Base: Chili Mash

This is the reference mash for a fermented hot sauce. Ferment it, then blend, optionally age, strain, and bottle following Fermented Hot Sauce. The salt is sized as an equilibrium percentage of the chili (plus any added water and fruit) — so the whole jar settles at your target.

Characteristics

What it is	a salted chili mash that lacto-ferments into hot-sauce base
Salt %	3.0% equilibrium (range 2.5-3.5%)
Target finished pH	3.4-4.0 after ferment; at or below 4.6 to bottle shelf-stable
Best for	Louisiana-, Tabasco-, and sriracha-style sauces; fermented chili powder
Ferment time	1-3 weeks at 18-22 °C / 64-72 °F

The formula (ratios)

A simple, reliable mash, by weight:

• Chilies (deseeded): 100 parts — the base
• Garlic: 0-10 parts (optional, adds depth; low-acid, so re-check pH after blending)
• Salt: 3.0% of the total chili + garlic + any added water/fruit weight
• Water: 0-15 parts — only if the chilies are too dry to grind into a wet mash

Garlic and ripe fruit (mango, pineapple) are common additions. They are low-acid and slightly raise pH, so keep them modest and always re-measure the finished pH.

Scaling table

Salt is 3.0% of the combined chili + garlic weight (add water’s weight to the base too if you use any). Garlic shown at the 8% upper end; scale it down or omit it freely.

Component	1 Jar (~1 qt)	2 Jars	1 Crock (~5 L)	6 Crock
Deseeded chilies	700 g	1400 g	4000 g	24000 g
Garlic (optional)	56 g	112 g	320 g	1920 g
Base weight	756 g	1512 g	4320 g	25920 g
Salt at 3.0%	23 g	45 g	130 g	778 g

Info

Verify the salt math: 756 g base × 3.0% = 22.7 g ≈ 23 g. If you add water to loosen the grind, add its weight to the base before taking 3.0%. The brine salinity calculator sizes salt for any exact weight, including added water, and the salt converter corrects grams for salt purity.

Calculated values

Metric	Value
Equilibrium salt %	3.0% (of chili + garlic + added water)
Target ferment pH	3.4-4.0
Shelf-stable bottling pH	at or below 4.6 (target 4.2)
Ferment temperature	18-22 °C / 64-72 °F

Variations

• Brined instead of mashed — pack whole or sliced chilies and cover with a 3.0% equilibrium brine sized to the chili + water weight. Easier to keep submerged; strain the chilies to blend.
• Fruit-forward — replace up to 20% of the chili weight with ripe fruit for sweetness and body. Fruit adds fermentable sugar and pulls pH up slightly; re-measure before bottling.
• Higher heat / lower heat — leave seeds and membranes in for more heat, or blend in milder chilies. Salt % stays at 3.0% regardless of heat.
• Lower salt (2.5%) — faster, tangier ferment; stay at or above 2.5% so the LAB keep their advantage.

Caution

The bottled sauce is shelf-stable only if a calibrated pH meter reads at or below 4.6 (target 4.2); otherwise refrigerate and use cold. Low-acid additions — garlic, fruit, added water — can pull the finished sauce above 4.6, so re-measure after blending. Taste is never a safety test. See Safety and Botulism and the pH safety calculator.

Tip

Reserve a tablespoon of brine from an active ferment to inoculate the mash — it speeds the early acid drop and shortens the risky pre-acidification window.

See also

• Fermented Hot Sauce — the full ferment-to-bottle method
• Fermented Chili Pastes — thicker, higher-salt, aged
• Salt Percentage · Brine Chemistry · Acidity and pH
• Calculators: brine salinity · salt converter · pH safety