Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Sunshine Hot Sauce

I plant one Habanero chile plant each summer. The peppers are so hot that I don't need very many - enough for a batch of hot sauce, a few more to freeze, and then a few to hang in a little ristra to dry, to grind into powder. I've learned that even those I have to harvest green, if full-size, can be left out on the counter in a bowl and will ripen to orange.

This past summer my one plant did really well, for my climate, anyway. My hot sauce recipe makes 1 quart but this year I had enough Habaneros for all my own uses plus a second quart of sauce. I just reuse the same bottles for my own hot sauce, but needed to find some way to package that second quart to give away as Christmas gifts. I found a bottle company on-line here, and ordered a case of 12 5-ounce sauce bottles plus the drip shaker inserts, tax and delivery, for $20.

I sterilized and filled 6 bottles, storing the other half-case for the next time I get a bumper crop. Since the sauce is such a pretty yellow-orange color, I decided to call it Sunshine Hot Sauce (not quite as hot as the sun, but close), and created a label to fit on 2" x 4" shipping labels. The labels were a little taller than the flat side of the bottles, so they're pleated a bit on the curves top and bottom, but I like the way they look. In fact, a couple of the people I've given them to are amazed when they realize that it's something I made myself, instead of a professional company product.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very interesting looking. And the labels are great. Your recipe tab is pretty inspirational, but I didn't see this one. Is it a secret family recipe?

brenda from arkansas

Sadge said...

The recipe is one I invented, adapted from my Jalapeno hot sauce recipe combined with the memory of a hot sauce I bought in Belize. Sorry, but I think I'll keep this one a secret for now - and maybe check into its commercial possibilities.

Anonymous said...

Well, in that case, good luck to you. Maybe I'll spot it in a specialty store someday, and smile because I know where it came from. Or maybe I'll grow you a slug of habaneros. Best to you.

brenda from arkansas

Annodear said...

Those are just beautiful! Love the labels, too.

Alex Staff said...

Yellowish hot sauces aren't less spicy than the usual red ones. It's somehow deceiving in color, since habaneros are exceptionally hot. So I would advise you to put only a little bit of that on a dish and prepare lots of water.

surya rugs said...

Love the label! Though I haven't tried yellow hot sauce XD. Would definitely love to try this