salt 2%
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tutorial Fermenting Peppers 101
- Thread starter RocketMan
- Start date
Place a 30% water +/-. the rest is water itself chilies.
I have lots of water because too much liquid must make crushed very fine. Maybe that's why a lot of water.
What i call attention is the beginning co2 promiscuity.
But seeing well, maybe be air trapped in the pulp, which is then released by separation of water [SIZE=14.3999996185303px]and[/SIZE][SIZE=14.3999996185303px] [/SIZE]must. as occurs after liquefy fruits.
This thinking now. Just wait a few more days to see evolution.
I have lots of water because too much liquid must make crushed very fine. Maybe that's why a lot of water.
What i call attention is the beginning co2 promiscuity.
But seeing well, maybe be air trapped in the pulp, which is then released by separation of water [SIZE=14.3999996185303px]and[/SIZE][SIZE=14.3999996185303px] [/SIZE]must. as occurs after liquefy fruits.
This thinking now. Just wait a few more days to see evolution.
i processed a bunch of ultra hots with some carrots, garlic and onion and added some milk kefir whey into a mason jar a couple weeks ago, put a freezer bag inside the lid ring. I had some white mold on top which i scooped off. my problem is i don't see any bubbling. I did not add any salt. I keep mixing it up every few days to keep the fruits submerged. is it too late to add salt? have I ruined it already? is the mold something to worry about at for the rest of the jar? thanks in advance.
TorontoOeno said:
First off let the Habaneros keep going and don't open the jar anymore or if you do add a little whey from a tub of yogurt and close it up. Fermenting vegetables, while related to beer and wine making, is different and you'll see no where near as aggressive a ferment with vegetables. I have had ferments that bubbles good enough to see a bubble or 2 come through the airlock and I've had more that I never saw a single bubble other than what was trapped in the mash. Let it go and see what the Ph is when your ready to process them all.
The stuff your seeing at the bottom of the jar is normal. It could be from anti caking ingredients that are mixed in with some salts or it could be a byproduct of the fermenting process but I see it in every ferment I've done and is nothing to worry about.
Big thing here from what you wrote is, don't open the jars anymore. When you open them you release the CO2 layer trapped between the top of the liquid and the lid. Its this CO2 layer that protects out mashes as they ferment from getting nasties in them.
cypresshill1973 said:
When you pulverize the mash like that then you'll see it lift more as the CO2 is more easily trapped in the solids in there. Seeing that lift is a good sign that your fermentation is progressing nicely. If you really want to settle it gently swirl the jars to help release some of the trapped gas and the mash will settle back down a bit. Whatever you do though do not open the jar and stir it.
poojer said:
First off if Welcome to THP!
I don't think you've ruined it yet. If what was on top was white then most likely it was a Kahm yeast and not a mold which are usually dark grey and black. It is harmless to the ferment and you can just leave it in there till your ready to process the sauce and scrape it out then. It's best to leave the jar closed up and keep the CO2 layer in place than to open the jar and release it. Especially when it's been going for a couple of weeks and the layer won't be so readily replaced.
It can be hard, when your first starting out in fermenting, to leave the fermentation alone and just let it run it's course but this is the best thing to do. Once that layer of CO2 is built up you really don't want to loose that layer of protection. If your concerned with something you see in the jar take a picture of it and post it here. Someone with more experience will be in and see your picture and question and will be more than happy to let you know what's going on. Best thing to do though is put the jar somewhere where you're not constantly seeing it and let it do it's thing.
Cheers,
RM
Thanks RM! instinctively done that same. As it's been described
Thanks RM! I feel better now. For mine though the ferment is open, with peppers submerged but with the jar only covered with secured cheesecloth. I think I'm going to test out one of the jalapeno jars and see how they are doing, and both of the jalapenos and the red banana had very active ferments going for about a week or so.
Well let's face it, most sauces no matter what start deteriating after a year or so in flavor, color and the like.
But the key is this, if the ph of the sauce is below 4 and I prefer at least 3.5 it shouldn't go bad (in so far as getting contaminated with bad, yucky, nasties that will make you sick). But anything you make that you plan on having eaten in a year shouldn't be a problem.
But the key is this, if the ph of the sauce is below 4 and I prefer at least 3.5 it shouldn't go bad (in so far as getting contaminated with bad, yucky, nasties that will make you sick). But anything you make that you plan on having eaten in a year shouldn't be a problem.
salsalady
Business Member
Valo said:
Fermenting chiles and other stuff imparts a distinct flavor to the sauce. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of that flavor profile. I like chiles, fruit, veggies, spices of all sorts in all different types of sauces, some heavy on the vinegar, some not. But I'm really not a huge fan of the fermented sauce flavor profile no matter what other ingredients are in the sauce.
While fermentation and use of vinegar are critical to making a shelf stable safe sauce, it's also about the flavor. Just blendering up fresh chiles and other ingredients should not be considered lazy. It's a fresh flavored sauce, it's about the desired flavor profile...fresh-vs-fermented. And at that point it comes down to personal preference of the person making and eating the sauce.
This Thread talks about making and processing sauces. The canning/bottling processes can be used on Fresh or Fermented sauces.
This Thread has some further explanations.
