Even though the hot peppers may have a lemon flavor it is no way affecting the acidity. Bottled lemon juice would be used, or citric acid if you just want sour without lemom taste. Not sure how much you would need to add, but I would expect pressure canning would help to increase safety even if the added acid were a bit low. Because this is your own recipe, and I doubt if its listed anywhere as being safe, you may want to just do the same as before. Another option would be to pulverze it and then dry it out as a powder, but that might affect taste and heat. Water bath would not work for this, it would require pressure canning.

Thanks for the advice. I'm wondering how new recipes get to be 'established' or 'approved'. And it's not really a recipe, I'd think. It is only pureed hot peppers (no seeds or skins). No additional ingredients. And since this type of pepper already has a lemony flavor, I wouldn't have minded the addition of lemon juice for acidity. As a puree like this, it is so easy to add to soups, stews, chili and sauces. I may have to console myself with just freezing the puree and thawing as I need it. Too bad, I had a huge crop this year and wanted to share it with friends.

Since this is my first early lessons in canning, I'm not in a comfortable position to shell out for a pressure canner (almost $100 at local hardware store). As it is, I only just found out that since I have an electric stove and my mother's enamel canning kettle has ridges on the bottom, I'm not supposed to use it on my electric stove! Why? I don't know. I might understand if it was one of those electric stoves with 'coiled rings'. But mine is one of those smooth tops. I sure hope I don't need to discard the 14 pints of tomatoes I just did this week using that kettle on the stove.

Am I setting myself up for a hospital visit? ;-)

Thanks so much, everyone, for the advice.

Kris

If I were you I would try some for taste too before I canned a whole bunch to use as gifts because I made some salsa a few days ago and used lime juice and lemon juice and didn't really care for the flavor...

You'd be better off freezing it in small containers then tell the friends it needs to be kept in the fridge once thawed.

Reason, in addition to the unknown amount of acid needed for this low-acid recipe and the unknown processing time required, you also have the problem that it is pureed. Generally pureed products are not allowed in home canning (there are a few exceptions that have been tested). Pureed products have a density issue that prevents heat from adequately penetrating it.

As to how recipes get approved, they have to be professionally tested in a food lab - NCHFP is the primary source. Some local extension offices will do it for a fee.

All that said, the closest I can get to your recipe is Cayenne Pepper Sauce from NCHFP.

Using it you could safely leave out all the other low-acid ingredients - the tomatoes, cilantro, the garlic, and the onions and add enough peppers to equal the total measurement of those. ie: sub 4 c more peppers for the 4 c onions. Follow me?

Then use the 3 cups vinegar called for OR use 3 c bottled lemon juice (not fresh) as it is even more acid than vinegar and then puree and process as directed in that recipe.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Amazon.com has a Presto 23 quart pressure canner for about $84, and I think its still free shipping. If you do plan to can low acid stuff, the pressure canner can open a whole new world of safety. Recipes, even if made with just one ingredient are still going to need added acid. Hot peppers are quite low in acid, and have more natural oils for the heat.

Dave, this is a great idea. I had found that recipe earlier today, but the last thing I would be capable of right now would be to 'dink' with a recipe. But with your advice I could a) use my pepper sauce and b) use lemon juice instead of vinegar and c) not need a pressure canner as this recipe uses BWB. I'll whip up a little batch and check it for taste. If it's a 'go', I'll do a 'real' batch and jar it up in 4 oz jelly jars. I'll let you know how it goes! :-)

(In future, can I assume I would always be able to substitute equal amounts of lemon juice for vinegar in recipes?)

Kris

No, vinegar and lemon juice have different acidity. Vinegar is much lower.

Careful, you could have a ticking time bomb if after a few weeks or months in jars, they could still get botulism.

Careful, you could have a ticking time bomb if after a few weeks or months in jars, they could still get botulism.

Do you mean with this recipe, Ken or in general if sub lemon juice for vinegar?

In this recipe, if the total amount of low acid ingredients is kept the same and the full amount of acid is used (3 c) it will be safe. More safe than even the recipe if lemon juice is subbed for the vinegar as it is higher acid. But the flavor does become a concern - it may have a real pucker factor. ;) You may want to try 1 1/2 c vinegar and 1 1/2 c lemon juice for less pucker. And cider vinegar will give it a softer, milder taste than white vinegar but will darken the product some.

In future, can I assume I would always be able to substitute equal amounts of lemon juice for vinegar in recipes?

2 different issues: as far as acidity issues, yes you can always sub equal amounts of bottled lemon or bottled lime juice (never fresh) for vinegar as both lemon and lime are more acid than vinegar. The reverse is NOT true - you cannot safely sub vinegar for lemon juice so if lemon juice is called for do NOT change it to vinegar.

