How to balance the bitterness of Habanero peppers?

Question

I'm a hobby hot sauce maker and I'm wondering how do I balance the bitterness of Habanero peppers? All the super hot peppers in the Chinense family have a strong bitter taste that comes with the extreme heat. I've used citrus, salt, sugar and the bitterness still shines through.

Answer 1

Capsaicin is an extremely bitter(in addition to spicy) off-white crystalline powder. The bitterness is also very dependent on the individual. You'll need to add a lot more sugar or possibly vinegar to offset this.

The flavor of certain fruits play well with chilies including stone fruits and mango. And, anecdotally at least, are know to counteract the bitter effect of the capsaicin.

Or you could use a milder chili.

Answer 2

I use pineapple, garlic, onions, carrot, apple cider vinegar; citric acid.

Have played with roasting the above vs not; gives a more complex flavor.

The carrot and onion seem to calm down the bitterness.

Alternatively; you can try my jelly recipe minus the pectin (very sweet base you could build off of): 4 cups granulated sugar strawberries habaneros 1 orange, 1 lime, 1 lemon apple cider vingear

Typical jam steps; add ingredients; bring to 200.

Answer 3

I've used citrus, salt, sugar and the bitterness still shines through.

Yes, that's how it's going to be. Once a taste, especially bitterness, is present in a dish, you cannot remove it any more. You can try to dilute it, or to distract the senses with other tastes.

I assume you don't want to dilute, because this will also dilute the super hot peppers, so you will end up with something as hot as regular chili. You found out that the distraction strategy is not working for you, you still notice the bitterness. So there is nothing more you can do. The taste is there to stay, the only option is to get accustomed to it - it is entirely possible to get an acquired taste for bitter foods when you expose yourself to them enough.

Answer 4

I usually very slowly cook my peppers in a lemon juice infused syrup. This has to me at least the effect of gently activating the pepper flavours and infuses the pepper with other flavours that albeit don't take the bitterness away at least mask them ever so slightly.