Our process
Every single bottle is hand filled and finished with a handwritten label. Every sauce is fermented for at least four weeks, to create a flavour profile that is unique and delicious, setting them apart from regular sauces.
Wild fermentation can be unpredictable, so most commercial hot sauces are not aged.
Fermented hot sauce is made possible by the action of microbes through a process called lacto-fermentation. There are bacteria that can be found on the surface of the peppers, he most relevant bacterium being Lactobacillus (LAB).
When the peppers are submerged in brine or mashed peppers are mixed with salt and allowed to sit in an oxygen-free environment, Lactobacillus begins to convert the sugar in the peppers into lactic acid. Lactic acid gives fermented food its distinctive sour taste and prevents the growth of harmful bacteria. This is key to our unique flavour profiles, the acidity required to make the sauce last comes from the aging process, not the addition of vinegar.
Lactobacillus bacteria are the microbes who make fermented products possible. These beneficial bacteria occur naturally in many places including fruits, vegetables, and even on our skin! Lactobacillus has two main properties that make them useful for fermentation:
They survive in an oxygen-free environment, as in when submerged under brine in mason jars, and they tolerate high salt well, unlike many other bacteria (including harmful ones)
These properties allow us to ferment vegetables without killing the Lactobacillus. Lactic acid fermentation allows the LAB to stay and do their thing while at the same time discouraging the harmful bacteria.
Side by side comparison of fermented scotch bonnet mash:
Both jars have identical contents, but one is 8 months old and one is a couple of days old.
In the Darkfire process, mashed chilli is mixed with salt in these one gallon vessels. Once fermentation begins, the creation of CO2 gas inside forces all of the air out of the airlock, leaving no oxygen inside.
If you read all of that, you may be interested to know that all of our mash is aged for a minimum of four weeks, the house style is a fermented mash of chili, carrot and garlic as a standard sauce base with various additions to create a delicious range of flavour-led sauces that will blow your mind!
