fermenting 1st time fermenting Think I might have screwed up.

What you would have wanted to do is put something on top of the mash to keep it under the brine.  I usually just shake mine up occasionally.

hot stuff said:

What you would have wanted to do is put something on top of the mash to keep it under the brine.  I usually just shake mine up occasionally.

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Do you skim the floaters off the top, I'm just worried about growing mold here's what it started out like 
 
this is it how it looks today- When I put the mash back in I put the plastic lid cut pretty close the the size of the jar so kinda worried that the mash isnt fully soaked in the brine I did lift the plastic lid up a few times so the brine could get in there also it heaved up yesterday.

Tough call. Couple questions
Did you pour the brine back over the mash, add new brine, or push your lid down until mash was covered with remaining brine from mash?
Was the original jar covered with a lid?
What was the reason for squeezing brine from mash?

To answer your question. the mash may be compromised and it will be up to you on whether to keep or throw out. anytime you open the mash and introduce new oxygen to a ferment there is a potential for bad bacteria to take hold. If it were just a quick dose of oxygen i'd say youd probably be ok. But using the towel i would say would be the bigger problem.

beerbreath81 said:

Tough call. Couple questions
Did you pour the brine back over the mash, add new brine, or push your lid down until mash was covered with remaining brine from mash?
Was the original jar covered with a lid?
What was the reason for squeezing brine from mash?

To answer your question. the mash may be compromised and it will be up to you on whether to keep or throw out. anytime you open the mash and introduce new oxygen to a ferment there is a potential for bad bacteria to take hold. If it were just a quick dose of oxygen i'd say youd probably be ok. But using the towel i would say would be the bigger problem.

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Well I do not think fermenting had not started it was on the 2nd or 3rd day when I did it, I used the same brine and kinda second guessing the fact I got all the mash completely soaked back in the brine this is the 4th day so I would hope I still have time to fix it - Should I completely remove the plastic I cut out to hold the mash down and shake it up let it settle again.. and yes the jar has been covered with a lid the whole time. Squeezing the mash at the time seemed like a good Idea for starting it over.  The towel I used is like a cheese cloth towel meant for straining.

2nd or 3rd day there is a very good chance that the ferment had started but perhaps not in full swing. Are you going with a wild ferment or did you use something to kickstart. Alot of my fermenting experiance comes from brewing beer (where sanitation is cruitial) and making pickles, saurkraut etc. The towel you used may be clean but not sterile. So there is a risk of contamination. However if this were mine id think salt content and ph of your ferment are going to play a factor in keeping the nasties at bay so id let it ride and see how it comes out. Let you nose and eyes be your guide. Leave it alone though and let it do its thing. In the end its your call on whether or not to pitch it. The floaties on top are not a big deal, you can skim them of at the end of the ferment.

Whats all in the ferment?

beerbreath81 said:

2nd or 3rd day there is a very good chance that the ferment had started but perhaps not in full swing. Are you going with a wild ferment or did you use something to kickstart. Alot of my fermenting experiance comes from brewing beer (where sanitation is cruitial) and making pickles, saurkraut etc. The towel you used may be clean but not sterile. So there is a risk of contamination. However if this were mine id think salt content and ph of your ferment are going to play a factor in keeping the nasties at bay so id let it ride and see how it comes out. Let you nose and eyes be your guide. Leave it alone though and let it do its thing. In the end its your call on whether or not to pitch it. The floaties on top are not a big deal, you can skim them of at the end of the ferment.

Whats all in the ferment?

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I started with these from my garden ended up being 2 and a half pounds after de-stemming added 2% of the weight in salt and just some brine to cover. Not using any starters so wild.. That's it for now , After I add the vinegar I will add some more spices and age it another couple of weeks-- My 1st time doing it I even bought a fermenting crock today with the stones for my next time.

Welcome Gargoyle91 - we're glad to have you!  Just speaking personally of my own experience I would not have strained the original mash through a towel.  I feel that is going to alter the outcome in a way negative to what the unadulterated batch could have been.  Really great peppers you have there! Take the next batch and leave them to ferment (with a bit of starter or more salt percentage) for at least 4 weeks.  Then take it through a strainer (pushing the pulp through) into a sauce pan and cook it to your desired consistency.

Hello Gargoyle91 and welcome!
 
I'm a little concerned about your container. If that's just your typical "counter jar", there's no seal to make it air-tight. If that is the case, and you want to try to salvage your mash, you might want to transfer to your new fermentation crock NOW. Otherwise, I think the chance of spoilage is high.
 
