Fermented chilli sauce
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- Earthmaiden
- Posts: 5297
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:58 am
- Location: Wiltshire
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
"Just about every culture, new and old, has its own fermented chilli sauce, ..."
Does British culture have one? I don't remember even hearing about chilli sauce until I was well into adulthood.
Does British culture have one? I don't remember even hearing about chilli sauce until I was well into adulthood.
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
"Earthmaiden wrote: Does British culture have one?
I should say. Does Afro-Caribbean, African, and Asian culture count? And are we only talking about fermented sauces or do vinegar based count as well?
I guess it also depends where you were brought up.
I think fermenation is more for flavour in pastes and sauces than for preservation. I had to laugh at the opening part of this piece but - such a classic dude ring-of-fire chillihead! TBH he'd get higher and more endorphin rushes upping his cardio workout levels. I do like a good chile sauce paste recipe tho!
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- karadekoolaid
- Posts: 2581
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:40 pm
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
Well here am I, a dedicated, dyed-in-the-wool chile fanatic, identifying clearly with his first paragraph! With the possible exceptions of the very hottest in the world (Dragon´s Breath, Carolina Reaper, Trinidad Scorpion, Naga or bhut jolokia) I try every chile I buy. Yes, habaneros too. Absolutely necessary to establish (a) the approximate heat level and (b) the flavour. Floral? Acidic? Citric? Chocolatey? Sweet?
I´m not a great fan of fermented chiles; I´d rather preserve them in vinegar, as a cooked sauce or, as the Mexicans do, in "escabeche". If you don´t get the fermentation right, you have that nasty, sour, rotten-veg flavour in your mouth - not nice at all.
If I had a glut, I´d just put some pickling spice in the bottom of a jar, fill the jar with the chiles and add boiling white wine vinegar. Or dry sherry - lovely to accompany paellas! (Although a bit extravagant, perhaps). Or I´d make some of my "C4" hot sauce!
I´m not a great fan of fermented chiles; I´d rather preserve them in vinegar, as a cooked sauce or, as the Mexicans do, in "escabeche". If you don´t get the fermentation right, you have that nasty, sour, rotten-veg flavour in your mouth - not nice at all.
If I had a glut, I´d just put some pickling spice in the bottom of a jar, fill the jar with the chiles and add boiling white wine vinegar. Or dry sherry - lovely to accompany paellas! (Although a bit extravagant, perhaps). Or I´d make some of my "C4" hot sauce!
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
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TBH I never thought that many chile sauces were made using fermented chiles anyway. My standard hot sauce is vinegar based made with soaked dried red chiles - my pref is for flavour and medium heat - a smidgen of garlic zapprd in the blender with enough white vinegar to achieve desired consistency.
KDK Not sure that fermentation creates a rotten veg flavour. IMO more of a souring or acidification that also preserves - like cucumber pickles or kimchi. Your sherry chiles sound great.
I had a small jar of habaneros in straight vinegar that kept for years in the fridge! I used them once in a very great while but alas just too incendiary even tho they have a fantastic flavour.
I want to make some harissa and have been looking at recipes one of which allows the paste to ferment. Looks interesting tho I thought cumim is more North African than caraway but I could be wrong on that.
http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/reci ... pe_id/729/
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TBH I never thought that many chile sauces were made using fermented chiles anyway. My standard hot sauce is vinegar based made with soaked dried red chiles - my pref is for flavour and medium heat - a smidgen of garlic zapprd in the blender with enough white vinegar to achieve desired consistency.
KDK Not sure that fermentation creates a rotten veg flavour. IMO more of a souring or acidification that also preserves - like cucumber pickles or kimchi. Your sherry chiles sound great.
I had a small jar of habaneros in straight vinegar that kept for years in the fridge! I used them once in a very great while but alas just too incendiary even tho they have a fantastic flavour.
I want to make some harissa and have been looking at recipes one of which allows the paste to ferment. Looks interesting tho I thought cumim is more North African than caraway but I could be wrong on that.
http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/reci ... pe_id/729/
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- karadekoolaid
- Posts: 2581
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:40 pm
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
Here´s a recipe I used for harissa recently. None left because I ate it all:
KKA´s Harissa
16 dried red chiles (why 16, I don´t know. If you use a mild, large chile - a guajillo, for example, you might need less. If they´re chile de arbol, then 16 will do!)
1/4 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste.
1-2 cloves of garlic, or to taste
1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
Olive oil - enough to emulsify the sauce.
All put in the blender until a nice thick paste was formed, then into a small jar and topped with olive oil. I kept the harissa in the fridge.
KKA´s Harissa
16 dried red chiles (why 16, I don´t know. If you use a mild, large chile - a guajillo, for example, you might need less. If they´re chile de arbol, then 16 will do!)
1/4 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste.
1-2 cloves of garlic, or to taste
1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
Olive oil - enough to emulsify the sauce.
All put in the blender until a nice thick paste was formed, then into a small jar and topped with olive oil. I kept the harissa in the fridge.
- karadekoolaid
- Posts: 2581
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:40 pm
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
I KNEW I´d seen that name before - Clifford A.Wright! I bought his book (above) years ago, thinking it would be a wonderful addition to my Mediterranean cookbooks.
