obvious what the answer is.

you answer the question yourself but you want the truth to be different than what it is.

Do you expect me to tell you a lie is the truth??? Accept the truth. In the long run you will be better off. Always remember. The Truth shall set you free.

Add more vinegar and push it to the higher end. Stop playing games. Do you want food poisoning.

The low end is only for professional scientists who measure everything constantly and have run extensive experiments.

It is pretty well established when making hot sauce that you use equal parts everything else and equal parts vinegar. or half vinegar in the final product as a MINIMUM. Even more vinegar is better. You can not have too much vinegar.

Tabasco Sauce is probably 90% vinegar. Most commercial hot sauce is MORE THAN HALF VINEGAR.

Next Question?

Hi Nancy - when it comes to canning for shelf storage, if you want guaranteed safety then yes, you really need to use one of the approved and tested recipes and stick to it exactly.

Canning requires a very careful and measured balance of food pH and its density for several reasons. Given the risks when working with low acid foods (like peppers) it just isn't possible to make up or accurately modify our own low-acid food recipes and make them safe for canning. Even if we knew the exact amounts of the peppers you used and the density of the mixture we could still only "guess" at how much vinegar or citric acid would be required for safety and long term shelf storage.

Freezing for long term storage or refrigeration for short term storage are the only safe options available to us.

So if you want to use your own recipe, you either have to make it in small batches than can be kept in the fridge, or plan to freeze it, or be willing to accept the botulism risk. It is your choice.

Sorry we can't be of more help.

Dave