Once you go lacto, you won't backto. I personally don't care for any non-fermented hot sauces ever since I tried my first homemade ferment. The mashes that the commercial guys use in their hot sauces is inferior to the ferments a hobby grower can make at home with the newest and better tasting superhot peppers. The best the commercial guys can expect is red jalapeno, red habanero, green serrano and lots of it. Eat fresh peppers sauce and if that is good enough for you great, but the flavor profile of a truly artisan homemade pepper ferment is out of this world fantastic tasty to the soul. And yes the shelf life is increased which is just an added bonus and peace of mind, great hot sauces take time no short cuts.
salsalady
Business Member
Cappy just proved my point. Some like a fermented sauce, some don't. Neither one is right or wrong. Cappy's Brain Strain was the first fermented sauce we'd ever tasted and it took us a while to narrow in on the flavor profile, what is was that gave it that twang that wasn't vinegar.... and yes, there is nothing on the market that can compare with the flavor of a home fermented sauce -v- commercial sauce. But it's still a fermented flavor and I prefer non-fermented sauces. To each there own, right? There's a reason why there are thousands of hot sauces on the market.
The only commercial sauce I know of (other than Tabasco, which is basically hot pepper vinegar~~~I wouldn't put Tabasco in the same category of Sriracha and most of the sauces being made here which have some bulk to them) that actually ferments their sauce is Sriracha, and I think they only ferment it for a week.
Most of the mashes commercial sauce makers use is not fermented. Again, it comes down to what people "assume" the word "mash" means. Louisiana Pepper Exchange sells a ton of "mashes" but as far as I know, they are not fermented chiles. It's different choices of ground up chiles plain, or with vinegar, or with a little salt or with a lot of salt.
"Mash" is a consistency, not an automatic assumption the stuff has been fermented.
The only commercial sauce I know of (other than Tabasco, which is basically hot pepper vinegar~~~I wouldn't put Tabasco in the same category of Sriracha and most of the sauces being made here which have some bulk to them) that actually ferments their sauce is Sriracha, and I think they only ferment it for a week.
Most of the mashes commercial sauce makers use is not fermented. Again, it comes down to what people "assume" the word "mash" means. Louisiana Pepper Exchange sells a ton of "mashes" but as far as I know, they are not fermented chiles. It's different choices of ground up chiles plain, or with vinegar, or with a little salt or with a lot of salt.
"Mash" is a consistency, not an automatic assumption the stuff has been fermented.
salsalady said:
Yeah I only assume it's fermented if it says "aged" peppers. Tabasco, and Franks are the only commercial companies I know off the top of my head that do it. While I do like mine fermented, I do also like fresh sauces. I can understand people preferring sauces unfermented, being that they will be more "Naturally sweet" and the aged/sour taste is not for everyone.
Great reply Ann! I was just wondering why you came in to our fermenting 101 thread and started preaching fresh pepper sauce? To each their own is right and we all have to start somewhere and let our taste bud mature as like any other hobby and as we grow as sauce makers. Texas Creek Chipotle BBQ sauce is my all time favorite BBQ sauce bar none. I can only imagine if you would use some fermented peppers in it what it might taste like? I wouldn't slam Tabasco they ferment their Avery Island Tabasco peppers for 3 years in a salt cave deep in the earth using 50 gallon wooden barrels. Probably have an extra years of mash on hand at any given time and if I remember correctly are the oldest single family owned business in the USA. Pretty cool, I tried to copy what Tabasco does just with superhots, thanks.
salsalady
Business Member
it's all good, Cappy. The following post is why I posted. Many people don't understand the WHY to ferment for preservation as opposed to using vinegar for preservation, or they see everyone jumping on the fermentation bandwagon and think that fermentation is the ONLY method of making a sauce. It's not wrong or lazy to make a fresh sauce as Valo suggested. It's just different, just like making an uncooked (must be eaten right now) sauce is not wrong, It's just another option.
I'm not knocking McIllhenney's at all! Anyone who can ferment for 3 years in oak barrels with salt crusts....That's the Holy Grail of fermenting. What they do with the chiles after fermenting is add vinegar (and salt?) to make a thin very vinegary sauce. Totally different consistency and heavy on the vinegar compared to a sriracha style sauce. That's why I said they are not the same "class" but maybe the term "same TYPE of sauce" would of been a better description. The rooster sauce consistency is more like what everyone here makes. Thicker, pulpy, like your Brain Strain sauce.
I've done a few ferments and came up with a sauce that was 1/2 fermented stuff and 1/2 other/fresh ingredients. I and the family really liked it. It was a medium heat sauce that the family actually ate and the fermented flavor wasn't so prominent.
Re: BBQ sauce, Thank you! and your comments raise an interesting idea. Fermented chipotles.....HHHhmmmmm..... What do you think?
Valo said:
I'm not knocking McIllhenney's at all! Anyone who can ferment for 3 years in oak barrels with salt crusts....That's the Holy Grail of fermenting. What they do with the chiles after fermenting is add vinegar (and salt?) to make a thin very vinegary sauce. Totally different consistency and heavy on the vinegar compared to a sriracha style sauce. That's why I said they are not the same "class" but maybe the term "same TYPE of sauce" would of been a better description. The rooster sauce consistency is more like what everyone here makes. Thicker, pulpy, like your Brain Strain sauce.
I've done a few ferments and came up with a sauce that was 1/2 fermented stuff and 1/2 other/fresh ingredients. I and the family really liked it. It was a medium heat sauce that the family actually ate and the fermented flavor wasn't so prominent.
Re: BBQ sauce, Thank you! and your comments raise an interesting idea. Fermented chipotles.....HHHhmmmmm..... What do you think?