If you canned it according to accepted canning procedures, and the lids are still depressed, then yes, they are likely still good to eat. However, if you just created the sauce and then put it in some jars and left them for a year in a cabinet, I suggest you dump it out now.
Bruce

What Bruce said x 2!

its just like tabasco sauce consistency..Mainly vinegar with some tobasco peppers that where finely blended then strained, so I only bottled the liquid sauce not the peppers. I did not bottle air tight, but i did boil everything first. I thought that if the ph is lower then 4.0 nothing can grow??

again thanks for your input..

I stand by my original response. That is what "I" would do.
Bruce

I'll just give my mother inlaw a bottle and let her try it out!

Ummmmm, wellllll, your wife doesn't visit the forum, does she?
Seriously though, you are playing with something that could be worse than a stomach ache.
Bruce

yeah you could get really sick but look it up before tossing

Here is a pic of my new sauce..I tossed the old stuff, it looked pale in color compared to the new. Thanks for the advice.

Pretty. I am guessing it will taste as good as it looks.
Bruce

The new stuff looks good. I agree with everyone else that you were wise to dump the old stuff. If you aren't using proper canning techniques, one thing I do to make sauce last is to put it into ziplock bags (one bottle's worth per bag) and put it in the deep freeze. When I'm ready for another bottle I take a bag out of the freezer, thaw it, and use a funnel to put it into a bottle.

Hey Peppermeister! I got some very interesting Peter Peppers that are going to make my best pictures this year. Would they be acceptable ;)

don555... I second that. Thanks for the new idea! Any idea how long it lasts after thawing then refrigerating?

I just looked up peter pepper and I am still laughing lol

HAHA! a friend of mine ordered habanero seeds (from a company that often sends the wrong seeds). You can bet he was surprised when those peter pods came out to say hi!

I don't even know what they taste like, I just know people love to grow them, and I'm pretty sure I know why.

I guess how long it lasts after thawing depends on what goes into the sauce in the first place. My recipe changes from batch to batch, but there is always lime juice, vinegar and salt to act as preservatives. So it easily lasts over a month in the fridge, and I try to freeze it in individual bags that will each last me about a month. If you had no acids or salts to preserve the sauce it would last much less time in the fridge of course. I also simmer the sauce for 5 minutes before cooling and freezing, so the cooking also helps to preserve it. I'd say however long your fresh sauce lasts, the frozen-then-thawed sauce would last that long too.

I make up enough to freeze 4 or 5 individual bags, so I keep it in the deep freeze for up to 6 months or so and it always seems like it was just freshly made. The freezing/thawing doesn't change the taste or texture in any way. My sauces are always fairly thick (ie, not watery or runny) so it is a bit messy to transfer things to bottles/jars when thawed, but it's a heck of a lot easier than making a fresh batch each month.

The Peter Pepper I have is very healthy but green still, which is weird as it was one of the fastest growers from seed, and one of the first to flower and fruit. But they are certainly "true to form", and seem to be come even truer as they grow and mature, LOL. But I won't submit a pic until they are ripe red as I think the "effect" will be much better in red. Very healthy and robust plant though. It is loaded with pods of different, however familiar shapes....

Well, that's a real eye-opener for me! I always understood it was OK as long as the pH stayed below 4.0. I've never had a problem, but I guess I'd better get rid of my old sauce and tell all my friends to do the same.
John A

@john11840

well technically there probably fine having a pH below 4.0, its more of a "do you really want to risk it"

most "shelf-stable" items you see on the store market(in the US) the "use by" or the "best by" dates are more for quality assurance rather than safety

for most high acidic stuff they save 12-18 months though some can/will last much longer

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA Shelf Stable Food Safety

ditto homefry319. It really boils down to your comfort level. I personally fall under the paranoid don't risk it side and get ribbed for it ;-)

@ottawa if I personally cook/bottle it I dont get as worried, but Im also paranoid just the pre-paranoid boiling jars then baking them for a while before hot filling

PEPPERMEISTER1, this is my first year growing peters (I am growing red, yellow, and orange... I'd like to start a new variety, chocolate peter peppers). Many who came by my booth last year to buy them said that they are some of the best tasting peppers, and unlike so many, their heat level is very consistent. I haven't tried one yet, they are extremely slow to mature.

Crap, I have to compete with chocolate peter peppers. How can I beat that?

;)

Man! I cant believe I missed this thread, but then I remembered what I was doing in Aug 2012 and that explains it.

Sambo725, your replacement sauce is now 16 months old. If you want to throw it away, send me an e-mail. lol

Since it's sauce making season, the reason I revived this thread is this:

Posted by don555 3a (My Page) on
Tue, Aug 14, 12 at 23:39

...one thing I do to make sauce last is to put it into ziplock bags (one bottle's worth per bag) and put it in the deep freeze. When I'm ready for another bottle I take a bag out of the freezer, thaw it, and use a funnel to put it into a bottle.

That there is a GREAT idea! Thanks don555.

Rick

This post was edited by rdback on Thu, Dec 5, 13 at 14:35

That's a good looking sauce Sambo...

I like the straining idea, I may try that on my next batch.
What kind of blender do you use, just out of curiosity and what did you use as a strainer?