Just bottled the last of the autumn fermentation runs. Three batches went in through April — a habanero–mango, a fatalii–pineapple, and a smoked chipotle base. All three were ready around the four to five week mark, which is roughly typical for the Sydney autumn temperatures. Here are the notes from the runs in case anyone is doing their own ferments this season.

The habanero–mango batch.

Starting ingredients: 1.2kg fresh habanero (a mix of orange and yellow), 600g fresh mango (ripe but not overripe), 60g garlic, 30g ginger, 35g sea salt, 2L filtered water (chlorine-free). The salt at about 3% of the total mash weight is a workable starting point for me on this style.

The technique: rough chopped everything, brined the chilies and other solids together with the salt overnight to draw out moisture, then transferred to a 3L fermentation crock with the water and a glass weight to keep everything submerged.

The progress: bubbling visibly within 36 hours. Strong active fermentation through days 4–10. Steady decline in activity through day 14–21. Tasted at day 22 — bright, slightly funky, good acid development. Let it go another two weeks to round out the flavour.

The bottling: blended the whole mash, strained through a fine sieve (keeping the pulp for the dehydrator), adjusted the consistency with a small amount of the ferment liquid, added a splash of apple cider vinegar to bring the pH down to safe long-term storage levels. Bottled into sterilised dropper bottles and 250ml swing-top bottles.

The result: bright, fruity, hot but not punishing. The mango sweetness came through more than I expected. The habanero flavour held its own without being overwhelmed by the fruit. A really versatile sauce — good on tacos, eggs, grain bowls.

The fatalii–pineapple batch.

Starting ingredients: 1.0kg fresh fatalii (a heroic harvest from one plant that produced beyond what I expected this year), 500g fresh pineapple, 50g shallot, 25g fresh turmeric, 30g sea salt, 1.8L filtered water. The salt slightly lower for this batch — the fatalii brings a lot of citrus brightness and I wanted the salt to step back a bit.

The technique: same prep as the habanero batch. Crock fermentation.

The progress: similar trajectory to the habanero. Active fermentation kicked off within 48 hours. Held the active stage through days 5–11. Tasted at day 18 — citrus, tropical, hot. Surprisingly clean. Bottled at day 24.

The bottling: same workflow as the habanero batch. The colour on this one is striking — a deep yellow-gold from the fatalii and turmeric.

The result: this is probably the best sauce I have made this year. The fatalii flavour profile is incredible — citrus and tropical without being cartoonish about it. The pineapple supports without dominating. The turmeric adds depth and colour. Very pleased with this one.

The smoked chipotle base.

Starting ingredients: 1.5kg fresh jalapeño, dehydrated then smoked with hickory at low heat for about six hours. Rehydrated in warm filtered water overnight before fermenting.

The technique: this one is a different style. The chilies are already partially preserved through the smoking and the fermentation is more about building complexity than about preservation. I used a slightly lower salt level (about 2.5%) and a shorter ferment.

The progress: gentler fermentation throughout. Visible activity but not the vigorous bubbling of the fresh-chili ferments. Tasted at day 14 — smoky, deep, mild heat. Bottled at day 21.

The result: classic chipotle base. Goes into stews, marinades, BBQ sauces. Not a finishing sauce but the foundation for cooked applications. A bottle of this lasts months because it gets used in cooking rather than as a condiment.

What I learned this season.

The salt level matters more than I always remember. The 3% mash salt level is reliable but the 2.5% feels brighter and lets the chili flavour come through more clearly. For the chilies with strong intrinsic flavour — the fatalii, the habanero, the aji varieties — I am going to keep experimenting with the lower salt levels.

The temperature consistency through autumn matters. The mid-April to mid-May ferment was running at 18–22°C through most of the period. The activity was reliable. The summer ferment I did in February at 26–30°C was much faster but also a bit more difficult to read for when to bottle. The autumn pace is more controllable.

The fruit-pairing principle that works for me: the fruit should support but not dominate. The 30–35% fruit ratio is the upper limit for me on most batches. Above that and the sauce starts to taste like fruit sauce with chili rather than chili sauce with fruit.

The crock weight choice matters more than I sometimes treat it as. The cheap rubber weights start to degrade after a few seasons and the smell can transfer to the ferment. The proper glass weights or stoneware weights are worth the slightly higher cost.

A note on safety. Fermented hot sauces are very safe when made correctly. The lactic acid fermentation rapidly drops the pH below 4.0 and inhibits the pathogens you would worry about. The mistakes that cause problems are usually around insufficient submersion of the mash, mould on the surface that was not handled correctly, or extending the ferment so long that contamination overtakes the lactic acid bacteria. Follow standard fermentation safety practice and the sauces are reliably safe.

The autumn batches will see me through the winter. Spring brings a new round of garden harvests and fresh ferments. Hot sauce making is one of those projects that rewards consistency more than dramatic flair — the same batch this year, with small refinements, is the path to making better sauces over time.