lacto-ferment hot sauce on a regular basis (and give most of it away).&lt;p&gt;my go-to brine is by weight, which eliminates a bunch of issues:&lt;p&gt;* 400g water&lt;p&gt;* 26g salt&lt;p&gt;this makes for a great brine without trying to estimate or &amp;quot;taste&amp;quot; it to see if it&amp;#x27;s ok.&lt;p&gt;in addition, I sometimes use adjuncts:&lt;p&gt;* garlic - this adds a lot of flavor to the sauce, but could add yeast if you&amp;#x27;re not careful&lt;p&gt;* carrots - adds some vegetable flavor and a little bit of sweetness without adding sugar directly&lt;p&gt;I also don&amp;#x27;t pasteurize it (heat it up after it&amp;#x27;s done, or add vinegar), since I prefer the natural change that the sauce has over time.  I also don&amp;#x27;t &amp;quot;thicken&amp;quot; it, you can get a better sauce by using the correct amount of brine when you go to blend it at the end, if all else fails, any leftover brine can be used for other things (I have some great pickles that were started with a partial batch of brine).&lt;p&gt;it&amp;#x27;s a fun hobby, but make sure that you can find a home for the extras if you aren&amp;#x27;t an avid hot sauce eater!&lt;p&gt;editing to add some tips:&lt;p&gt;1. if you&amp;#x27;re dealing with hot peppers, use gloves - they help a lot!&lt;p&gt;2. the seeds and the pith add a lot of heat - you can remove them and get yourself delicious flavor without the pain.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>nbk_2000</author><text>Rinsing your eye(s) with milk will alleviate the pain far quicker than water.&lt;p&gt;Something I learned googling with one eye open while the other was burning from being touched with a habanero contaminated finger :&amp;#x2F;</text></comment>