But the other issue is the flavor of the end product. Some things that call for vinegar would 'gag a maggot' if lemon juice was substituted. ;)

Dave

Haha. Yes, I doubt 3C of lemon juice would do very well in some recipes. Luckily I'm only looking for lemon for this pepper sauce right now. The foods I cook with this hot sauce are things that I 99% always add lemon juice anyway (stir fry, chili, bean soup, lentils, etc). This sauce is so hot that 5 quarts of chile or bean soup would only need 2-3T of my frozen pepper sauce for heat (and even then, some think I over do it).

As for 'bottled' lemon juice, I'm getting confused. This is in a bottle, a plastic bottle, and it is sold frozen solid to prevent spoilage because it is just 100% lemon juice (reconstituted using filtered water and concentrated lemon juice). There is nothing else in it. Is it then not acid enough? The only other kind of 'bottled' lemon juice around here is processed with sodium benzoate to preserve freshness. Those are my only 2 choices hereabouts. Any suggestions?

Here is a link to the Minute Maid juice:
http://www.minutemaid.com/products/Other/LemonJuice.jsp

No, the frozen lemon juice is not tested or approved. It may be fine (currently being discussed in another thread here about hard water and BWB) but no way to know for sure because like real fresh lemons, the acid level varies from fruit to fruit and container to container.

The approved and tested stuff is sold in a green glass or plastic bottle depending on the brand (or as a small yellow plastic lemon in the produce section). Real Lemon is the most common brand name and is most commonly found on the grocery shelf in the juices aisle. It has a stabilized acidity level so provides consistent safe results.

Whenever canning recipes refer to lemon juice that is the product they mean - nothing else is approved.

Dave

Thank you Dave et al. I've learned a lot today and truly appreciate all your help!

Dave, isn't Minute Maid lemon juice diluted from concentrate to the same acidity as shelf-stable bottled?

I'm surprised you think it would be ok to use just peppers in the cayenne pepper sauce recipe. I would be worried about the acidity and texture differences (such as water content) between peppers and tomatoes. Subbing peppers for onions I have no problem with, but the tomatoes would worry me.

What about a cannable version of the pepper sauce subbing more peppers for the onions, leaving out the garlic and cilantro, but using yellow tomatoes instead of red? Then still freeze your plain puree.

Melissa

Another option is cider vinegar, or citric acid alone. The cider vinegar is ore mellow compared to white distilled. Citric acid is quite strong and you need a lot less of it to acidify something. If you were to use garlic or onion, a granulated product can help, as it will absorb the acid in the liquid, and not dilute it with water from the garlic of onion. Cilantro is not good to can as it loses all of its flavor within hours of cutting up and adding to a canned product. Even dried has no taste or smell.

I'm leaning toward the citric acid. My pepper sauce has the consistency of very very fine applesauce - like baby food only a little thinner (since it went through the food mill). Any of the vinegars and the lemon juice would thin out the texture and have more impact on the flavor of the sauce itself. And what appeals to me about the citric acid, I don't think (I could be wrong here) it wouldn't have any preservatives in it. I had always assumed if I learned to can, I would be able to get away from chemical preservatives and other additives. But I'll try some of the vinegars and the lemon juice. I have quarts of the pepper sauce in the freezer. I'll get Igor to help me in the canning lab (woohaha) and see what we can a) come up for flavor/texture and then b) send the recipe off somewhere and see if would be safe to can in little jars. :-)
Kris

I would be worried about the acidity and texture differences (such as water content) between peppers and tomatoes

Good point Melissa but the 3 cups of liquid acid is still enough to cover both the acidity (lemon juice is higher acid than the vinegar called for) and the liquid issue. Plus the tomatoes would have been drained before being pureed in the NCHFP recipe.

But if that changes to powdered citric acid instead of the lemon juice and/or vinegar then all bets are off. The consistency changes drastically. Kris - They aren't safe trades in this recipe because while the pH would addressed the changed density of the end product would then become and issue. Sorry.

Dave, isn't Minute Maid lemon juice diluted from concentrate to the same acidity as shelf-stable bottled?

Unknown. And with none of the preservatives added the acidity level of it isn't stabilized so won't hold over time. To my knowledge Minute Maid does not make a shelf-life stabilized lemon juice, just the fresh frozen intended for fresh use. Since the pH of the lemons used to make it varies then so does the pH of the frozen juice.

Dave

Nothing to go with your canning question but a comment earlier about the canner made me want to tell you also...If you really might be interested in purchasing a canner...Places like Wal-Mart, Target, and even some of the major stores will be discounting their canners because it is end of season. You could end up picking one up for 45 or 50 bucks...Big Lots comes to mind too.

Citric is pure, as is ascorbie acid thats used for preventing oxidation. Neither has any addditives of any kind. I always wonder what an 'arfificial pereservative is', is it really something that works, or is it just a snow job. Polysorbate 80 is another preservative thats also refined and contains ascobic as well. Citric acid is not usually a powder, but a granulated (crystalized) product like ascorbic acid. Even if you can with just a slight safety concern, you can keep the stuff in sealed jars after is processed, and store in your fridge until you give them out. Print on your labels that refrigeration is required at all times.