My fridge looked like a weird science project after I tried to make my own hot sauce

I was at my friend's place in Austin last month and he made this amazing fermented habanero sauce. He said it was easy, just peppers, garlic, and salt. I got home and bought like two pounds of peppers, a whole head of garlic, and some weird vinegar I'd never used before. Everything was in jars and bowls, my fridge was a mess of red and orange for a week. I ended up with something way too spicy and kind of fizzy. Has anyone else tried a ferment that just went totally sideways?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnson.ryan9d ago

Oh man, the fizziness means it was still fermenting when you put it in the fridge! You gotta let it sit out on the counter until the bubbles stop, that can take a week or two. And for the heat, try adding a carrot or a bell pepper next time to mellow it out. What kind of vinegar did you even use?

joelsanchez9d ago

Wait, what if the fizz is actually from a wild yeast that got in there? I've had that happen with raw honey once and it kept going forever.