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fermenting My first two ferments

Well i have been planning on jumping on the fermenting bandwagon for a while, and yesterday i finally decided to do it. I probably should have just done one of them as a tester and not used so many of my peppers in case it goes south.  But if that happens i will hopefully at least learn a lot from it. Any tips from the pros are appreciated and i do have a few questions. I read a ton of things on here including the fermenting 101 as well as others and other websites as well. One thing that was not completely clear to me, and which i hope i didn't screw it up was are you supposed to pore the salt brine in after you mix it up or as you mix it up in the blender.  I mixed a little in the blender because there wasn't enough moisture and my blender was having a hard time, and then i pored more on top after i put the mash in the jars. I am a little worried that i didn't get enough of the brine in when i pored it on top because it didn't sink to the bottom. The other thing i hope i didn't screw up is that had anticipated was getting more whey out of the yogurt than what i did, so i didn't have enough based on amounts i read about on here.  I was running out of time to process more, so i went to the store and bought some of those probiotic capsules.  I tried to get the one that matched what the yogurt said in terms of type of bacteria, but i don't know if it will work or not, like i said a learning experience  :P . Anyway enough of me babbling on, below are pics and ingredients. Thanks for reading all.
 
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Ok so on the ferment on the left i used some Caribbean reds, a couple of reapers, a yellow cardi (those were compliments of Dash-thanks again) and some scotch bonnets that i grew. I mixed in a mango, a couple of kiwis, garlic, and a little bit of onion and carrot.
 
The ferment on the right has red thai, a mix of cayenne and ring of fire, jamaican hot chocolate and a few red 7 pots. I mixed in carrot, onion, and garlic to keep it somewhat simple. 
 
I plan on letting them go for at least 30 days, maybe longer depending on how it looks and the opinions i get on here. Thanks for looking.
 
     Looks like you nailed it! I thought a couple of those pods looked familiar.  :D I hope they make good sauce for ya! The only concern I have is the amount of headspace you left in the jars. You may have to swirl the jars around a couple of times a day or so during peak fermentation, so you don't end up with a mash volcano.
     Probiotic capsules work wonderfully for pepper mashes, btw.
 
dash 2 said:
     Looks like you nailed it! I thought a couple of those pods looked familiar.  :D I hope they make good sauce for ya! The only concern I have is the amount of headspace you left in the jars. You may have to swirl the jars around a couple of times a day or so during peak fermentation, so you don't end up with a mash volcano.
     Probiotic capsules work wonderfully for pepper mashes, btw.
I bet they did look familiar  :P I will probably swirl them a couple of times a day thanks for the advice.  I am assuming i will know when it's started, no bubbling yet but i am sure it's like trying to watch water boil or grass grow.  Damn i am not very patient.
 
i did a similar thing with lots of peppers, mixed the brine into the mash, and only had a small amount of yogurt whey... mine still hasn't done a lot in the last 10 days. but it hasn't started growing mold either, so i'm letting it sit till it does
 
Ok so the ferment on the right is definitely going, seeing lots of bubbles (though they are mainly in the top of the jar not the bottom).  The jar on the left that i used the probiotic capsules has a few bubbles, but barely detectable.  I used three of the capsules, each saying it contained 1.5 billion cells or whatever, is there a general rule for how many or how much of this is necessary?  Maybe i should have used more and that is why it is going so slow, at least i hope those few bubbles i see are an indication it is going. It had the mango and kiwi so i would think there is plenty of sugar for it.
 
parker49 said:
Ok so the ferment on the right is definitely going, seeing lots of bubbles (though they are mainly in the top of the jar not the bottom).  The jar on the left that i used the probiotic capsules has a few bubbles, but barely detectable.  I used three of the capsules, each saying it contained 1.5 billion cells or whatever, is there a general rule for how many or how much of this is necessary?  Maybe i should have used more and that is why it is going so slow, at least i hope those few bubbles i see are an indication it is going. It had the mango and kiwi so i would think there is plenty of sugar for it.
 
