My son’s growing up to be a little hothead—in the best way possible. This year, he was determined to grow a variety of peppers, and he fell in love with cayenne. Combine that with his “insane” love of mango, and we had the perfect excuse to dream up this fiery, tropical DIY vinegar infusion.
Pique is a traditional Puerto Rican hot sauce made by infusing vinegar with peppers, garlic, and spices—often with tropical fruits, especially pineapple. I offer a somewhat different pique recipe in my first cookbook, “Insane in the Brine: The Official Cookbook,” which also features peach to pay homage to my home state of Georgia!
This version also leans into the island inspiration with the bold twist of mango, plus other great flavors like red onion, cilantro, and other special aromatics for extra depth and brightness. Of course, whichever ingredients you might not want can simply be omitted.
We’ve been drizzling it over tacos, grilled fish, rice bowls, and even roasted sweet potatoes. It also adds a punchy twist to meat marinades—just don’t use it as the sole ingredient, since vinegar can toughen the meat if left too long.
If you’re looking for a bold, customizable fruit-infused vinegar that’s fun to make and even more fun to eat, this one’s a winner.
Yield:
One 12-oz. dasher bottle. (Approximately 1¼ cups; 300–310 ml)
Shelf life:
About one year (refrigerated)
Equipment:
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Citrus juicer (suggested)
- Measuring spoons
- Small pan (optional)
- Mortar & pestle
- 12 oz. woozy bottle with dasher cap (if unavailable, can use other 12 oz. bottles which separate the liquid from the solids when pouring, such as a 12 oz honey bottle)
- Chopstick or similar utensil
- Bottling funnel (suggested)
Ingredients:
- 1 whole lime, juiced
- ½ tsp black or rainbow peppercorns
- 3–4 whole cloves
- 3–4 allspice berries
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp sugar (up to 1 tsp, to brighten mango flavor)
- ¼ firm mango, pitted and diced (approx. 75–85g)
- 8 cayenne peppers, tops trimmed (60g), or pepper type & quantity to personal taste
- ⅛ red onion, petite diced (25g)
- 2 medium garlic cloves, quartered
- 1 large bay leaf
- Several stalks cilantro (10g)
- 1 cup white vinegar (enough to top off bottle)
Directions:
1. Place a dry bottling funnel into the empty glass bottle.
2. Add salt and sugar through the funnel.
3. (Optional but recommended) Toast the spices (peppercorns, cloves, allspice, coriander) in a small pan over low heat for 2 minutes until fragrant, then coarsely crush them using a mortar & pestle. Then add the spices through the funnel.
4. Juice the lime and pour the juice through the funnel into the bottle.
5. Add diced mango through the funnel.
6. Trim the tops off the cayenne peppers and add them whole directly into the bottle.
7. Add diced red onion and garlic through the funnel.
8. Add bay leaf and cilantro directly into the bottle. As needed, use a chopstick to gently press ingredients down to make room to add the cilantro.
9. Place the funnel back in and pour white vinegar through it, filling to within 1/2″ of the bottle rim.
10. Seal and shake vigorously to combine. Store at room temperature for 7 days, shaking once daily. (You may notice some bubbling associated with lacto-fermentation, which is fine.)
Pique usually hits its peak flavor after about 10-14 days but is already pretty tasty after a week. You will notice the colors dull, and in some cases color pigments completely disappear, such as the red from the red onion (shown below).
Notes:
- Feel free to adjust ingredients to suit your taste. This version is very spicy—reduce the number of peppers for a milder infusion. Instead of so many peppers, or for ingredients you might not like such as cilantro, you can also swap in more garlic, mango, or other ingredients depending on your flavor goals. The vinegar amount may vary slightly based on how much produce you use.
- You may notice bubbling during the first week—this is natural and may indicate mild lacto-fermentation due to the produce temporarily raising the pH of the vinegar. It’s safe and can even add complexity to the flavor. However, it is recommended to periodically relieve pressure by “burping” the bottle, that is, giving the cap a quick counter-clockwise turn. In the fridge, there should be no noticeable pressure buildup.
- Although room temp storage is extremely common in Puerto Rico and can be considered safe, start with a clean bottle and cap that has been rinsed in warm, soapy water. Refrigeration after a week of infusing will help prolong its shelf life and the pepper potency too.
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Mine’s waiting for another week or so before I give it a taste but why would there be any fermentation as it’s a vinegar infusion?
I think it’s explained briefly in the post, but the idea is the moisture inside the produce will leach into the vinegar solution, weakening the pH. While vinegar’s pH renders most microbes either dead or dormant, there can be a brief window when the pH has risen that allows for a limited amount of lacto-fermentation which is visible as bubbles. Remember that lactic-acid-producing bacteria are themselves acid tolerant (to varying extents depending on the strain), meaning that a water/vinegar solution is not going to “kill” all the bacteria instantly, especially when you’re not using a hot brine such as this pique-infusion method. It is a major misnomer that vinegar kills everything in a ferment. It depends on how much vinegar and some other factors.