AboutJim Pfister Expertise Food Engineering/Manufacturing, Food Packaging/Distribution, Engineering Beverage Lines, Reducing operating cost of packaging lines while increasing efficiency. Lean Manufacturing. Incorporating new package technology into existing operations. Training staff to achieve smooth transition from "start-up" to full production. Managing complex projects across multi-disciplinary lines. Equipment PreShipment Factory Acceptance testing and Commissioning programs for new equipment.
Experience Employment history: Over thirty-five years of experience. Managed as much as $40MM in concurrent, multi-disciplinary projects, both domestic and international, and have worked with such firms as Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, Hershey`s, and Nabisco.
Organizations: An author and speaker, as well as a member of the IoPP. Past Chairman of IoPP`s Consultant`s Council and Member of the Packaging Equipment Performance Committee.
Question Mr. Pfister,
I hope this question is not too basic, but I would like to bottle my hot sauce. I have the bottles and the seals. Could you tell me how to bottle it so that it is preserved?Thank you.
Answer Chris,
Good Monday Morning.
I will presume that you want to start small first. Probably from home. And that you want your product to be shelf-stable, not kept refrigerated until after its opened.
I am also not sure what you mean by "seals", so I'll presume that means "caps".
All that being said, for a higher-acid product like hot sauce or salsa, you need to make sure both the sauce and the inclusions ( if any ) are both properly heat treated. This usually means cooking and holding at a high temperature ( probably at least 185 DegF ), and then hot filling. It's also important that both the bottle and cap are properly sanitized as well. (Having a less-than-100% clean bottle/cap will cause you a lot of failures.)
You can find the equipment you need by doing a Google on "home canning". You'll find so much info you'll probably feel overwhelmed, but take the time to sort through it...it's all good stuff.
