A zingy hot sauce recipe made with fruity Aji Pineapple peppers, perfect on many dishes.
We have a new favorite for Patty - See Patty's Favorites. We planted a few varieties of Aji chili peppers this year, including the Aji Pineapple chili pepper, a wonderfully sweet and mildly spicy chili pepper that lends itself to many a dish.
The pepper is named because the fruits have a distinctive fruity pineapple flavor. The plants are exploding with peppers right now and one of the best ways to use up a large harvest of peppers so you can keep them through the year is to make hot sauces.
So here we are! So happy to have Aji Pineapples because they make for an outstanding hot sauce.
This is a small batch that yields only about 12 ounces or so, enough to fill a couple of small hot sauce bottles.
The hot recipe recipe calls for about 25 of these peppers, about 6 ounces by weight. They aren't too large, maybe the size of a typical cayenne pepper, though of course sizes and amounts needed will vary.
You'll just need to eyeball it. Or just make extra! With the ratios I've used, your resulting hot sauce will be sweet and tangy. I've cut the vinegar in half and replaced it with water for consistency, but if you're looking for a thicker sauce, reduce the amount of water or don't include it at all.
More vinegar will result in more tang. You can strain it if you'd like to reduce the pulp, but I like my sauces that way.
Patty's Perspective
Wow! These Aji Pineapple peppers really do taste like pineapple. I wish Mike had made a larger batch! I'm happy that our plants are producing a lot of peppers this year because I will be looking for more of this sauce in the future. Good on just about anything. Yep, a new favorite of mine.
Frequently Asked Hot Sauce Questions
Here are answers to some of the most common questions I get on other sauces:
How long will this sauce keep?
It should keep a few months easily in the fridge, or even longer. It's all about the acidity. To be technical, target level ph for shelf stable foods is below 4.6 ph, but should probably be lower for home cooks, around 4.0 or so, to account for errors. If you're concerned, add more vinegar to lower the ph. Sauces made with fermented chili peppers will last even longer.
The best ph meters that I recommend are from Thermoworks. Get yourself a ph meter from Thermoworks today. I am a happy affiliate.
Where'd you get that sauce bottle?
I find them locally sometimes, but I also order through Amazon. Here is a link to some bottles I like (affiliate link, my friends!): Swing Top Glass Bottles, 8.5 Ounce - Set of 4
. If you like the smaller bottles that most hot sauce makers use, here's another link: Hot Sauce Bottles, 5 Oz - 24 Pack
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Can I process this hot sauce for longer storage?
Absolutely. Just be sure to use proper canning/jarring safety procedures.
What should I do with hot sauce?
Aside from drizzling it over anything you please, here's a post I did about How to Cook with Hot Sauce. As if you need even MORE reasons to eat hot sauce. LOL. I hope you find it helpful!
Check out more Hot Sauce Recipes or learn more about How to Make Hot Sauce.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- With the ratios I've used, your resulting hot sauce will be sweet and tangy. I've cut the vinegar in half and replaced it with water for consistency, but if you're looking for a thicker sauce, reduce the amount of water or don't include it at all.
- More vinegar will result in more tang. You can strain it if you'd like to reduce the pulp.
Check Out Some of These Other Popular Hot Sauce Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Aji Pineapple Hot Sauce - Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 ounces Aji Pineapple chili peppers about 25 peppers, stemmed and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup water
- Juice from 1 lime
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth.
- Set into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes.
- Cool and pour into sterilized serving jars.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Chelsea says
I don't have fresh cilantro on hand, will this make a major difference? Anything you can suggest to sub in?
Mike Hultquist says
Chelsea, you can skip it, though it does add a slight fresh green pop. Parsley will be OK to sub, or maybe a touch of basil.
CP says
Dumb question but is the weight (six ounces) pre or post de-stemming?
Mike Hultquist says
Post stemming, CP. Enjoy!
Amanda says
I've grown aji mango this year, have to try the pineapple ones next. Would I follow this same recipe for the mango ones? I'm not finding much for that one.
In the past I've also grown aji charipita, but they are pretty small and a little more tedious.
Mike Hultquist says
Yep, follow the same recipe, Amanda. I hope you enjoy it!
Andrea Moore says
This was my first year growing this pepper and I am amazed with the flavour. I followed your recipe but I had some over ripe yellow plums and added about 5. next time I will use less water, if adding plums as the plums were so juicy. Amazing and addictive! Thank-you so much. This will be a staple in my kitchen!
Mike Hultquist says
Great! Thanks for sharing this, Andrea! Glad you enjoyed it!
Gyuri says
Hi,
Thanks a lot for the recipe!
My aji pineapples just started to ripen and I'd love to try making this sauce. However, are your sure about the 25 peppers? Mine weigh about 3g(1oz)/piece, so 6 ounces would be 60 peppers. Their size is about 6,5x1cm (2,5x0.4 inches), could that be the reason for the difference?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Gyuri, I would go by weight, regardless of the amount of peppers. It could be yours are a bit smaller than the ones I grew. Let me know if this helps, and how the hot sauce turns out.
Gyuri says
Thanks Mike, I'll adjust the weight of the other ingredients to the weight of the pepper I have. I'll let you know how it turns out 🙂
Gyuri says
Oh, forgot about this 🙂
Anyway, at first try, I used a bit too much vinegar (probably lost in the imperialSI translation), but the second one was really nice, tangy and hot.
I have dried some red chillies now (coffee bean, and [supposedly] bird's eye), I'll try to make something with honey out of them. And probably try mixing it with butter, too.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sounds great, Gyuri! Glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate the comments!!
Kevin King says
Wanted to share with you guys a sauce I made a couple of weeks ago. Peach Mango Habenero. Starts out with a sweet fruity taste and then WAM! Those Habs kick in and we are off to the races. I used two very ripe mangos and half a dozen not too ripe peaches and then eight seeded orange habeneros. Pureed with about half a cup of cider vinegar and the same amount of water. This weekend is the annual Hot Sauce Festival here in Oxford NC, y'all should come. It's a conglamoration of scads of pepperheads and beer lovers of which I am both! Hail to the Heat! (PS: Love your newsletter)