Inside the Kaaram Kitchen: How We Craft Bold Flavours with Science, Soul, and Fermentation

kaaramokplease Admin

At Kaaram OK Please, what looks like a humble jar or bottle on the shelf is the product of meticulous process — where traditional techniques meet rigorous standards. From fermentation to final pour, we build our products with intention, precision, and a deep respect for ingredients and food safety.

Fermentation: The Pulse of Our Flavour

Fermentation isn’t a trend at Kaaram — it’s our heartbeat. Many of our chillies are first fermented before they ever hit the pan. Fermentation deepens flavour, it coaxes out the hidden umami, tempers harshness, and reveals nuance — the same Guntur chilli, when fermented, becomes rounder, funkier, more dimensional.

We ferment with pure sea salt, letting wild and natural lactobacillus work its magic. The result is a spectrum of flavour that is alive and complex — sour, spicy, bright, and layered.

The Science Behind the Art

Flavour is subjective, but safety is not. Every fermented batch is tracked with detailed SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). Here’s a look at how we standardise and stabilise:

  • pH Control: All ferments are monitored for pH levels throughout the process. For hot sauces and condiments, we aim for a pH below 4.2 — the general industry safety threshold — ensuring shelf-stability without refrigeration.

  • Uniformity: After fermentation, batches are blended to standardised flavour benchmarks, using a combination of sensory testing and batch records. Think of it as batch-balancing — each new ferment is compared against a flavour standard to ensure consistency.

  • Fermentation Timeline: Our chillies are fermented anywhere between 5-10 days depending on ambient temperature, salt content, and desired funkiness. We record brix (sugar), weight loss, and acidity to know when it’s just right.

Pasteurisation: Preserving Boldness, Safely

We use pasteurisation for both our hot sauces and condiments, but we’re careful about how. Our sauces are heated post-bottling to 85–90°C for precise durations depending on volume — long enough to ensure microbial safety, but short enough to preserve brightness and taste. Jars are pasteurised, mimicking traditional methods, but with temperature control to avoid overcooking the product.

Hygiene: Non-Negotiable

Our production unit is maintained to stringent food industry hygiene standards:

  • Food-grade stainless steel surfaces

  • Gloved, capped, and masked staff

  • Daily cleaning logs and weekly deep-cleans

  • All equipment sterilised before and after each production run

We follow key HACCP principles and GMP standards — from batch coding to allergen handling — to ensure every product is safe and traceable.

Hand-Poured, Small-Batch

Every single jar and bottle you see is hand-poured and hand-labelled. This allows us to check each unit — for fill levels, seal integrity, label placement — and avoid the generic flaws of large-scale production. It also means your product was touched by someone who cares deeply about how it tastes, looks, and lands on your table.

Why It Matters

We aren’t just bottling sauces — we’re bottling intention. The funk of fermentation, the balance of heat and tang, the careful pasteurisation, the uncompromising hygiene — it’s all designed to give you flavour that sings, safely and consistently.

In a world of shortcuts, we take the long route — one ferment at a time.

Got questions about our methods? Drop us a line — we love sharing our process with fellow flavour nerds.

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