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> but then ignored the instructions and found significantly better recipes online

How did you compare them?

He did a peer-reviewed, double-blind study with 1000 test subjects over the course of 10 years.

Only 1000 subjects? I hope it was a large effect size!

The included recipes were of the "introductory level" type that would of course be passable, but devoid of any complexity. I've made enough sauces now that I can make a pretty good guess on how it'll turn out with various ingredients.

Care to share some links to your favorites?

I don't keep them around since I mainly use them more for inspiration. But the non-fermented dipper I mentioned was based on the one here: https://plantedandpicked.com/habanero-plum-hot-sauce. I've described the replacement ingredients I made in other comments, so I won't list them here. Just wing it. That's what I do beyond using recipes as a safe-guard for portioning.

I will point out though that I used 1/2 the amount of habanero, and then I replace (plus a bit more) the other half with other peppers to give it a fuller flavour, and more about a pleasant lingering warmth than scorching-face heat. I really enjoy the different types of heat different peppers can impart, and I really pay attention to the flavour itself to make sauces that taste like they fit some sort of "theme" or locale. (That is to say, I probably wouldn't mix Scotch Bonnet with Pequin, because I don't think they would work all that well together, but there are combinations that are simply incredible.)

Pretty much the only thing I really stick to verbatim is the spices and some of the herbs. And I use the recipe volumes (tsps or cups or whatever) to gauge what I need to do to ensure the finished sauce will be recognizable and balanced appropriately even if the ingredients I used are not the same, but merely "similar."

As long as you know your flavours, and you don't over-use any given ingredient, it is really hard to go wrong.

Do you have a recommendation on a kit to use?

Not really. I literally only bought this because I was interested in the bottles that came with the kit. Well, I looked because I'm interested in the subject, but I bought it for the bottles because they are nicer looking than what I was using prior. The kit came with a sampling of different types of dried peppers, so I'm using them for things as well.

If you want to go for a kit, find one with several types of peppers. There is a lot of variety in flavour and heat levels. I mentioned cascabel, for example... they're not particularly hot, but instantly make you think "Mexican!" when you taste it. Even with kits, you still have to buy all the other ingredients, so I think it is actually better to just go that route and use ingredients you already have or buy with groceries.

If you are going to ferment, I did use a water bubbler that I got from a wine brewing place. They are not expensive, since they are simply clear plastic valves and a rubber sealing ring. Just add water. I've seen them for super cheap on Wish dot com even. I don't use a pH tester (although I may in the future), but after 2 weeks, just taste it. You'll know if it is ready because it'll taste very different than how it tasted when you bottled it. Chance of it still fermenting after 2 weeks is nearly zero anyway. At least that's the general consensus I read online, and it worked out that way for my first attempt.

I recommend doing vinegar based pepper sauces to gain experience with how things taste, etc. You'll know very quickly how they turn out. With fermenting, there's a long agonizing wait. Mind you, my first attempt came out so well, I am glad I made both in the same day, so I wasn't without some homemade sauce while I waited for the fermenting one. And with fermented pepper sauces, you use fewer ingredients, so maybe they always turn out well.

Nice! Thanks for the heads up. I'll take a look at some kits. I'm more interested in the equipment than the peppers or recipes. I've done sourcrout in the past, used a big 50 gallon plastic container and let it ferment for a week and then into the jars it went.

But I'm really curious about venturing into hot pepper sauces.

> I did use a water bubbler that I got from a wine brewing place. [...] Chance of it still fermenting after 2 weeks is nearly zero anyway.

No need to guess/reason about it if you're using a water-filled airlock - if it's still bubbling it's still fermenting.

In homebrewing people generally leave it for fermentation to stop/slow to a rough rate, since even if you're repeating a recipe it's not that repeatable - the temperature (other than in extreme home setups!) and yeast activity/count (best you can do is buy the same thing 'fresh' both times) in particular. It's not really a problem, it just means it doesn't make sense to stick dogmatically to x weeks exactly.

(Commercially it matters of course, and they control temperature and employ microbiologists to deal with it, and many other variables so they can hit consistent production time, flavour, and ABV, every time.)

Exactly. I mentioned it specifically become some sites I have found talk about pH balance and whatnot as if it is ultra important, and I think if you're using a bubbler it's all a moot point anyway. But someone who doesn't know could easily be convinced to buy those things when unless you're commercial, you don't need them. I've made wine, cider, beer, yogurt and kombucha as well, and haven't yet poisoned anyone.

As long as you keep oxygen away, and don't go overkill on the additional spices and herbs, it's really hard to go wrong.

Which better recipe did you follow?

I literally Google Image surf and choose one that looks good and contains peppers that are the same/ similar/ compatible with the pepper(s) I plan on using. Then I use it as a guide so my ingredient portions would be reasonably correct. I also tend to stay reasonably faithful to the spices used, since that's where a lot of the characteristic flavour besides the pepper itself comes from. I don't follow the recipes entirely faithfully since I use ingredients from my garden and from the neighbourhood, and a lot of time they are quite atypical. Like the Damson I used - those are like little black plums. But literally any fruit even remotely like them will work. And I love using Perilla when mint is called for because it imparts a bright red that helps the sauce look "dangerous." Ironic that the hottest looking colour comes from the coolest tasting ingredient. Of course I use other mints as well. Like peppers, there is so much variation to be had.

For example, I didn't have enough wine vinegar for my most recent dipper that I mentioned, so I mixed what I had with a little cooking rice wine and about 1/8 cup of sherry, and then added less salt than was originally called for since cooking wine tends to already be salty. And it came out quite yummy.

Mind posting a recipe you liked?

I posted a link for another comment in the thread. I replaced certain ingredients, but it otherwise what I made was based entirely on the recipe. I used different peppers (half of what was called for, then a half plus a bit more of some different peppers), and completely changed the vinegar ingredient. Also I used a plum-like fruit instead of plum, but they're really close in texture and flavour.

Part of what I like about that particular recipe is that the coriander seeds are really forward in the flavour.