"...2 days later the mash had floated to the top..."
 
Just for clarity, this is normal behavior. Fermentation has begun. Air bubbles are collecting in the solids, causing them to float. Like Hot Stuff, I just swirl the contents back-and-forth a few times, which releases the bubbles and lets the solids sink again.
 
Good luck and keep after it.

DownRiver said:

Hello Gargoyle91 and welcome!
 
I'm a little concerned about your container. If that's just your typical "counter jar", there's no seal to make it air-tight. If that is the case, and you want to try to salvage your mash, you might want to transfer to your new fermentation crock NOW. Otherwise, I think the chance of spoilage is high.
 
"...2 days later the mash had floated to the top..."
 
Just for clarity, this is normal behavior. Fermentation has begun. Air bubbles are collecting in the solids, causing them to float. Like Hot Stuff, I just swirl the contents back-and-forth a few times, which releases the bubbles and lets the solids sink again.
 
Good luck and keep after it.

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Thanks for the input , Just makes me more confused lol  a lot of the things I've read about covering the crock said just to cover it with a Towel so to keep out the dust and some talk about keeping the lid on so no O2 gets in. I think I will just let this batch go until Sunday that will be 7 days  bring it to a boil and put it through the Juicer add the vinegar and spices and let it sit another week in the fridge.  Try again with the crock Took a look at my pepper plants and it looks like I got another couple of pounds ready to pick. 
 
It actually looks like it's doing pretty good now that I got it dialed in.

Gargole91,
 
Your information is correct if performed correctly. Let me see if I can cut your confusion. When fermenting there are steps that need to be taken to ensure it is pulled of correctly.
 
Start with your everything under the brine and cover with towel to keep dust out, this is the most basic form of fermenting. Because it is "left open to atmosphere" it is important that everything is sumberged to prevent bad bacteria from growing on exposed veggies/etc. Some people will use cut lids like you have, ziploc bags filled with brine solution, or other means to kepp everything under the brine.
 
Now lets say you take that same ferment with everything sumberged and decide to put a lid on it to keep oxygen out. What you have done is given yourself another layer of protection by keeping oxygen out of your ferment. If going this route you will need to "burp" the jar every so often to release pressure from building up.
 
So lets say you decide to not submerge everything under the brine but just cap it to keep oxygen out. Again, you are fine but you will find that veggies on the top layer may start to rot. To get around this you can take the top layer off when you open the jar to process or you can shake the every so often to keep anything from forming on top. Again, you will need to burp the jar to avoid pressure build ups.
 
This is why most comercial fermenters you buy use both the submerged and capped method to ensure greater and level of protection to your ferment.
 
I have always just been the sumberged type when ferementing pickles, kraut, etc in the past. I started using the cap method when I got into fermenting pepper mashes. More times than not I will either dut a lid just as you have or use a ziploc bag then cap it and burp every night during the first week of the ferment.
 
Hope all that helps.
 
Take a look at this free ebook lots of good info in there for ya
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/lacto-fermentation-free-ebook

hot stuff said:

What you would have wanted to do is put something on top of the mash to keep it under the brine.  I usually just shake mine up occasionally.

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I read somewhere that you are only suppose to stir it up for the first few days and then after that leave it be?  Is that accurate?

I don't think you should stir at all.  That can add unwanted oxygen. You want to shake.

Here's what it looked like yesterday day 4 

 
Now today day 5 all the bubbles are gone does this mean the ferment is over?
 

G91,
 
Thats some purdy pics you got goin. More than likely your ferment is coming to the end. Typical run time. Now you have a decision, you can wait just a few more days for the ferment to come to a complete halt, process as planed and volia your first ferment sauce! Or you can choose age it a bit, tuck it away for a while to let the flavors start mingle. Up to you. Either way just make sure that your PH is "shelf stable" when you start to process. With the limited amount of sugars present at the start of your ferment I would be inclined to think you may have to add some vinegar like you planed to get the PH down?
 
If going the age route now would be a good time to open the vessel and skim of those floaties (since your jar is'nt air tight) and re-cap. If processing now you can skim or go ahead and whirl em in dont look like anything forming on em.
 
Nice job, Looks great! keep us in the loop on the final outcome!

Well day 6 and this happened overnight man that was fast Kahm Yeast? Its been close to a hundred degrees here the last few days I bet that's what happened.