pepper extract

[john102]

i just wanted to know how the make a pepper extract because all my hot sause atemts failed

[terrabyte]

I was under the impression that you either buy it from a chemical company, or you can make your own by boiling away a pepper mash with everclear.

Not to be rude, but if you're failing at making hot sauces, I'd hate to see you blow yourself up when making extract.

[john102]

i would think there would be less ingredients

[Jeff]

I've done the "Homemade Extract" thing... whipped up habs in a blender and added to vodka. Let sit in sealed bottle fo a fewdays, agitating evey so often. A drop on the tongue felt like a needle going through it. Never felt the need to boil/evaporate it down to concentrate it, just used it as it was. It was great for adding heat to things without changing the flavor (much).

I've seen instructions for cooking it down in a double boiler, over electric heat sauce (no open flame) but just didn't want to risk a fire in the kitchen.

[Tina Brooks]

I keep telling the Peppermaster that we should do a natural extract, but that "blowing oneself up" idea puts us off.

I can give out the recipe for the extract we use in our chocolate and our raspberry sauces, but I guess I didn't.

If one is not feeling particularly adventurous, we have a couple of hot sauce makers using our Goat Pepper (Hurricane) Mash.

If anyone wants a copy of the extract recipe, let me know... Maybe I'll post it on my blog.

[john102]

i would be iterested in a recipe. jeffs idea would work but i wont be geting vodka too soon i need an other option for about 7 years

when ever i tryed to make hot sauce it ends up with the consistancy of a shoothie. maybe thats enough for some one to think of what im doing wrong

[terrabyte]

when ever i tryed to make hot sauce it ends up with the consistancy of a shoothie.Then you should quit using crushed ice!! :)
--

I'm assuming your goal is to have a runny consistency like Tabasco?
Because I think the consistency of a smoothie is a sign of a GOOD hot sauce. If it's really pulpy, I guess you could send it through a seive.

I'm pretty sure the only way to make extract at home is with alcohol. Otherwise, Google is your friend.


--

[john102]

even a pulpy sauce like joe perrys or mad dog 357

do you think fermenting pepper mash would work as an alcohol

[Tina Brooks]

Guys, guys, guys.

Fermented pepper mash IS Tabasco, almost... Then they add mother of vinegar, which transfers the alcohol. If you skip the mother of vinegar phase, you have pepper wine. Neither the Peppermaster nor I have any idea how drinkable that would be... But if someone makes one, we'd be willing to taste it.

T.

[Jeff]

I've tasted pepper wine (more correctly raisin-based wine with various peppers added during the process). The results are unique :) Habanero wine was too hot to really appreciate but the NuMex and cayenne were not too bad.

[Tina Brooks]

We've thought about doing that, we've got a friend who makes their own wine... having not tasted them, we're really uncertain. But from what I understand, grapes and peppers ferment the same way.

That said... We've had jalapeno beer and I really like that...

I'm game... if anyone knows where to get one.

T

[john102]

:)

[Tina Brooks]

Oh here, I found it... the Peppermaster wrote this out as a handout for the Playing with Fire lectures...

Put on thin protective gloves. Pretend you are dealing with toxic waste. Protect Mucous membranes! Remove children and clumsy adults from the room. Pay close attention to what you touch.

Split the pepper and reserve the seeds and membranes; the white pith-like substance in the interior. Crush using a mortar and pestle or, if you don't mind infusing your blender with pepper for the next few months, zap it in the blender.

Force through a strainer into a glass bowl. Discard the fibrous pulp and wash the strainer, in a well ventilate area! Try not to inhale while washing up.

Extra Virgin Pepper Extract

By grinding and straining this pulp you have made an extra-virgin, cold-pressed pepper extract. This interior concentration of the pepper contains the greatest souce of capsaicin. To add back the fruity flavour of the original pepper just mix the fruit back in. It is a lengthy process and the fresh extract must be used immediately. The benefit of following this procedure is rewarding: an increase in heat AND an increase in flavour, as the pulp and fibre of the seeds and membranes no longer interferes with the texture or the flavour in the fruit of the pepper.

