Anyone ever thought of using seeding mats for making pepper mash in the winter months? My wife likes to keep the house on 65 degs so trying to make mash in the winter is slow for me if it wants to ferment at all. I was thinking the mats keep my seedlings right around 80 degs... just about perfect for fermentation.
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fermenting Seed heatting mats for making pepper mash in winter months?
- Thread starter DelawareDave
- Start date
I'm not sure how warm the mats might get, but I've found too much heat tends to accelerate the fermentation process, and affect the end product.
We keep our house around 65 degrees also.
Most lactic acid bacteria work best at temperatures of 64 to 72ºf.
The Leuconostoc bacteria, which begin the fermentation, have an optimum of 64 to 72ºf. Temperatures above 72ºf, favour the lactobacillus bacteria.
But,in general, a temperature of about 72 degrees will be sufficient to ensure a lactic-acid fermentation.
I almost always have something fermenting, and I just put my jars on top of the refrigerator inside black cotton sock.
The sock blocks the light,that contributes to discoloration while also supplying a little insulation.
I keep a thermometer close by to monitor the temp., which holds pretty steady at 73 or 74 degrees.
Another thing I do sometimes when its exceptionally cold, is put them on top of my clothes dryer during a cycle, to bump up the heat a little, then its back into a sock and on top of the fridge.
We keep our house around 65 degrees also.
Most lactic acid bacteria work best at temperatures of 64 to 72ºf.
The Leuconostoc bacteria, which begin the fermentation, have an optimum of 64 to 72ºf. Temperatures above 72ºf, favour the lactobacillus bacteria.
But,in general, a temperature of about 72 degrees will be sufficient to ensure a lactic-acid fermentation.
I almost always have something fermenting, and I just put my jars on top of the refrigerator inside black cotton sock.
The sock blocks the light,that contributes to discoloration while also supplying a little insulation.
I keep a thermometer close by to monitor the temp., which holds pretty steady at 73 or 74 degrees.
Another thing I do sometimes when its exceptionally cold, is put them on top of my clothes dryer during a cycle, to bump up the heat a little, then its back into a sock and on top of the fridge.
If you get one of the thermostats that are used with the heating mats they are good to one degree F. very accurate and stable. You can use most anything for the heater.
get a big camper cooler and use it to keep warm inside. you can use a light bulb or electric heating pad connected to your thermostat. or get an egg hatching thermostat. even more accurate. You could also heat the inside of an old refrigerator or small floor freezer.
If you dont mind the temp going up and down a bit you can simply put your ferment into the container and add a couple of gallon jugs of boiling water with cap to keep the humidity in the jug. people make yogurt this way.
wrap the jugs in towels to keep warm. use your imagination. most anything works. put your jar on top of the TV tuner that puts out heat. wrap in towels to keep the warmth in the jar.
get a big camper cooler and use it to keep warm inside. you can use a light bulb or electric heating pad connected to your thermostat. or get an egg hatching thermostat. even more accurate. You could also heat the inside of an old refrigerator or small floor freezer.
If you dont mind the temp going up and down a bit you can simply put your ferment into the container and add a couple of gallon jugs of boiling water with cap to keep the humidity in the jug. people make yogurt this way.
wrap the jugs in towels to keep warm. use your imagination. most anything works. put your jar on top of the TV tuner that puts out heat. wrap in towels to keep the warmth in the jar.