Mild Fermented Peach Banana Pepper Hot Sauce Recipe

Mild, tangy, lightly fruity, and full of fermented flavour, this Fermented Peach Banana Pepper Hot Sauce is a delicious way to turn fresh peppers into a homemade hot sauce with a fruity twist.

Made with banana peppers (you can swap in hotter peppers if you want more heat), peach, garlic, red onion, and sweet red pepper, this sauce has a bright, savoury flavour with just a hint of natural sweetness. Fermenting the ingredients first adds tang and depth, while the peach gives the finished sauce a smooth, summery flavour that makes it perfect for tacos, eggs, sandwiches, bowls, grilled meats, roasted vegetables, and more.

Why Ferment Hot Sauce?

Fermenting hot sauce is a simple way to build flavour before blending. As the peppers, onion, garlic, and peach ferment in a salt brine, they become tangier, deeper, and more complex.

What Does This Hot Sauce Taste Like?

This hot sauce is lightly fruity, savoury, tangy, and very mild. Banana peppers are usually on the milder side, so this recipe is great if you want a hot sauce with flavour and brightness without the burn.

The peach adds a subtle sweetness, the red onion adds depth, the garlic brings classic hot sauce flavour, and the sweet red pepper helps round everything out.

If you want more heat, you can swap some of the banana peppers for hotter peppers, such as jalapeños, serranos, or cayenne peppers.

Fermented Banana Pepper Hot Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 6-7 hot peppers, roughly chopped
  We used banana peppers

• 1/2 peach, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1/2 red onion, chopped

• 1 red sweet pepper, chopped

Brine

• 2 cups (475g) filtered water

• 2 1/2 tsp (14 g) fine sea salt. 
  This makes approximately a 3% brine

Tools

• Masontops Mini Fermentation Kit

• Pickle Packer

• Smart Funnel 
  

• Knife

• Cutting board

• Blender

• Fine mesh strainer, optional

• Clean bottle or Mason jar for storing

Instructions

1. Wash the produce. Roughly chop the peppers, peach, and red onion.

2. Add the chopped peppers, peach, garlic, red onion, and sweet red pepper to a clean Mason jar. Use the Pickle Packer to gently press each ingredient layer down into the jar and remove trapped air pockets.

3. In a separate measuring cup or bowl, stir the fine sea salt into the filtered water until dissolved.

4. Pour the brine over the ingredients until everything is fully covered.
   

5. Place the Pickle Pebble fermentation weight on top to keep everything submerged below the brine.

6. Add the Pickle Pipe fermentation lid and let the jar ferment at room temperature, away from direct sunlight, for 5–14 days. Pepper seeds and small pieces can sometimes float to the top, so check the jar every few days. If you notice any seeds or bits sitting above the brine, briefly open the jar and remove them with a clean utensil, then reseal.

7. Start tasting around day 5. Once the peppers taste tangy and fermented, strain the vegetables and reserve some of the brine.

8. Add the fermented ingredients to a blender. Blend with a few tablespoons of reserved brine until smooth. Add more brine as needed until you reach your desired consistency.

9. Taste and adjust. If you want a brighter, more classic hot sauce flavour, add a splash of apple cider vinegar or lime juice after blending.

10. Transfer the finished hot sauce to a clean bottle or Mason jar and refrigerate.

Enjoy!