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

Fruitalli Glaze 4 cups peach nectar (45%fruit juice) 4 cups apricot nectar (45% fruit juice) 1 cup black cherry extract 1 cup each diced finely (used food processer for finer dice) of dried peaches, dried apricots, and dried tart cherries 2 cup finely chopped onion 1/2 cup finely chopped fatalli peppers 3 cups vinegar 7 cups sugar I mix the fruit juices together on a simmer, then I prep the dried fruit and onions. This allows the fruit juices to cook some water off before mixing in the rest of the ingredients. Then mix in all the ingredients and bring to a roiling boil. Once it has come to a boil, you can pull off heat, cover and let sit out overnight. Next night, bring back to a boil and cook until it gets to 225 degrees (this produces a glaze like texture, you can cook till it gets as thick as you like) and then can in jelly jars. BWB for 15minutes for seal. 1. Based off the Habanero Gold Recipe from the Ball Blue Book with alot of tweaking 2. I ended up adding more fatalli because in the end product it just isn't that hot. There is alot of sugar and alot of cooking here and it reduces the heat. That being said, if you taste the glaze it is really really hot but when you cook with it, the heats not there. 3. you can alter the quantities and types of fruit. You CANNOT alter the ratio of vinegar to low acid items (onion, fatalli). If you want to alter these, you must stay in proportion. any other questions just ask? kendra

I make a lot of refrigerator salsas, and use little vinegar, mostly Goya Bitter Orange juice, like is used in the Oaxacan habanero salsas. This is my current favorite. 2-cups dried Numex Suave Orange habaneros 5-dried Ghost peppers 1-small onion, sliced thin 2-medium carrots, sliced thin 6-cloves garlic, smashed 1-teaspoon white pepper 1-tablespoon table salt 1-1/2 cups Goya Bitter Orange juice. 1-cup water, maybe more Put liquids in blender, add salt and white pepper, and all dried chilies. Process until smooth. Do this first so they can start reconstituting. Preheat oven to 425 and place rack in next to highest position. In a large bowl, toss chopped onion, carrots, and garlic in a little olive oil. Spread parchment paper on a baking sheet, and spread veggies evenly over it, place in oven, and roast for 20-25 minutes or until some charring takes place on the onions. Remove, and let cool for five minutes. Pick up parchment paper, and funnel veggies into blender and process until smooth. You may have to add more water if it gets too thick Taste for seasoning, and store in fridge. This lasts me about a week or so. You can also use fresh habs and ghosts sliced in half and roasted with the veggies, but it does require a good vent hood on your stove. Damn, forgot to add the pic...

this was the response I got back: "Good Afternoon, Thank you for contacting the Florida Department of Agriculture concerning our requirements for producing a sauce (BBQ or Hot sauce) without temperature control. Your product does not fall under the Cottage Food Act. For information on permitting, facility requirements, and food labeling please visit our website below. http://www.freshfromflorida.com/fs/permitrq.html If you wanted to make a sauce that does not require refrigeration then the product would need to be evaluated by a process authority, please see the attachment for information on process authorities. The process authority must evaluate the process and product to determine if the sauce is safe at room temperature and if it is an acid or an acidified food. I have attached an example of what is expected from a process authority. You will need to submit the information provided by the process authority to a member of our HACCP team before processing can begin. Based on the provided information we will be able to determine if you need to do the following: ÷ If your food is determined by a process authority to be an acidified food and you sell retail, then you will need to comply with additional regulation. This will include a HACCP plan. Please see attachment for information on HACCP and attachment for a template to create your own HACCP plan. ÷ If you sell your product to other businesses and/or across state lines you will need to register with FDA as a food manufacturing facility. Please use the website below for registering (it is free and online). http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/registrationoffoodfacilities/default.htm ÷ If your food is determined by a process authority to be an acidified food and you sell wholesale then you will need to register with FDA as an acidified food processor and file a scheduled process. Your process authority will be able to assist with the scheduled process. Please visit the website below for information on acidified foods. http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/AcidifiedLow-AcidCannedFoods/EstablishmentRegistrationThermalProcessFiling/Instructions/ucm2007436.htm ÷ If your product is made by a co-bottler the product will still need a process authority evaluation on it. The process authority information will need to be submitted to FDACS for review. For nutritional labeling visit http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm2006867.htm and http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm063113.htm Thank you, Bureau of Food and Meat Inspection Division of Food Safety Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services" looks like I've got some homework to do.