# Help turning sauce into powder form



## mixiebug (Apr 3, 2014)

I have a chili pepper sauce that I'm trying to turn into a powder form. Right now, I'm doing this with an oven and although it works, it's too time consuming. I've also tried a dehydrator but it takes too long and it's hard to remove the dried sauce out from it. Any ideas you might have would be greatly appreciated! I'm trying to make a lot of the powder easily and my way is not working out. Thanks so much!


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

You could make a powder that turns into chili sauce.


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## imalilteapot (Apr 3, 2014)

I'm with you on this one.  In fact, I just joined this site so I could answer your question.  Unfortunately, time is something you can't get around when turning wet into dry.  Not without burning.  Whether you're doing it for lighter weight while backpacking or for long-term storage, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait it out.  I always use a dehydrator, and my old Garden Way (company no longer in business) seems to work just as well as my neighbor's Excalibur.  A good dehydrator is expensive, but it can be used nearly year-round.  Good luck.

A good resource for anything dried is Backpacking with Chef Glen.  I think he would advise dehydrating and then running your resulting bark through the food processor.  Also, this will be something that you'll need to dry to the crispy stage, so there will be no lumps in your powder.  No shortcuts on this one.  The upside is, you can toss it into your dehydrator (spread onto nonstick sheets sold for that purpose, or waxed paper) and go about your business.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

Freeze drying is the on;y way to do this and not damage the flavor to badly.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

Who can do this at home? The way I learned to freeze-dry under lab conditions while studying biochemistry involved shock-freezing in liquid nitrogen then drying under a good vacuum with a pump constantly running and pulling the moisture through a cold trap... Not exactly a kitchen setup.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

That was my point, no way to do this in a home kitchen safely.


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## boheme (Feb 24, 2014)

there are a few ways to powder a sauce dehydrating and slow baking are two but they can tend to lead to decaying of the flavor and consistency of the sauce if its not a high acid based. try adding some bacon fat or olive oil to the recipe you have to increase the fat content and then use Tapioca Maltodextrin to turn the sauce into a powder the technique and method can vary but basically getting the ration of sauce to powder right and a strong blitzing with a food processor will do the trick entire process usually takes about 20 minutes. here's a link for the maltodextrin and some tips on how to use it. http://store.molecularrecipes.com/tapioca-maltodextrin/ good luck man!!!!


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

Good one Boheme...  I should have thought of that.

To the OP - just to clarify - you'll have to make a chili oil or at least a very oily chili sauce then use the tapioca maltodextrin.  

It is easy as he says - you just have to play around with small batches and accurate scales while you work the kinks out.

What quantities do you need?  If only small amounts <250ml liquid batches there may be some tools in the ~2k range that work for the kitchen.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

MaryB said:


> That was my point, no way to do this in a home kitchen safely.


Well, yes and no - I was more concerned about equipment cost. You most certainly can run lab grade equipment at home as safe as anywhere else. You see more and more of it with the whole molecular thing going on. But to everyone who wants to try it - get some instruction first. I have seen bad shit going on in professional labs. Vacuum and cryogenic liquids are not your friends, they are out to get you. A healthy paranoia while working with them helps.

In particular, if you put vaccum to glassware, be it a rotovap or a lyo, inspect the glass. Any scratches or cracks? Stop right there. I have seen a vacuum distillation unit implode. Not pretty at all. Earned a colleague of mine a medivac chopper ride to the nearest hospital specialized in surgery on the upper extremities, due to a shard of glass embedded in his forearm. Quick tourniquet saved him from bleeding out, and the surgeons managed to fix the severed tendons and nerves, thank God.

Know how your vacuum pumps work and how to service them. Know how Dewars works and how to check pressure vents if you use a closed one.

Most important - don't work alone with stuff like that. The other guy watching your back may well save your life. I have seen it more than once.

All in all, it is not any more dangerous than say, using chainsaws or circular saws for some DIY construction project. It just demands the same respect.

However, I do see no reason to spend a couple of grands on a lab grade lyophilization unit for occasional kitchen work.


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

There are some small home-style units coming out... but limited capacity.

Like this one for instance that I've been eyeing for a while. Mainly for juice clarification.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

MichaelGA said:


> There are some small home-style units coming out... but limited capacity.
> 
> Like this one for instance that I've been eyeing for a while. Mainly for juice clarification.


That'll probably do it for the very occasional kitchen use. At this price, though, you really are looking at the bottom of the barrel. A decent benchtop centrifuge with a rotor for 15 ml tubes goes for 500-1000 at least. As with vacuum and cryo stuff - if it comes to stuff that rotates at a couple of thousand rpm with a sizeable mass, I'd rather prefer solid quality. The rotor for a decent Eppendorf benchtop centrifuge costs more than that one.


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

Agreed the folks at cookingissues have given it favourable reviews, and they don't mess around.  The biggest thing is lack of quantity.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

MichaelGA said:


> Agreed the folks at cookingissues have given it favourable reviews, and they don't mess around. The biggest thing is lack of quantity.


Anything larger than a rotor with 15ml insets will kill your wallet. And given the rotating mass of a rotor for 50 or even 250 ml tubes, I would only buy top quality there. Not really worth it for the occasional use - stuff like that you can only justify you use it daily.

For volumes like that, there are not many benchtop units, you are looking at freestanding stuff the size of a standard stove - and even the benchtop units go for the price of a small car.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

I worked in a feed testing lab around all kinds of fun lab equipment and chemicals. Did first aid more than once for someone getting glass cuts when a beaker exploded or the lid was on the centrifuge and a tube exploded flinging glass everywhere. Chemical burns, frozen fingers from the liquid CO2 used in one piece of equipment...


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