You can use this easy procedure to ferment habanero peppers in preparation for making hot sauce. It will work with any peppers, hot or sweet, but none have as high quality flavor as habanero.

Fermentation refers to the action of microorganisms converting food into acid or alcohol. Fermentation mellows the flavor of the peppers, making them not taste so "raw." Many fermented foods, like peppers, do good to your body. Making fermented pepper mash preserves peppers to keep them from rotting. You will add salt to the peppers in order to suppress growth of pathogens (dangerous microorganisms) in the ferment. The salt will not adversely affect fermentation.