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fermenting First pepper mash kicking off

G

gvittman

Recently I posted a question regarding the fermentation in a mash, and now, had to give it a try. For the composition of the mash, I did however base myself a bit on an interesting article regarding Fermented Sriracha.
http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blo...cha-chile-sauce-recipe-tuong-ot-sriracha.html

Took 350 g of Scotch Bonnets (out of freeezer)
IMG_1621.jpg

1 shallot and garlic to a total of 200 g (2 big heads of garlic)
IMG_1622.jpg


Put the whole deal in a small blender:
IMG_1624.jpg


Then transferred the mash to a 1 liter jar, added 6% of the total weight in sea salt, 2 tbs of palm sugar, and as last, added some fresh sauerkraut from the farmers market as a starter.
IMG_1629.jpg


I am now stuck with one question. As you can see I made the big mistake of blending too long. What I got is already almost a sauce, and I doubt that the salt will extract any moisture. If I add brine, the mash will start floating. I thought about sticking a few cabbage leaves on top of the mash and poring the brine on top. But, the gas that will be produced will be caught under the leaves, and will push them up. What is the solution? Poking holes in the cabbage leaves?
 
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I've also had trouble getting a weight into something like a gallon jar where the neck is significantly smaller than the walls of the jar. What I did for the last go around is this-

I found some small glass "stones" (available from craft stores/walmart for about .99/pound). I rinsed and sanitized them and then wrapped them in a couple pieces of cheese cloth that had been washed/sanitized. I was able to fit them inside the neck of the jar and then spread them out over the surface of the stuff. I have 2 jars going right now with this method, one with kimchee and the other with some serrano peppers for mash.

The cheese cloth I have has a very loose weave, so that's why I used 2 pieces. And for sanitizing, I use 1 teaspoon bleach per gallon of water. If you are going to use the materials immediately, you may want to rinse again with water to rinse off any bleach residue. If you won't be using it until the next day, the air will dissipate the bleach.

For the serrano mash, I'm trying it with a Napa cabbage leaf at the bottom and another one on top of the peppers and the glass pebbles on top of the cabbage leaf. I used significantly less salt than you did which is why I'm trying it with the Napa cabbage which ferments really easily. Hoping the Napa will kick start it.

I wouldn't worry about adding a little brine right now as if there's too much liquid at the end, you can always reduce it/boil it down. And the gas will escape just fine with whole cabbage leaves on top.

Do you have any pics?


here's a couple-
growstuff001.jpg


growstuff002.jpg
 
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Well, I got it done. I first had the idea of cutting the corners out of the top of a plastic water bottle, giving something similar to the frame of an turned over umbrella:
IMG_1644.jpg


This worked great. I was however a bit afraid for the resistance against acidity of this plastic, so I removed it again. My temp solution for now has become a small glass jar, with on top another 2 tiny bowls, in order to reach the lid of the jar and keep pressure on the leaves covering the mash.
I could not get a good picture of the final result, but here a "bad" picture of mash with napa cabbage leave. As you can see, I was too lazy to remove the labels from the jar.

IMG_1642.jpg
 
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salsalady,

I loved the idea of using glass stones .
Next time when I go to Walmart, I must look for them.
You solved my problem of getting my Thai hotties and Nagas under pressure.

Plus, they look awesome.

Thanks

NJA
 
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gvittman said:
Recently I posted a question regarding the fermentation in a mash, and now, had to give it a try. For the composition of the mash, I did however base myself a bit on an interesting article regarding Fermented Sriracha.
http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blo...cha-chile-sauce-recipe-tuong-ot-sriracha.html

Took 350 g of Scotch Bonnets (out of freeezer)
IMG_1621.jpg

1 shallot and garlic to a total of 200 g (2 big heads of garlic)
IMG_1622.jpg


Put the whole deal in a small blender:
IMG_1624.jpg


Then transferred the mash to a 1 liter jar, added 6% of the total weight in sea salt, 2 tbs of palm sugar, and as last, added some fresh sauerkraut from the farmers market as a starter.
IMG_1629.jpg


I am now stuck with one question. As you can see I made the big mistake of blending too long. What I got is already almost a sauce, and I doubt that the salt will extract any moisture. If I add brine, the mash will start floating. I thought about sticking a few cabbage leaves on top of the mash and poring the brine on top. But, the gas that will be produced will be caught under the leaves, and will push them up. What is the solution? Poking holes in the cabbage leaves?
Click to expand...


