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pH PH and Oxidization

C

cydtrak

Hi All,

Absolute newbie here in terms of food science, so pardon my ignorance.

Currently in the process of trying to tweak a hot sauce idea using fresh pomegranate juice. Towards the end of January I made a batch which appears to be going dark on the top of the bottles. Reading through posts it sounds like oxidization (see attached picture)

- The hot sauce has 13% Lime Juice & 6% White Wine Vinegar for acidity
- I'm using pomegranate, orange and grapefruit juice as the base (and xantham gum)
- Have been doing the hot fill method for bottling and then dipping in hot wax.

Questions I'm hoping someone could answer:

- If I pop the lid and there is no fizz, taste/smell is good - can I do a PH test at the point to confirm it has not spoiled etc? Or is it to late at this point for PH accuracy?
- Does oxidization occur quicker because the colour of the base it lighter (I.e. almost pink to light red)?
Image.jpg
 
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Ive never gotten oxidation like that, I assume you just recently bottled? I think you have a lot of fruits and fruit juice that is high in sugars, so it might have altered your fermentation, and brought up your pH levels. I always do a pH test as I make the sauce and get it to around 3.4 for most things I make. That keeps it very shelf stable.
 
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Oxidation would usually occur once it has been opened, with the introduction of oxygen. This could mean it has not been properly sealed and oxygen is entering. However there was a recent thread on this also, see if this helps::

shipping - Sauce darkens aftdr shipping

Have you all experienced any issues with your sauce darkening due to shipping? If so what solutions have you found. My sauce tends to darken on a long journey and in at least one case resulted in change in flavor
thehotpepper.com thehotpepper.com
 
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The Hot Pepper said:
Oxidation would usually occur once it has been opened, with the introduction of oxygen. This could mean it has not been properly sealed and oxygen is entering. However there was a recent thread on this also, see if this helps::

shipping - Sauce darkens aftdr shipping

Have you all experienced any issues with your sauce darkening due to shipping? If so what solutions have you found. My sauce tends to darken on a long journey and in at least one case resulted in change in flavor
thehotpepper.com thehotpepper.com
Click to expand...
Got you! Ok then the batch has probably got some issues going on.
 
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Jadan said:
Ive never gotten oxidation like that, I assume you just recently bottled? I think you have a lot of fruits and fruit juice that is high in sugars, so it might have altered your fermentation, and brought up your pH levels. I always do a pH test as I make the sauce and get it to around 3.4 for most things I make. That keeps it very shelf stable.
Click to expand...
This was bottled about 3 months ago from memory. I should have maybe made the post clearer - this is a cooked sauce and is not a fermentation hot sauce (my concern is it is fermenting without intention). PH test was good around 3 on the digital and also paper.
 
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That may be a layer of separation. Try to investigate without shaking it. Try to get a "core" sample. Stick a knife in there and core out a sample to see if it's darker in the middle or simply separation.
 
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Or tap the bottom on the the heel of your palm to see if it shifts back down. If so, just a layer of separation.
 
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Other thoughts....

Given everything you've said, I'd focus on headspace. The bottle in the pic has a little too much headspace for my liking.

What causes headspace? Two things I think of are 1) not filling the bottle up close to the top, and 2) whirring and stirring (blending) the sauce, then immediately bottling it. Whirring and stirring introduces a LOT of oxygen into the sauce. Over time, that oxygen will move to the top of the bottle, increasing headspace and potentially causing oxidation. To minimize this, I create the sauce, whirring and stirring it, etc. Then, I refrigerate the finished sauce for 24 hrs, which lets it settle and the excess oxygen escape. After that, I just bring the sauce back up to temp (with minimal stirring) and process.

Is this batch bad? Maybe, maybe not. My guess is it's fine. I'd just shake it up and move on, but do the other things Boss suggested, just to be safe.

Just some thoughts. ymmv.
 
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