If you heat this extract in oil until the moisture is driven off, you have a hot elixir that will please the most demanding of chiliheads.

Enjoy

T

[john102]

thanks about how many peppers would that take

[Tina Brooks]

All of them.

I asked the peppermaster how many peppers that would be and he slyly said, "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

T.

[john102]

i smushed about four in a garlic press and heated the juice and because it was only about a sixteenth of a teaspoon it dried up and left a powder
i know its different putting it in a garlic press but it took 15 minute to cut up the peppers and i didn't have enough time to cut enough peppers to put in the blender

and i have a nice burn from the peppers the back of my hand becuase i cuoldn't find gloves. but i used a fork to hold the pepper and that may partly be why it took so long

i think the answer to how many is at least 40 to be chopped up in the blender.

[Tina Brooks]

Forty to me sounds about right, he seems to fill the blender when he's making the extract. But he also tends to fill it several times.

John, I'd be mighty careful using a garlic press, for peppers. I have been pressing garlic and gotten squirted in the eye.

T

[DEFCON Creator]

Greeting all, back from Montana. Anyway, I noticed people were discussing pepper wine and other forms of imbibable (is that a word) pepper liquids. Try mild/medium sauce, preferably a smooth not pulpy or chunky, add vodka and worcestershire (sp?) sauce and ice cubes, and you have a pretty cool version of a Bloody Mary. We have a few local watering holes near us where they use our #3 sauce to make the "Defcon Mary", it's a cultish hit. As for making the homemade extracts, please be careful not to blow up the 'still', it'll be rather hard to claim on the insurance. :mrgreen:

[Dyce51]

I've tasted pepper wine (more correctly raisin-based wine with various peppers added during the process). The results are unique :) Habanero wine was too hot to really appreciate but the NuMex and cayenne were not too bad.


HHHMMM Pepper wine....imagine going to a wine tasting and secretly slipping in some Habanero Wine....for the willing victims to try!!! LOL

[DEFCON Creator]

I've tasted pepper wine (more correctly raisin-based wine with various peppers added during the process). The results are unique :) Habanero wine was too hot to really appreciate but the NuMex and cayenne were not too bad.


HHHMMM Pepper wine....imagine going to a wine tasting and secretly slipping in some Habanero Wine....for the willing victims to try!!! LOL

OK, I'm in! :twisted:

[chuk hell]

OK, I took about 20 -30 habs and crushed them in a mortar and pestal. I stuffed them in a small jar and filled it with pure grain alcohol.

What's the next step?

I'm only trying this "science project" because I have more habaneros than I know what to do with.

[Tina Brooks]

OK, I took about 20 -30 habs and crushed them in a mortar and pestal. I stuffed them in a small jar and filled it with pure grain alcohol.

What's the next step?

I'm only trying this "science project" because I have more habaneros than I know what to do with.

Defcon... you've created a monster.

Chuk... how many peppers do you have that you don't need??? If you've got enough to make it worth my while, I can take them off your hands. :D

[DEFCON Creator]

Monsters are nice! :twisted:

Clean tasting extracts are even nicer!!

Knowing the ancient Chinese secrets is the nicest!!!

Hey, as I stated before...I only build the bomb, I don't drop it.

[Tina Brooks]

Monsters are nice! :twisted:

Clean tasting extracts are even nicer!!

Knowing the ancient Chinese secrets is the nicest!!!

Hey, as I stated before...I only build the bomb, I don't drop it.

Fine then, Dr. Frankenstein, tell poor Chuk what to do next, his peppers are busy getting drunk.

[DEFCON Creator]

You don't do anything until they are completely inebriated (which should take a couple days). You will see a thin layer of cloud appear the actual pepper mash you are using. This is normal. There are a couple secrets I've learned in the distillation process that I will keep to myself, but I really don't want to get into specifics with this processes for the main reason I don't want to be held responsible if the household resembles Nagasaki before the process is complete (it is VERY dangerous if you don't know EXACTLY what you're doing). Grain and capsaicin is a very volatile combination. The grain for it's flammability issues, and the capsaicin for turning the combustible into a kitchen-wide weapon of mass destruction.

