A simple hot sauce recipe of hot peppers, vinegar and spices will be acidic in its pH level. There are ways to easily adjust these levels to either increase acids or produce a hot sauce with a pH level towards a higher alkaline level. Producing a hot sauce with a high alkaline level proves to be very difficult. He’s a recipe!
Alkaline Hot Sauce Recipe
10 Habanero
½ cup of 9.5 pH water
½ cup onion
¼ cup of carrots
4 Garlic cloves
Dash of salt
Dash of curry
Dash of cinnamon
½ teaspoon arrowroot powder
An alkaline diet promotes healthy eating of fruits and vegetables and less fatty foods such as meats. High alkaline foods are fruits, vegetables, seeds and legumes and some of these foods are not typically found in hot sauce. These foods contribute to fighting some diseases and contributes to weight loss and an overall healthier diet.
Our hot sauce recipe is attempting to get as close as possible to a pH of 14 (highest on the scale). Adding ingredients with only a high pH level will certainly keep the pH higher. However, hot peppers are on the acidic side of the scale and so are other common ingredients such as vinegar. This also proves to be difficult because most of the ingredients used to make a hot sauce are on the acidic side of the pH scale as well or because high alkaline foods don’t blend well (or taste well) with hot peppers. I measured each of the ingredients separately before mixing them as a sauce to determine the pH of each item.
I have seen many lists of high alkaline foods but most of the readings I had were different from what I had researched. Each item was toward the alkaline side of the scale but not close to what I had read.
Criteria
Many foods have a high pH but I wanted to set some criteria and make this sauce close to a traditional hot sauce so that this experiment was somewhat controlled.
There were SIX criteria for making this sauce:
1. High Alkaline
This is the whole reason for this recipe and what a characteristic hot sauce is fighting against. I selected the ingredients based on the pH level toward the alkaline side but didn’t want the contents to be outside of what is typically in hot sauce. Otherwise, combining ingredients just based on their high alkaline level would prove to be an exhaustive equation.
To begin with I made a list to include these foods, either fruits or vegetables. This is not a complete list but just items that are easily obtainable through the local grocery store or market. More on this below! Lemons and limes will measure at the acidic level before they are consumed but will produce high alkaline levels in the body. I am also working on a sauce with a NUT base! Nuts and legumes are high on the alkaline scale.
| Cucumbers | Carrots | Brussel Sprouts |
| Broccoli | Spinach | Kale |
| Onions | Cabbage | Collard Greens |
| Artichokes | Seaweed | Cauliflower |
| Garlic | Ginger | Beets |
2. Typical hot sauce ingredients
The second criteria used was to use typical hot sauce ingredients as mentioned above. I researched some recipes to find what may be commonly used from the list of alkaline foods that composed.
I researched several recipes that may include ingredients mixed with the habanero peppers I chose. Recipes are not copy written, but I don’t want to take one, test it for the pH level and call it my own alkaline sauce. Carrots, garlic, onions were chosen based on several recipes that use them with habanero peppers, cucumbers were chosen as an alternate and curry, cinnamon were chosen to add uniqueness. See our surprise ingredient below!
3. It has to taste good
You are probably thinking this should be criteria number one if we are eating anything. As previously stated, we can mix any ingredients together that have a high pH level to them but our sauce needs some flavor, not just heat. I don’t love carrots, but they work well with other ingredients and can be processed in a variety of ways. However, I do happen to love garlic and onions, so I think we are in luck.
4. It needs to have the consistency of a sauce
Some of the sauces I make are of a liquid consistency because I like to strain them, but I am attempting to make a slightly thinker sauce due to the large amount of water this sauce will have in it. I had to be cautious with adding any thickeners as this could possibly alter the pH level as well.
5. Raw ingredients
Raw ingredients will have the highest pH level and contain the most nutrients. According to onegreenplanet.com raw foods will create an alkaline environment in the body. Cooking foods with increase their acidity because it releases the sugars but its all in the method you use. Caramelizing onions and carrots produces the sugars that increase the alkaline but heating a sauce to mix a thickener may not. I tested the sauce before and after boiling it.
6. ITS GOTTA BE HOT!
Why do they call it hot sauce right? I have said it a hundred times before…I don’t like heat. It’s the flavor that comes from the hot peppers that I love. However, there needs to be a certain amount of tang and zip and heat to call this a hot sauce.
If you have decided to reduce the acidic level of the foods you consume but crave hot sauces than this recipe is for you. However, it is very difficult to make a hot sauce with an alkaline level of 10. Just because a recipe states that it is a high alkaline sauce does not necessarily mean that until it is tested.
High alkaline foods
Foods that are typically of a high alkaline level are not foods that you include in a hot sauce recipe as stated above. According to chopra.com foods such as spinach, broccoli, artichokes, cabbage, Brussel spouts, cauliflower, cucumbers, lemons limes, carrots, seaweed, asparagus, kale, collard greens and onions have a pH of 10.
