Screaming Hot Pepper Vinegar

This came about from having:

1) A glut of fresh chillies in the garden (I think they’re bird’s eyes)

2) Paul Prudhommes Louisana Family Cookbook

3) A Idea of the desired end product (Clearish, thin, no lumps, lotsa heat)

Whats Needed:

  Ingredients

5l Chillies

5l White vinegar

 Equipment

Filter of some sort (I use chinios strainer followed by a oil filter)

Heat source (Gas, electrics, whatever you have)

Blender

Gloves (Personal choice is surgical then the yellow rubber ones)

Heat proof non reactive container (big stainless pot, lab glassware, whatever is available)

Respirator (not ESSENTIAL, but very nice to have)

Thermometer

A lab fume cupboard (makes it a lot easier to deal with, but you can do without)

The How its made (with commentary)

Grind the chiilies to a fine paste

Add the vinegar, bring to the boil and simmer forabout five minutes

(to clear sinuses take a deep breath of the fumes, a respirator is useful from

now onwards until its bottled)

Working in batches, pour into the blender and process in batches until smooth

(don’t overfill the blender and be careful of it splashing in your eyes

(it hurts like a motherf***er, yes I’ve made the mistake of doing it)

Run through the coarse strainer, blending whatever is left again

(until the law of diminishing returns kicks in)

Run through the fine strainer, (the reason for doing coarse and then fine is it won’t

get clogged up as much, just makes life easier)

Thin until you have the consistency you want

Pour into sterilized bottles, cap and bring to 90C for 20 minutes (This is where a commercial

kitchen comes in very handy, Rational Combi Ovens are wonderful inventions.

They run dry heat from 30-300C, moist heat 30-130, or any combination of the two where the

amount of humidity is settable. For this I use 90C on full steam mode.)

This makes a kickass mayonaisse, as well as a splash into anything that needs a touch of livening up.

KD