I don't know the exact specifics when using fresh habbies, because of the massive amount of extraneous fluids you have to deal with. It's sooooo much easier using dried, and will reach your result with a lot less work. I have a feeling using fresh will yield a substance that will be a bit cloudy, and reducing out the cloudiness too much may result in burning the final product (man, better have a biosuit with external air source if that happens!), but if done correctly, it should have a distinct taste, sans the lovely ketone backwash we've all grown to detest. I'm curious to see. What sort of grain is being used to make the peppers drunk Chuk?

[Tina Brooks]

You don't do anything until they are completely inebriated (which should take a couple days). You will see a thin layer of cloud appear the actual pepper mash you are using. This is normal. There are a couple secrets I've learned in the distillation process that I will keep to myself, but I really don't want to get into specifics with this processes for the main reason I don't want to be held responsible if the household resembles Nagasaki before the process is complete (it is VERY dangerous if you don't know EXACTLY what you're doing). Grain and capsaicin is a very volatile combination. The grain for it's flammability issues, and the capsaicin for turning the combustible into a kitchen-wide weapon of mass destruction.

I don't know the exact specifics when using fresh habbies, because of the massive amount of extraneous fluids you have to deal with. It's sooooo much easier using dried, and will reach your result with a lot less work. I have a feeling using fresh will yield a substance that will be a bit cloudy, and reducing out the cloudiness too much may result in burning the final product (man, better have a biosuit with external air source if that happens!), but if done correctly, it should have a distinct taste, sans the lovely ketone backwash we've all grown to detest. I'm curious to see. What sort of grain is being used to make the peppers drunk Chuk?

Me and every Newfie on the planet still thinks you should be using Iceberg Vodka. :D

[DEFCON Creator]

Why use inferior product when you don't have to? :hell:

[Tina Brooks]

Is that a misguided newfie joke? lol

[chuk hell]

What sort of grain is being used to make the peppers drunk Chuk?

It's just some plain ol pure grain alcohol ( 190 proof) I keep under the sink for various cleaning details. Ya know, like "Everclear" but some other brand. I had vodka but thought this would be more intense. Doesn't the alcohol bind with the capsaicinoids?

I'll probably just strain out the solids and use it like that. You guys have me scared about trying to cook it down. Besides, I have a gas stove. :fire:

[chuk hell]

OK, poking around the web and finding some interesting things. Seems there 's more than one way to skin a cat.

Here's one:

Ingredients:

15 Habanero peppers 1 quart 200 proof Ethanol Or as close as you can get, try Denatured alcohol from the hardware store.
Method:

In a blender, puree the Habaneros in as much Ethanol as possible. Let the mixture sit overnight at room temperature. Longer is better. Pour the resultant sludge through paper towels and place the liquid in a glass container. Begin to the liquid boil slowly using either an electric heating device (naked flames would be dangerous), or a vapor trap to remove the alcohol fumes safely. Continue until 90% of the liquid has evaporated. Remove the pot from the stove and cool. Look for a brick-red oil floating on the surface of the ethanol. If none is present, continue to boil the ethanol away periodically cooling the mixture to look for the red oil on the surface. Once the red oil appears, pour the red oil and the remaining ethanol into a long thin glass cylinder, use an eyedropper to suck off the oil and place it in a clean container. The red oil is fairly pure Capsaicin, probably 40% Capsaicin / 60% Capsaicinoids.


Then there's this:

You could just soak some chilli powder in strong alcohol (Vodka, gin, whatever) to get an extract that will give you a fair concentration.
If you add water to the extract then shake it with cooking oil then let it settle most of the capsaicin will end up in the oil.



Now that sounds pretty simple and fairly safe with no 'tear gas"/fire hazard scenario. So, if the alcohol dissolves the capsacinoids, will they then bind with some vegatable oil which could be seperated out without the danger of cooking it down? Sure, it wouldn't be as pure but still hell on wheels, I'm thinking.


then there's this, which is more like the first technique:

I believe I'll try to prepare a stronger still solution by slicing some peppers up finely, and soaking them in alcohol (vodka, 50% alcohol, 100 proof). I should then be able to (carefully!) cook off a good portion of the alcohol and water, leaving me with a much stronger solution.

