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fermenting Ruh Row! First ferment off to a sloooow start, help please.

So last Saturday I started a ferment with Butch-T, a piece of Kimchi, White Zin and 3.5% brine in a pint jar.  NO other additives.  So fast forward to this Saturday, and no fermentation is taking place.  i have some whey standing by.  I rather not open the jar, so is there anything else I need to do???  Room temp is 78 degrees.  As you can see from the AirLock in the second picture nothing is moving.  Any suggestions is greatly appreciated.
 
Jim
 
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Yo big E,
 
I've had ferments that sit there like a bump on a log for weeks.  I don't use wine and I rarely use starter.  From your ingredient list there's very few sugars in that mash, so slow is to be expected.  If there is no mold or kham or anything else let it ride.  Your nose and eyes are your guide.  :)
 
Ok guys, I appreciate the advice, both good ideas.  What about the TEMP is 78 f  okay for fermentation?
 
SmokenFire, up until a few weeks ago I don't think anyone was using wine and then JamesN started posting a bunch of ideas and it took off.   I had the White Zin handy and it sounded good. This first batch I am needing help on was a minimalist as to ingredients.  I am anxious to see if this tastes good.  Probably not without the other good stuff.   90 days...
 
Today, I put up a new batch with 500g of orange habaneros and added onion 100g, 2 carrots, 3 garlic cloves, and papaya 100g into a 1/2 gallon jar.  Will see if it takes off fermenting in a few days.
 
Jim
 
Giver time I followed JamesN advice and used wine as well was a little slow then bam took off. It's been going great. Take a couple side picks of jar I also used cabbage leaf for keeping mash below brine think this helped kick it off. The wine may slow your start a little but I've had no issues with any yeast or other nasties was kimchi your own and was it still active? I used whitelab for my starter, no worries. Not a lot of sugars that may cause your slow start. Good luck and keep us posted. :)
 
Hmm I have a mash going at the moment. The only liquid that was added was 3 tablespoons of sauerkraut brine. Mind you I cooked it to kill anything in it. Then put it in it's sanitized jug, and inoculated it with the kraut brine. The jug is air tight with an airlock. It's hard to tell how "bubbly" it is this way because of how thick it is. But I have never had kahm, or mold doing it this way. Not all lacti ferments bubble a lot, for example acidophilus is homofermentative. Meaning it only makes acid, and no CO2.
 
If I use standard "used jar" that I have sterilized I still often get kahm yeast, because they don't seal well.
 
Been said several times and I agree, give it time, some ferments are just that way, slow. Try putting it somewhere that you're not looking at it every time you walk by. Then when you remember it or find it a month from now you'll see it's doing fine.
 
Things are progressing!  The habanero mash is fermenting (started 10/4), and the Butch T (started 9/27)  has pockets of CO2 but not really taken off yet.  No kahm. I want to let these run 90 days if possible.  Hat tip to Patrad on the rings.  I ended up with a few silicon rings from Primal Kitchen.  Fingers crossed and waiting, waiting, waiting.  hahaha.  I take them out every few days to see how it is going.  No hurry!  Thanks everyone! Learn something new from you most every day.
 
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Thank you, Grant.  I appreciate you weighing in on my ferment.  The bottles are going along nicely.  No kalm.  The pepper ferments are moving along nicely!  Your support and the support of others like GB, DQ, RM, SF and patrad, makes  all the difference to newbies like me!
 
all the best,
 
Jim
 
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