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fermenting fermenting tabasco

Biscombe

Biscombe

Anyone has tried this?

I've got loads of tabasco's to harvest and wondered If anyone has a fool proof recipe! OR should I just stick em in the freezer!
 
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You can try fermenting them with just salt but you'll probably be better to use a starter culture of some sort like kefir to ensure there's enough lactic acid producing bacteria
 
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Add 1/2 cup kosher salt per gallon of ground peppers and allow to age one month in glass jars.
 
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I've used kefir as a starter on two batches (jalapeno and cayenne) and they both started up really nice. I think tabascos are nice and juicy so you may be ok with just tabascos and salt. If that doesn't create enough brine to cover the peppers well you may need to add some - do a web search to get correct proportions of salt and water.

I've been fermenting mine in mason jars. It gets tricky trying to keep your peppers submerged so nasty stuff doesn't grow on them. Some people use nylon bags of glass beads to weigh them down, or ziplock bags of brine, bags of sterilized rocks, etc.

I have an idea of making a weight / top similar to those used in real fermenting crocks but for inserting into mason jars. I am going to prototype a couple from 1/2 inch plexiglass as soon as I confirm that plexiglass is ok to use with food.

Right now I have my first ever batch of sourcraut fermenting in a 2L / half gallon wide mouth mason jar. This is the very same process. I will use some brine from this culture to start my next batch of peppers.
 
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rshortt said:
I've used kefir as a starter on two batches (jalapeno and cayenne) and they both started up really nice. I think tabascos are nice and juicy so you may be ok with just tabascos and salt. If that doesn't create enough brine to cover the peppers well you may need to add some - do a web search to get correct proportions of salt and water.

I've been fermenting mine in mason jars. It gets tricky trying to keep your peppers submerged so nasty stuff doesn't grow on them. Some people use nylon bags of glass beads to weigh them down, or ziplock bags of brine, bags of sterilized rocks, etc.

I have an idea of making a weight / top similar to those used in real fermenting crocks but for inserting into mason jars. I am going to prototype a couple from 1/2 inch plexiglass as soon as I confirm that plexiglass is ok to use with food.

Right now I have my first ever batch of sourcraut fermenting in a 2L / half gallon wide mouth mason jar. This is the very same process. I will use some brine from this culture to start my next batch of peppers.
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Make sure the plexiglass does not have any fire retardant in it. If there's an "FR" rating that means it's been chemically induced with toxins. The same toxins in your computer that you sit in front of all the time!
 
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scarpetti said:
Make sure the plexiglass does not have any fire retardant in it. If there's an "FR" rating that means it's been chemically induced with toxins. The same toxins in your computer that you sit in front of all the time!
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That's good to know, thanks for the info.
 
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I've got a hab mash with kaffir lime leaves that's been fermenting for about 4 months already and I'm not quite sure what to do with it as it's produced a very mouldy head.

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That looks like my cayenne mash. The problem was not enough brine to cover the peppers. Habs are pretty thin walled so I don't imagine a lot of moisture locked up there.

I'm throwing mine out, lesson learned. Next time I'll add more salt water solution.
 
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I believe you can just scrape off the top layer so no mould is added to the cook up? I actually usually add a few standard bell or long peppers into the mash to juice it up, however I wanted to try just a pure chili hash for this one.
 
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buggedcom said:
I've got a hab mash with kaffir lime leaves that's been fermenting for about 4 months already and I'm not quite sure what to do with it as it's produced a very mouldy head.

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Man!That is Wrong!Kefir Starter,not Kaffir Limes!Please throw that stuff out!Before trying to ferment anything,please do adequate research on the subject and test with a proper PH Meter!
Botulism must be a very bad way to die!
Be careful out there!!!!!
 
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulism
While commercially canned goods are required to undergo a "botulinum cook" at 121 °C (250 °F) for 3 minutes, and so rarely cause botulism... Because the botulism toxin is destroyed by high temperatures, home-canned foods are best boiled for 20 minutes before eating.
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So if the mould is scrapped off and then the hash is cooked and heated for the correct amount of time (which I do anyway) the botulism bacteria breaks down and is safe to use.
 
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When you fermenting properly I don't believe you need a "botulinum cook" since fermentation creates an acidic environment, but you certainly don't want any mould present
 
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Interesting stuff! thanks for all the posts.
In the end I smoked the tabasco chilies with some hickory chips, not fully dry yet, so I'm finishing drying them off in the greenhouse!
I'll let you know how it turns out!
Thanks for taking the time to reply
:dance:
 
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buggedcom - that looks nasty! I'd be scared to even eat any part of it.
if you do use it....ummm ahhh good luck to you.
you should get together with hotsaucepro, both of you could make some killer hot sauce (pun intended)
 
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Remember that mold has "tentacles" that you can't see that weave their way all through what ever they're growing on. You can't scrape off what you can't see and I for one would not want to eat boiled mold.

I would trash it and call it a lesson learned.
 
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Around me, we have killer molds. I'm not sure you should even breathe near this let alone eat it. Might get into your lungs. :think:

It's hard to let go of something you waited this long for, but it's for the best. :cry:

Toss it.
 
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