Hard to say Parker, don't know exactly which probiotic you used.  Pouring the brine on top was a good move.  Depending on the salt content in the rest of the mash (and a lot of other factors) it might take a while for the batch to get its ferment on.  Been only a few days - sometimes batches of mine without a starter won't do much for the first couple weeks.  Keep an eye on them, watch for mold or yeast and let em ride.  Chances are good that so long as you were following good sanitation both batches will turn out to well and you'll like the results so much that you'll be making some for friends and family in no time.  :)
 
SmokenFire said:
Hard to say Parker, don't know exactly which probiotic you used.  Pouring the brine on top was a good move.  Depending on the salt content in the rest of the mash (and a lot of other factors) it might take a while for the batch to get its ferment on.  Been only a few days - sometimes batches of mine without a starter won't do much for the first couple weeks.  Keep an eye on them, watch for mold or yeast and let em ride.  Chances are good that so long as you were following good sanitation both batches will turn out to well and you'll like the results so much that you'll be making some for friends and family in no time.  :)
Thanks smoken. Second one started bubbling last night and seems to be going pretty good now. So far so good :)
 
So I sure this has been covered but it it normal to have white foam where the liquid and solid have separated in the middle of the jar? Also it has a very strong almost onion smell is that normal?
 
parker49 said:
So I sure this has been covered but it it normal to have white foam where the liquid and solid have separated in the middle of the jar? Also it has a very strong almost onion smell is that normal?
 
That doesn't sound good Brad. My rule of thumb is if I take a sniff of it and it doesn't smell good... out it goes. Kahm yeast would be floating on top and wouldn't make any bad smells. What you describe sounds like a red flag to me. Smoken Fire's comment about sanitation is spot on... any surfaces or utensils that come in contact with the mash should be scrupulously clean to avoid contaminating it before you try to ferment. It only takes a speck of something with the wrong bacteria growing on it to throw off the process.  I like to sanitize the jars, lids and knives in the dishwasher with the "Sanitize" cycle selected, and clean the cutting board well with hot water, a little dish soap and a scrub brush, then hit it with a little bleach and one more rinse before I begin. Hope this helps... :)
 
stickman said:
That doesn't sound good Brad. My rule of thumb is if I take a sniff of it and it doesn't smell good... out it goes. Kahm yeast would be floating on top and wouldn't make any bad smells. What you describe sounds like a red flag to me. Smoken Fire's comment about sanitation is spot on... any surfaces or utensils that come in contact with the mash should be scrupulously clean to avoid contaminating it before you try to ferment. It only takes a speck of something with the wrong bacteria growing on it to throw off the process.  I like to sanitize the jars, lids and knives in the dishwasher with the "Sanitize" cycle selected, and clean the cutting board well with hot water, a little dish soap and a scrub brush, then hit it with a little bleach and one more rinse before I begin. Hope this helps... :)
Thanks for the thoughts stickman. The foam was short lived and only seemed to be there when the fermenting was at its highest so I am hopeful it was just the bubbles. It has been going slowly since then. I did sanitize everything so I think my jars utensils etc were clean. I do have a ph tester and will test it before I try it.

I don't think the smell was bad just strong. I have never fermented before so I could be wrong in this. I may process this next week so I will have a better idea then how it came out.
 
parker49 said:
...I don't think the smell was bad just strong. I have never fermented before so I could be wrong in this. I may process this next week so I will have a better idea then how it came out....
 
Well, it sure sounds like you hit a home-run Parker!
 
As far as smell goes, if a ferment has gone bad, you will know it. Mold is most likely visible and the smell can knock you over. You will definitely NOT want to put it in your mouth. Do check your pH as well.
 
Since its been 40+ days since you started, you can process it any time now, but there's no real hurry The longer you wait, the more the taste/flavors will evolve, meld and mature.
 
Let us know how it turns out and don't forget to take some pics!
 
DownRiver said:
 
Well, it sure sounds like you hit a home-run Parker!
 
As far as smell goes, if a ferment has gone bad, you will know it. Mold is most likely visible and the smell can knock you over. You will definitely NOT want to put it in your mouth. Do check your pH as well.
 
Since its been 40+ days since you started, you can process it any time now, but there's no real hurry The longer you wait, the more the taste/flavors will evolve, meld and mature.
 
Let us know how it turns out and don't forget to take some pics!
 
Thanks Downriver, i am definitely hopeful that this turns out well and i appreciate the comments.  I am really looking forward to trying it.  I plan on doing a few other ferments over the winter with some pods i have frozen and dehydrated. The ferment with the mango and kiwi is still bubbling a good little bit so i am thinking maybe i should let it go for a few more weeks. The other one has really slowed down and i think it is definitely ready.  I will just have to decide whether i want to process the whole thing or just half of it and let the rest age, ah decisions  :P
 
Oh and pictures will be made and posted.  Again thanks everyone for your comments on this as i am learning.
 
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