I was wrong. Whilst it may be a wonderful compendium for food historians, it´s got to be one of the most boring books I´ve ever bought. It´s 815 pages long and it might, (and I say might) have about 10 illustrations in it. All in black and white. And none of any of the recipes in the book.
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
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Looks good. Caraway must be a must. Must be good if you ate it all. Great on sandwiches too.
Ive only ever looked at Clifford Wright's recipes online.
Looks good. Caraway must be a must. Must be good if you ate it all. Great on sandwiches too.
Ive only ever looked at Clifford Wright's recipes online.
- Earthmaiden
- Posts: 5297
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:58 am
- Location: Wiltshire
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
I have noticed that not all ready prepared Harissa contains cumin but always caraway. As I am not overly fond of cumin I always look for one without.
- Stokey Sue
- Posts: 8629
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
- Location: Stoke Newington, London
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
Caraway and cumin together is characteristic of Tunisian cooking - caraway grows wild on abandoned properties in Tunis
I buy a Tunisian harissa called Le Phare du Cap Bon which comes in tubes and is probably cheaper to buy than to make as it’s <£1 I made the guide in Tunis laugh when we were looking at Le Phare (the lighthouse) by telling her I had it in my fridge
I buy a Tunisian harissa called Le Phare du Cap Bon which comes in tubes and is probably cheaper to buy than to make as it’s <£1 I made the guide in Tunis laugh when we were looking at Le Phare (the lighthouse) by telling her I had it in my fridge
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
Stokey Sue wrote:Caraway and cumin together is characteristic of Tunisian cooking - caraway grows wild on abandoned properties in Tunis
Thanks for that - did not know and now makes sense in the recipes. I thought it was some strange substitution or quirk in non North African food writing interpretations.
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- halfateabag
- Posts: 967
- Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:28 pm
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
When I had a glut of fresh chilies in the GH I used KKA's recipe for pickled chilies. 'He' adored it, bit hot for me.
When we went to Tobago, I was about to buy supermarket chilli sauce, our host said leave it on the shelf, I will get you some. He did (HM) and I have the smallest amount left. We went to Tobago about 15 years ago.
When we were in Portugal last year we went to a local market and I bought half a kilo of red chilies, brought them home and followed the Tobagan instructions for making chilli sauce and I now have a version that I find suits my palate better. All versions live in the fridge.
When we went to Tobago, I was about to buy supermarket chilli sauce, our host said leave it on the shelf, I will get you some. He did (HM) and I have the smallest amount left. We went to Tobago about 15 years ago.
When we were in Portugal last year we went to a local market and I bought half a kilo of red chilies, brought them home and followed the Tobagan instructions for making chilli sauce and I now have a version that I find suits my palate better. All versions live in the fridge.
- karadekoolaid
- Posts: 2581
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:40 pm
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
Now you mention Tobago - reminds me of the only time chiles have got the better of me.
We were playing cricket against a team from Trinidad & Tobago, many years ago. When we sat down for lunch, one guy produced a jar of "hot pickles", which I duly dug into, and burned my mouth. They were Scotch Bonnet peppers; not for the faint-hearted.
We were playing cricket against a team from Trinidad & Tobago, many years ago. When we sat down for lunch, one guy produced a jar of "hot pickles", which I duly dug into, and burned my mouth. They were Scotch Bonnet peppers; not for the faint-hearted.
- Badger's Mate
- Posts: 1489
- Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2016 6:07 pm
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
We went to T&T for our honeymoon
I used to work with a Trini guy who started to sell his HM pepper sauce. I bought loads of it but he left us and stopped doing it after awhile. Great shame, he used to keep me in dalpuri, too.
I used to work with a Trini guy who started to sell his HM pepper sauce. I bought loads of it but he left us and stopped doing it after awhile. Great shame, he used to keep me in dalpuri, too.
- Stokey Sue
- Posts: 8629
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
- Location: Stoke Newington, London
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
My long ago ex was from a Trinidadian-Guyanese family
Hence learning to put peppers or pepper sauce on everything
I remember watching one guy (actually Anglo Jamaican) have a plate of fairly potent chicken curry - and completely cover it in half a bottle of hot sauce, his normal way of eating, I saw him in action many times
That's not actually terribly healthy
Hence learning to put peppers or pepper sauce on everything
I remember watching one guy (actually Anglo Jamaican) have a plate of fairly potent chicken curry - and completely cover it in half a bottle of hot sauce, his normal way of eating, I saw him in action many times
That's not actually terribly healthy
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
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Was sent some habeneros and a sone big bags of dried chile. Have been trying to recreate a salty pungent sauce that I'm pretty sure would have been fermented...
https://www.wellpreserved.ca/fermented- ... rs-morita/
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Was sent some habeneros and a sone big bags of dried chile. Have been trying to recreate a salty pungent sauce that I'm pretty sure would have been fermented...
https://www.wellpreserved.ca/fermented- ... rs-morita/
.
- karadekoolaid
- Posts: 2581
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:40 pm
Re: Fermented chilli sauce
Looks good, ZeroCook!
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