I’ve had a mixture of chilies, tomatoes, and some garlic fermenting in two mason jars for the past couple weeks. This evening, I blended together all the veg with enough of the brine that I could get a smooth puree. I put the puree through a strainer, getting all the liquid I could through.

After fermentation, the brine and the veg smelled very good. I tasted at the puree stage. I’d call the final sauce hot but not crazy hot, and very flavourful, with a bit of a sour edge, the result of the lacto-bascillus converting the sugars in the chilies and so on into lactic acid. I understand the sauce will continue to slowly ferment in the fridge. From the two jars of chilies, tomatoes and garlic, I ended up with about 2 and a half little bottles of hot sauce. I enjoy hot sauce with many things, so I imagine they won’t last long.

I still have quite a few chilies in the garden, so maybe I’ll ferment one more batch.