I would cut leaves into ribbons and then use them.
 
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NGA, you mean the cabbage? Well, I hope that the sauerkraut will do the job as starter. The cabbage leaves on top are only to form a stiff cover for my mash, which is more of a salsa/sauce.
 
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I am really starting to worry about my mash. We are in week 6 now, I have added nappa cabbage leaves cut into narrow strips twice, and still no bubbling. Two weeks ago, the smell however changed. First it was the typical scotch bonnet smell, then it changed into a kind of sour smell. So something is happening, but I have no idea what. I now close the lid to the jar very tight, in order to check if pressure is building up, but nothing.
Does any of you experts understand what is going on?
 
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Hey,

Haven't posted a whole lot but your problem hits close to home because I do some microbiology for a living.

Considering the amount of salt in your mash I'm not too worried about contamination, although that's always possible. As for the sour smell, that could be spoilage or it could be acid production. If you can get a hold of some pH paper try to see if it acidified at all.

That's all I can see for now. I can check my industrial microbiology notes to remind myself how it all works.

Maybe there's a way to save it but sometimes it's better to just start over.
 
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I guess I should be able to get some pH paper, or simply taste it ... With the 6% of salt in weight, I don't think I should be worried about contamination. It just beats me that with sugar added, fresh sauerkraut and cabbage leaves, no pressure is building up.
I don't have a recipe Luckydog. Sauerkraut is fermented, so it should do the trick when used fresh.
Should I just let it sit for another couple of months, finish my sauce and use it?
 
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Hi everyone, and I hope that you guys had a great, wet and hot 4th.
I haven't posted in quite a while, but now I had to give an update regarding this mash. It sat for almost 6 months, no fermentation at all, which I still can not figure out (I used sea salt, maybe too much iodium).
Anyway, I couldn't let it stand any longer, so dumped the mash in a pot, with 1 good sized mango, onion and garlic, some ketchup, some vinegar, some lime, and had it cook for about 30 minutes. Then put it in the food processor and bottled it.
The taste: AWESOME !!! And, very spicy. It gave me about half a gallon of sauce. I immediately put another bunch of scotch bonnets to ferment, and we'll know in a few days if the fermentation this time kicks in.


gvittman said:
Recently I posted a question regarding the fermentation in a mash, and now, had to give it a try. For the composition of the mash, I did however base myself a bit on an interesting article regarding Fermented Sriracha.
http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blo...cha-chile-sauce-recipe-tuong-ot-sriracha.html

Took 350 g of Scotch Bonnets (out of freeezer)
IMG_1621.jpg

1 shallot and garlic to a total of 200 g (2 big heads of garlic)
IMG_1622.jpg


Put the whole deal in a small blender:
IMG_1624.jpg


Then transferred the mash to a 1 liter jar, added 6% of the total weight in sea salt, 2 tbs of palm sugar, and as last, added some fresh sauerkraut from the farmers market as a starter.
IMG_1629.jpg


I am now stuck with one question. As you can see I made the big mistake of blending too long. What I got is already almost a sauce, and I doubt that the salt will extract any moisture. If I add brine, the mash will start floating. I thought about sticking a few cabbage leaves on top of the mash and poring the brine on top. But, the gas that will be produced will be caught under the leaves, and will push them up. What is the solution? Poking holes in the cabbage leaves?
Click to expand...
 
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