FERMENTED HOT CHILLI SAUCE

Fermented Hot Chili Sauce
http://lekkerreseptevirdiejongergeslag.blogspot.com/2014/08/fermented-hot-chilli-sauce.html

• Yield: about a quart
• Prep: 20 (active time) mins
• Cook: 5 to 7 days (fermentation) mins
• Ready In: 25 mins

Seasoned with fresh garlic this fermented hot chili sauce is rich with flavor, bright and fiery. Use it in strict moderation to add flavor and heat to your meals. You’ll notice that the flavor of this sauce is more uniquely complex than vinegary sauces you can purchase at the grocery store.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds fresh chili peppers (Scotch bonnets, Jalapenos, Serranos etc.)
• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 tablespoons unrefined cane sugar, optional
• 2 teaspoons unrefined sea salt
• vegetable starter culture dissolved in 1/4 cup water, or 1/4 cup fresh whey

Instructions

1. Snip the stems from the chilies, but leave their green tops intact.
2. Combine all all ingredients in a food processor, or mince by hand, until chopped to a fine pasty texture.
3. Spoon the chili paste into a glass mason jar and allow it to fermented, covered, at room temperature for five to seven days.
4. After the chili paste has bubbled and brewed for about a week, set a fine-mesh sieve over a mixing bowl and spoon the fermented chili paste into the sieve. With a wooden spoon, press the chili paste into the sides of the sieve so that the sauce drips from the sieve into the waiting mixing bowl.
1. Once you’ve pressed and pushed the chili sauce through the sieve, pour the sauce from the bowl into jar or bottle and store in the refrigerator. The sauce will keep for several months.**http://nourishedkitchen.com
   N.S>This recipe does best with a starter culture.  You can use the whey leftover from making yogurt or milk kefir, the brine from sauerkraut or beet kvass or you can use a commercial starter