Some foods will change their alkaline once they are consumed. Lemons, for example, will become alkaline once they are eaten but are very acidic. Although it might seem that citrus fruits would have an acidifying effect on the body, the citric acid they contain actually has an alkalizing effect in the system.
Likewise, meat will test alkaline before digestion, but it leaves very acidic residue in the body so, like nearly all animal products, meat is very acid forming.
Testing each ingredient
I blended and tested each of the ingredients separately. Obviously combining the ingredients does not make the sauce “add” up to reach 14. There are not any foods available in nature that have a pH above 10. I tested several varieties of these foods and they did not measure at a level of 10.
Alkaline hot sauce Recipe
Habanero pH 4.8
Chillis will be acidic until they are consumed. I have not found direct correlation between the amount of heat and the amount of acidity. Bell peppers lean toward the alkaline side of the scale and blend well with other hot peppers.
Chillis will be acidic until they are consumed. I have not found direct correlation between the amount of heat and the amount of acidity. Bell peppers lean toward the alkaline side of the scale and blend well with other hot peppers.
Alkaline water 9.5
I normally would not put too much water in a hot sauce but this recipe is producing the highest level of pH so it uses alkaline water. Typical bottled water has a pH of 7 or just below where an alkaline water can have a pH of 8 or 9. Here I used Essentia 9.5 pH Water but smartwater alkaline 9+ pH water has a similar pH. Get a pack of 12 Essentia here from Amazon or a pack of 12 smartwater here, also from Amazon.
The recipes that I use do not have any water in them at all. The liquid comes from the blended peppers and vinegar. I have seen some alkaline sauce recipes using both but in this case we will leave out any vinegar due to its acidity and replace it with the alkaline water with a pH of 9.5.
Healthline.com states there are some studies that indicate alkaline water can deactivate an enzyme that causes acid reflux. Also other studies show alkaline water to increase efficiency of blood flow which increased oxygen flow in the body.
Cucumbers pH 5.14
Cucumbers are often listed as being high in alkaline so I considered adding those to our recipe. However, cucumbers are mostly water so this will also add additional liquid to the sauce. I have seen this ingredient in a hot sauce as well which is why I listed it here. Like the carrots, cucumbers offer health benefits as well.
Onions pH 5.0
There are so many uses for opinions in cooking and sauces. They have a great pungent flavor by themselves and will compliment the other ingredients in this recipe well.
Carrots 6.0
According to pickyourown.com carrots will have a pH between 5.30 and 6.03 with cooked carrots having a higher pH. Carrots are a common ingredient in many hot sauce recipes especially when combined with habanero. Adding these to a sauce will bring down the pH, blend well with the peppers and add additional nutrients.
Garlic 10?
I love garlic! I use it in a lot of my cooking and many of the hot sauces I make as well. It mixes so well with onions and peppers. Like many of the ingredients in this recipe it offers health benefits such as vitamin C and a good source of carbs.
Salt
Salt has some controversy about its alkaline effects on the body. Some people state that there will a difference in the pH level between different types of sauces. Himalayan salt will be higher than table salt.
Curry & Cinnamon
Both curry and cinnamon mix well with the other ingredients and contribute to the high alkaline level we are trying to achieve.
Arrowroot powder
This is the secret ingredient but if you read this post from the very beginning you already knew that! Arrow root powder was used to thicken the sauce. This powder has a high alkaline level to it as opposed to using other thickeners. Most recipes that I make do not have any thickener in them. I am using a lot of high pH water to keep the pH level up so I wanted the sauce to have that consistency.
Arrowroot powder comes from the root of the Maranta Arundinacea plant grown in subtropical climates in North and South America. Unlike cornstarch arrow root powder mixes well with acidic ingredients and won’t break down.
If you cannot find it in the baking section of your local grocery store get it here from Amazon.
Process
I cut the stems off of the habanero and blended them with the seeds. The seed (the hottest part of the pepper) will keep the heat in because we are using very little of the habanero in our sauce. We still want the flavor and we still want the consistency.
I then strained the pepper mash and used the water like consistency and measured the pH of the bright orange sauce. It had a pH of 4.84 which is way below the 10 scale we are looking for. So our sauce is either going to be very watery, tasteless or have a pH on the acidic side.
I then processed the cucumber the same way as the habanero and measured that as well. It was slightly higher with a pH of 5.14 but still well below 10. This also had a very watery consistency to it and had a bland cucumber taste.
Blend the carrots, onions and garlic with the salt, curry and cinnamon. Add the water, habanero and cucumber and blend until it is a consistency of hot sauce.
Not quite the 10.0 pH we were aiming for but it came out much higher than many other hot sauces at 5.17 pH.
I mixed both ingredients together and bought the sauce to a boil then reduced it to a simmer. Add the arrow root a pinch at a time and whisk the sauce as you are doing it. Too much arrow root will turn the sauce into a jelly like form. Let it cool and pour it into a bottle, container or jar…and enjoy!
