How It's Made: Hot Sauce

[Music] when it comes to cuisine some like it hot a quick way to satisfy a pecan loving palate is with a splash or two of hot sauce typically served with mexican food such as nachos tacos and burritos it can also spice up everyday fare such as eggs potatoes and sandwiches this american company has been producing hot sauce also called a pepper sauce since 1868. its signature version is made from tabasco peppers a type of chili pepper the brand also comes in additional varieties using habanero chipotle and green jalapeno peppers the company has pepper fields at its home base in louisiana as well as in central and south america using seeds harvested from the louisiana crop the company president uses his experienced eye to select the best plants for seed extraction those with even and early ripening juicy peppers well-formed layered branches and healthy damage-free leaves he marks his selection with the string then pickers harvest those peppers and send them to the seed extractor the peppers are hand-picked for sauce production as well to determine which ones are ripe enough the pickers use what cajuns call a petite baton rouge french for a little red stick if a pepper matches the color of the stick they harvest it if not it stays on the plant it's labor intensive but ensures only the perfect peppers go into the sauce within hours of harvesting the factory grinds the peppers and mixes them with salt this creates a mash which then goes into oak whiskey barrels to ferment and age wooden barrels breathe letting in just enough air to spur natural yeast growth the key to fermentation but not too much air which would discolor the mash and produce a metallic flavor after laying paper on top of the mash to prevent surface discoloration workers seal the barrels then they spread a layer of salt over the top the barrels now go to the warehouse where the mash ferments and ages for three years fermentation releases carbon dioxide gas which forces liquid out through a vent hole in the top of the barrel the salt absorbs the liquid and hardens [Music] after the three-year fermentation and aging period they break up the salt and open the barrel what was once pungent and acrid is now aromatic with a mellow complex flavor however it still needs significant refining so they pump it into large mixing tanks add vinegar then churn for three to four weeks that's how long it takes for the vinegar to break down the pepper solids into smaller particles during that process the vinegar also takes on the color flavor and aroma of the peppers the sauce requires no cooking whatsoever because the vinegar acts as a natural preservative the next step is a two-stage milling process the first mill extracts the pepper pulp the second mill removes the seeds the sauce is now finished the quality control department analyzes samples from every batch of sauce for viscosity ph salt level and other criteria lab technicians also perform taste tests for flavor clearing their palette in between with crackers and cooling the fiery heat with ice cream bars once the batch gets the thumbs up it's pumped to the bottling line the company uses glass rather than plastic because glass is a better barrier against oxygen oxygen penetration would adversely affect the flavor and color of the sauce the capping machine twists on a plastic screw cap then the bottles travel to the labeler which adheres the main product label slips on a decorative neckband and applies a clear plastic seal over the cap hot off the production line and ready to go [Music] you

Channel: Science Channel

Views: 2,050,356

Keywords: How It's Made, production line, factory made, mechanical production, how do they do it, everyday items, how it's made full episodes, how its made, how it's made episodes, how to make

Id: -Jj5MTtfJfQ

Length: 5min 24sec (324 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 10 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/spudgray]

How do I get a job that involves eating hot sauce and ice cream all day!?

[u/DemonRaptor1]

Lol I like how they got every single one of their usual chili pickers off the field to get a shot of these guys picking a few chilis. We all know damn well those aren't the guys picking them out there all day.

[u/Julianwds14]

First time someone made tobasco they physically churned it for 3 weeks jesus

[u/CallumBrady]

Hot sauce is the best

[u/gn0xious]

TIL there’s a job out there to taste hot sauce and eat ice cream bars.

[u/Jeffery_G]

The Green Sauce is my jam. Don’t care for the taste of the original red.

[u/azellnir]

country restriction. any mirrors?

[u/onceiwasafairy]

Downvotes are from DJ Khaled's personal accounts

[u/mostlygray]

I always keep Tabasco around. It's the absolute best for eggs and hashbrowns.

I've been fermenting peppers myself as of late. It's easy and only requires patience. I don't bother to filter. I just blend them up with salt and put them in a Mason jar with a loose lid. I did kind of bite off more than I could chew with the Carolina Reapers but I blended in some Poblanos at 50%. It's still way to hot to eat, but the flavor is great. I only ferment about 6 months.

Habanero blended with Anaheim peppers seems to be the sweet spot for flavor and heat. Again no vinegar or anything other than peppers and salt blended. You will cough a lot while you make the mixture. Your kids and wife will hate you. Still, you get a great fermented salsa that goes good on anything.