What would happen, though, if I managed to cook off most of the alcohol, leaving water behind? Would the water-insoluble capsaicin precipitate out of the solution?

Yes, capsaicin would precipitate out, together with the oily stuff from the chillis. You will probably get some of the colour from the chillis too.
You could extract most of the capsaicin from the alcohol with oil. If you use a small volume of oil you will get a higher concentration. (not sure you need it and be careful, at high concentrations the stuff destroys nerve cells)




Hmmmm

So, should I try to add oil to the chile infused alcohol then seperate out the oil? What sort of oil should I use?

[DEFCON Creator]

Man, please be careful. We had a near hit once, and I wasn't able to see for about an hour, not to mention taste or smell for nearly a day and a half. Setting up a 'still' on a stove is just flat out dangerous.

That being said, you're on the right track. The alcohol puts the capsaicinoids into solution, and the suger in the peppers as well (peppers have A LOT of sugar in them). By using the simple still process (and upping your homeowners insurance beforehand) will yield a hot little mixture. Vegetable oil is the best for extending the amount of reserve you create, and most companies that bottle extract do just this. Most of the stuff you buy is inert ingredients in which the hot stuff is merely in suspension. The ancient Chinese secret is stopping the sugar/capsaicinoid bond, which of course will yield a far hotter and nasty reserve, hence our ZERO product. We also use interesting alocohol, usually corn. Experimenting with different grains is a lot of fun, as they each produce a distinct flavor. Yeah, they all smell like battery acid as well, but that's unavoidable.

A pressure cooker is another way to separate what you are looking for, but instead of having an aerosol version of tear gas, you would be playing with an Oppenheimer-type device, unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing. I am glad to hear you are taking our advice though, I really am, as messing with Mother Nature's Hellbeast can seriously injure you. The stuff you are making right now should suffice in most applications.

[Tina Brooks]

I'm just going to sit back here with my fingers crossed that nobody's kitchen explodes.

:?

[DEFCON Creator]

Which is fine. I just wanna make sure nobody gets hurt. :banghead:

[Tina Brooks]

Which is fine. I just wanna make sure nobody gets hurt. :banghead:

Well, now, there isn't much you can do about that, unfortunately. This stuff is addictive, like crystal meth; only legal. lol

T

[Hephaestos]

Guys, guys, guys.

Fermented pepper mash IS Tabasco, almost... Then they add mother of vinegar, which transfers the alcohol. If you skip the mother of vinegar phase, you have pepper wine. Neither the Peppermaster nor I have any idea how drinkable that would be... But if someone makes one, we'd be willing to taste it.

T.

Hmmmm...pepperwine...it has possibilities...maybe this fall after my crop of bonnets and chilis...I'm thinking it would be really Freakin hot! Maybe I'll buy a few pounds of peppers and try a small batch with bonnets I think they would have the best flavour for wine...I'm guessing so any opinions will be appreciated.

[Tina Brooks]

My opinion remains open ... until I taste the stuff that is.

I've had good jalapeno beer and bad jalapeno beer, so it makes you wonder what someone who knows how to ferment grapes can do with some sweet habaneros.

T

[Hephaestos]

My opinion remains open ... until I taste the stuff that is.

I've had good jalapeno beer and bad jalapeno beer, so it makes you wonder what someone who knows how to ferment grapes can do with some sweet habaneros.

T

pardon my ignorance..."sweet habaneros?" are there more than one kind? or are you just referring to the natural flavour of the hab?..honest question...I don't know.

[Tina Brooks]

I was referring to the sweetness of the fruit in this case, but there are capsaicin free habaneros.

T

[Hephaestos]

I was referring to the sweetness of the fruit in this case, but there are capsaicin free habaneros.

T

What's the point of that?

[Tina Brooks]

The point of Cap-free habaneros? To tell you the truth, I'm at a complete loss myself. I liken it to caffeine-free coffee or diet Coke.

Why bother?

T