This is my first batch of hot sauce with many more to come. My brother-in-law grew and sent me a bunch of Habanero peppers along with his recipe for making hot sauce. I compared the finished sauce to two good store-bought brands and was pleased. This hot sauce is a bit fruitier with less vinegar upfront and finishes with a nice slow burn. My beta-tasters are giving it good reviews. For capsaicin kings and queens who like a hotter sauce, leave in the seeds, or substitute a couple of Ghost peppers or Scotch Bonnets for Habaneros. For hot sauce lovers, experiment, and this will become a family heirloom recipe! Let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

• 10-12 Habanero peppers (use rubber gloves to seed the peppers or suffer the painful capsaicin consequences)

• 4-6 carrots chopped

• ½ onion chopped

• 4-5 roasted garlic cloves

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar

• juice from ½ lemon

• 1 bay leaf

• ¼ teaspoon each of cumin and coriander (optional)

• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt to taste

• 2 teaspoons of honey

Preparation:

1. Roast the garlic until soft and set aside (a cast iron skillet on your stove top works well

2. Saute the cider vinegar, lemon juice, carrot, onion, spices, bay leaf, and peppers

3. When carrots are soft, remove the bay leaf, and put everything including the roasted garlic into the blender.

4. Add the salt and honey to taste.

5. Blend until smooth, add enough water to make the consistency you want.

6. Pour into a small saucepan and bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

7. Cool and bottle. (keeps refrigerated for up to a year)

To bottle:

1. Put your bottles into boiling water for ten minutes.
2. Remove from hot water and cool.
3. Fill with sauce and cap.